AC
team meeting conclude in Valencia (07/04/04) (source
: AC
Management)
18 America’s Cup Teams concluded
a three-day session of organisational meetings in
Valencia, Spain, on Wednesday, with a clear vision
of how the 32nd America’s Cup would proceed.
Michel Bonnefous, the CEO of AC Management, the organiser
of the 32nd America’s Cup, closed the three-day workshop
of meetings with the observation that America’s Cup
racing would begin on the 5th September, 2004.
"The exciting milestone today is that we are
now less than five months away from the Marseille
Louis Vuitton Act 1 of the 32nd America’s Cup",
Bonnefous said. "It is tremendous to think that
there will be America’s Cup racing in such a short
time."
For the past three days, AC Management has been in
discussions with 18 America’s Cup Teams, representing
nine countries, about a variety of topics relating
to the sport, marketing, and logistical aspects of
the 32nd America’s Cup.
"We wanted to take this opportunity to give the
Teams preparing for the 32nd America’s Cup an update
on the progress achieved so far, and an overview on
what the 32nd America’s Cup will look like,"
Bonnefous explained. "Of equal importance, we
wanted to open a dialogue with the Teams, to listen
to their input, and to collect feedback from them,
our most important stakeholders."
Bonnefous was joined at the press conference by José
Salinas, the CEO of Valencia 2007, and Dyer Jones,
the Regatta Director of the 32nd America’s Cup, along
with the Defender, Alinghi, and the two official Challengers,
Oracle BMW Racing and the Clan Des Team.
Salinas explained the massive transformation scheduled
for the Port of Valencia, in order to prepare for
the America’s Cup. Work will begin shortly, and the
Port will be ready to accommodate Teams as of the
Valencia Louis Vuitton Acts in October. Team bases
will be available for occupation from Spring 2005.
"All of the services related to relocation, immigration,
work permits, taxes, etc. have been outlined and detailed
to the Teams present," Salinas said. "Valencia
2007 and ACM will continue working hand in hand to
develop the best possible infrastructure for the 32nd
America’s Cup."
Regatta Director Dyer Jones spoke about the sports
programme for 2004 and beyond, and gave details about
the Meteorological Data System (MDS) a shared weather
data system that will make the weather over a small
portion of the Mediterranean Sea the most analysed
‘microclimate’ in the world.
"The MDS programme is a tremendous step forward
for the Teams, and will result in really significant
cost savings for them", Jones explained. "In
the past, many teams would each spend well over €1.5-million
to obtain essentially the same data".
"We will soon begin the process of gathering
and then distributing to the participants meteorological
data so that over the coming months and years each
team will have a huge amount of analytical data from
which to make decisions regarding the designs of their
boats and the conditions under which they will be
sailing."
This consolidated weather data programme was just
one of many initiatives discussed at the Teams meetings
this week at the Palacio de Congresos in Valencia.
"On behalf of ACM, I would like to publicly thank
all of the Teams along with our partners, Louis Vuitton
and Endesa, for their energy, their input and their
enthusiasm for what we are trying to accomplish,"
Bonnefous concluded. "We know that the 32nd America’s
Cup is a partnership that cannot succeed without them".
Racing begins in the Marseille Louis Vuitton Act on
the 5th of September.
