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VALENCIA, Spain (8 February 2010) – Today's scheduled Race 1 of the 33rd America's Cup Match was postponed due to light and unstable winds on the Mediterranean Sea.
The Alinghi team was looking forward to racing the 90ft catamaran
Alinghi 5 after seven months of testing and trialling, but now they'll
have to wait until Wednesday for the next opportunity.
“It was very light,” said navigator Juan Vila. “We had some puffs up to
6 knots but they didn't last long. The direction also was random,
mostly from the west but not enough for a fair race. The forecast
didn't look promising once the wind got variable, so I think it was a
good decision not to race today.”
Alinghi´s weather team predicted winds around 10 knots today, but showers from a passing cold front disrupted the forecast.
“Ahead of the cold front was a weak southerly gradient with lots of
clouds and some showers,” said Jack Katzfey, team meteorologist. “The
mountains in Valencia disrupted the winds and killed any chance of a
flow developing. It was supposed to get lighter, but it got a lot
lighter.”
The day was officially called at 13:50, after the Alinghi sailors had
been on the water for more than seven hours. They departed the team
base in the Port America's Cup this morning at 06:30 engulfed in
darkness, with temporary running lights affixed on the hulls and aft
cross beam for the tow to the start line.
Today would've marked the 13th race in an America's Cup Match for
Alinghi dating back to 2003. Instead, it was the eighth postponement
experienced by the Defender from the Société Nautique de Genève.
“We knew the conditions would be like this here. We can't count on
every day being perfect to have a race,” Vila said. “Today,
unfortunately, wasn't, but I'm pretty sure we'll find another day to
have a fair race. It's important that when the starting gun goes off
it's a fair race for everyone.”
Race 1 of the 33rd America's Cup is scheduled for Wednesday, weather permitting.
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