32nd Americas Cup - Unveiling Day
by 32nd America’s Cup media 1 Apr 2007 22:31 BST
All is revealed on a busy unveiling day at Port America's Cup
Sunday was unveiling day at Port America's Cup, the morning when all 12 teams had to drop the protective skirts that had been guarding the underbodies of their race boats. A traditional Valencian 'mascleta' of fireworks opened the countdown to unveiling at 09:00. Within half an hour, all the team bases were open to media and other team members.
With 19 boats unveiling at once, and the updated Port America's Cup ready to welcome visitors, the day took on a tone of celebration as the public were invited to the team bases from 11:30, where sailors and designers from other teams could be seen taking the measure of the competition. By 16:00, over 40 000 people had passed through the doors of Port America's Cup.
Although there were no visible breakthrough design innovations on the scale of the winged keel that Australia II rode to victory in 1983, many observers were astonished by the range of solutions to the same basic design question posed by the America's Cup Class Rule.
"Walking around the place, I am surprised that there are so many configurations around the teams, basically because we thought we'd done a pretty good job with (closing up) the Rule," said Rolf Vrolijk, the lead designer of Alinghi. "We thought the boats would all be the same. But it's not like that and we see clearly that the different design groups and teams have opted for different directions, and I think that makes it a bit more interesting."
Among the more visually clear differences were those seen in the size, shape and configuration of the keel bulbs on different boats. Some teams, like Emirates Team New Zealand, sported a short, fat bulb on one boat, and a long, thin, 'cigar' style bulb on the other. Luna Rossa showed off a radical hull underbody on ITA 94, which was marked by hard angles, slab sides and a flat bottom.
The 'unveiling' theme also applied to Port America's Cup, where many of the new entertainment activities, restaurants, bars and cafés opened for the first time on Sunday. A large turnout of public came to enjoy the festivities ahead of racing in Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 13, which is scheduled to begin on Tuesday afternoon. A spectacular light show in Port America's Cup, produced by Endesa, is scheduled to conclude the festivities on the day at 21:15.
On Monday, the 12 skippers will attend a press conference to give their views on the upcoming decisive season of the 32nd America's Cup.