Following the excite- ment of Team New Zealand's
legendary win in 1995, Auckland was chosen for the
Defense and the Viaduct Basin, a previously disused
indus- trial area, was chosen for the Cup Village
and base for the syndicates.
During the two Americas Cup Regattas in Auck- land,
the best place to experience America's Cup excitement,
if not on the water, is the Viaduct Basin, in downtown
Auckland.
The bases, which were temporary, were lined up side
by side along Halsey Street with a superyacht marina
squeezed in between them.
During the last America's Cup Regatta, 4.2 million
visitors confirmed its success as a major event
and is one of the significant criteria used by AC
Management during the selection process was the
possibility of finding a new Viaduct Basin.
In Valencia, the headquarters of the 32nd America's
Cup are located in the center of the Port. After
a complete redesign and renovation, this is where
the team bases, the regatta offices, the press center
and the America's village are located.
La Dársena Interior, the section of the port that
serve as home base for the Cup and its sponsors
and fans, is already in the shape of an amphitheater.
The redesign produced massive changes including
the construction of an 800-metre long canal, 80
metres wide and seven metres deep in order that
the competing boats and their attendant launches
do not disturb the port activity on their way to
the race course.
THE
RACE COURSE AREA
"The wind conditions in Valencia are very good,
very stable, they are very constant and that is
probably one of the best assets that we have," said
in August Jose Salinas, executive director of the
"Valencia 2007" bid.
With Auckland's variable weather pattern causing
endless delays during the last regatta, a priority
for organisers was to find a location with consistent
breeze. Postponements and canceled race days wrecked
the rhythm of the last Cup
America's Cup management chief executive Michel
Bonnefous said the sailing conditions in Valencia
more or less guaranteed sailing every day. The winds
are very rarely too faint or extreme in the spring
and summer months when the challenger series and
then the Cup will be contested.
"We evaluated the worst-case scenario, in other
words how many days you cannot sail due to the weather",
Michel Bonnefous said. "In Auckland over a
period where we lost 15 days. In Valencia, at worst,
we would lose just one day."
Throughout the summer there is a regular thermal
sea breeze from the south-east of 10-15 knots, known
locally as the Garbi. The other main winds are the
Garell from the North-east and the Tramontane from
the North.
Those winds, according to several experts, are not
as constant as has been advertised.
"I think people are getting the wrong idea that
this is San Diego: 6 to 8 to 10 knots, flat water
or gentle swells and light air," said Tom Ehman,
of Oracle BMW racing, the San Francisco-based challenger
of record. "This is in the teens. That's plenty
of breeze, especially for these machines."
What would really guarantee a monotony-free event
would be closer races. With that in mind, the design
rules for America's Cup class yachts have been modified
to narrow the design range and increase the downwind
sail area.
"We wanted the boats to be sportier; to have more
lead changes and to keep the racing more interesting,"
Ehman said.
The Gulf of Valencia’s other attractions include
the water’s depth, its proximity to the coast, the
absence of underwater obstacles, the lack of marine
currents, as well as excellent visibility, with
less than four days of fog a year.
Mr Salinas said the 2007 regatta could be run just
to the north or south of Valencia.
The courses will be set close to the shore to enable
better public viewing and because of the wind direction
in Valencia, the organizers should be able to start
and finish the races near shore: a major and positive
change from what happened in San Diego and Auckland.
