Finally out of the courts and onto the water.

There is still a court decision hanging over the validity fo Alingi's sails but at least they will start racing today. (weather/wind permitting).

The boats look fantastic, should be an exciting race I hope.

On Eurosport or you can watch it live on the America's cup website.

Have they started the race yet?
The last I saw was around 10am on TV and they had the start postponed ...

You can watch live on-line at this link:

http://www.americascup.com/en/regate...ourse/show.php

Still not started yet...

Thank you !!
This is going to be some race ...

I hope it starts soon - the race and Alinghi have surpassed skiing and Roger Federer as topics of conversation for my Swiss husband. Yesterday I made the mistake of saying that there weren't many Swiss sailing on the Alinghi (3, I think) and was promptly told that 3 is more than the 1 American sailing on Oracle.

My husband had a great time watching the Alinghi on the Lake of Geneva last summer.

No race today. We'll have to wait until Wednesday at 10:00.

The first race is finally underway! Things aren't looking too good for Alinghi.

Who really cares? It is NOT sport. It is just a farce.
Even their own website says
"The America's Cup is a challenge-based competition where the winning Yacht Club makes the rules and hosts the subsequent event, often making it more difficult for the challenging Club(s) to take the Cup home."

I'm not so sure it's really worthwhile in the grand scheme of things (2 x 100M$ boats does seem something of a waste) but it is certainly sport. Every sport is getting more and more technological, but what they have done is impressive and I for one am enjoying watching the race.

Still, just look at how absolutely gorgeously smooth they're sailing there ... fabulous technology !!!

Sorry Glendyn but it's hard to live next to the Lake of Geneva and not care about the Alinghi (and I'm an American who feels some conflict of interest!). Just steer clear of this thread since you're not interested.

Hope they will also show the courtroom footage when the race is over and the interesting legal proceedings finally begin to determine who actually won and if everything was legal in the end

Ah well ... a pity for Alinghi, having lost that 1st race I mean.

Still, I am just stunned from what I've seen. Absolutely enormous !!! ...

It will be nice to see the 34th Cup in Valencia, and (as an American) it will be somewhat nicer to see it San Francisco, but it's a damn shame this is how the Cup is being raced. We really ought to see a regatta compete for the right to challenge the cup or defend it, and ideally both. The Golden Gate Yacht Club is the challenger because they won a court case. Alleghini may not be saints, but...*sigh*

BTW, I heard that Russell Coats is working for GGYC. Does that mean if the Americans win, this will be the SECOND time he has betrayed the people for whom he won the America's Cup? I wouldn't be surprised if he jumps ship yet again...

Edward J. Cunningham
Derwood, MD

I just read that BMW/Oracle has provisionally won the America's Cup pending a protest by Alinghi. So I guess the next Cup race will be in San Francisco or Newport?

Alinghi just dropped the protest, so the America's Cup is returning to the United States. Even though my country won, I hope the 34th Cup is a lot better than the 33rd.

My god. The boats have cost enough money but surely the cost to build the boats dwarf compared to their legal bills? Sailing must be the biggest joke of a sport anywhere? Surely these rich boys should be organised enough to put an association together to stop all these legal fights?

When Dennis Conner won back the America's Cup, it was considered a big deal. This isn't even making the news Does anybody in America care that we have the Cup right now? Does anybody in Switzerland care that they're losing the Cup?

Please don't think that the Americas cup accurately represents the sport of sailing. Its for rich play boys to over compensate for whatever it is they are missing.

True sailors race in small one design boats or in races like the Volvo Ocean Race or the Vende Globe.

This America's cup made a joke of Match Racing. No proper duelling between the boats at all.

I suspect that the Aussies and Kiwis care more as they are the nationalities making up the crew.