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33^rd Americas Cup is on in Valencia !

After over two years of bitter legal wrangling, and the only real winners seemingly the lawyers who can now probably afford to swap their small islands in the Caribbean for something more substantial, like Jamaica, the best news so far to come out of the

whole affair is that finally we look like having a match here in Valencia commencing on 8^th February 2010, weather conditions allowing, between two of the most stunning and technically advanced yachts the world has seen.

There are still arguments raging over the validity of some of the equipment to be used, and undoubtedly they will continue. However, both teams are now out on the water training whenever conditions allow. The Swiss based defender of the Cup, Alinghi, with their two hulled catamaran, and the US based challenger, BMW Oracle with their 3 hulled trimaran.

Forget everything that has gone before. These two are complete monsters. Around 90 feet wide and as long (roughly the size of 3 tennis courts), and at around 180 feet high, their masts almost pierce clouds. Thinks - I wonder if they will have to exhibit red flashing warning lights to alert local low flying aircraft ? Alinghi sports standard (though highly engineered) sails, but BMW Oracle have been experimenting with a giant wing in place of the main sail. One of  biggest wings ever constructed, it's bigger than two jumbo jet wings bolted together !

Compared to say a car, their outright speed though the water is not huge. Around 30 - 40  miles an hour. But remember that they can manage this in something like 15 knots of breeze. If you can't put that in to context, try to imagine a roller skate powered by a space shuttle engine.......

The loads on them are mind boggling. The load on the tennis ball sized joint on the base of the mast on Alinghi is subject to something like 100 tonnes - that's 50 or more decent sized 4 x 4 cars stacked up on each other....

I was lucky enough to get afloat on Friday to watch Alinghi going through their paces. It's hard to describe just how big and powerful these yachts really are. The acceleration is remarkable, the driver of our support boat having to give a large handful of throttle from the 300 BHP of engines on the back just to keep up with the yacht, and this was only in 10 knots or so of breeze. The yacht herself just look serene and effortless, powering through the water with nonchalant ease, whilst we were being battered in what was fairly flat water. After 30 or 40 minutes we started to make our return and realised how far we had come, and how quickly – land was almost out of sight !

What is it like to actually be onboard ? Whenever you ask a member of the crew what it's like to sail on them, they all tend to give the same reply "scary, but the best sailing of my life !"

Whatever you do, whether you like sailing or not, make sure you go down to the port and try to see a glimpse of them in action, though for the racing, generally the best views will be on TV. The yachts are so fast that there are few boats that can keep up with them so watching them afloat will be a bit like watching Formula 1 - find a corner and you will catch one brief glimpse as they fly past in a blur.

Kick off for the match is scheduled for the 8th Feb with the second (and if necessary, third) races on the 10th and 12th Feb, with reserve days from the 15th  - 25th Feb in case of inclement weather.

Whatever you do, don't miss it.

X5'er

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