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The full minutes of of the recent
Challenger Commission meeting are published on the
new Challenger Commission website.
The Challenge Representatives from five of the seven
announced Challengers were present: Russell Green
(BMW Oracle), James Farmer (Emirates Team NZ), George
Clyde (K-Challenge), Bruno Finzi (Luna Rossa) and
John Cutler (El Reto). Apologies were received from
+39 (ITA) and Team Shosholoza (RSA).
The main decison is a detailed format and scoring
system for the Challenger Selection Series for the
"Louis Vuitton Cup" which was unanimously approved,
subject to discussion with and confirmation by ACM.
Details of this "San Francisco Plan" should be announced
no later than the final challenger deadline of 29
April 2005, hopefully sooner.
The San Francisco Plan calls for two or three rounds-robin
(depending upon the final number of challengers)
for all Challengers starting in mid-April 2007,
followed by a knock-out semi-finals for the top
four boats from the rounds-robin, and a two-boat
final. Results among the Challengers in the thirteen
Louis Vuitton pre-regattas or "Acts" in 2004-2007
figure significantly in the Plan - an America's
Cup first.
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The CC also unanimously recommended
that :
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as a cost-cutting measure,
teams be limited to using ("carding") a maximum
of 26 sails for the six 2005 Acts, except
that sails carded by teams in the 2004 Acts
and that "old sails" measured prior to the
end of the 2003 America's Cup Match would
be permitted in addition to the 26 ;
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windward-leeward courses of
four legs be used, but with slightly longer
legs than 2004 (depending on wind strength,
2.5 to 3.0 miles instead of 2.0 to 2.5), and
maintaining a target length of 90 minutes
per race with, normally, two races per day
;
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racing be conducted when the
wind is in the range of approximately 7 to
23 knots (as measured by the Race Committee
at six metres above the water), and that the
starting times, at least in Valencia, be pushed
back to 1400 by when the sea breeze is normally
well developed.
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