Alinghi took the two Extreme 40 catamarans out for a shake down sail this morning in Valencia.

These light-weight, carbon fibre multi-hulled weapons were designed by Yves Loday, Herbert Dercksen and Mitch Booth with one thing in mind: speed.

Taking turns for the ride were Alinghi designers and sailors: Pierre-Yves Jorand, Luc Dubois, Dirk Kramers, Kirst Feddersen, Mike Schreiber, Kurt Jordan, Aaron Perry, Murray Jones and Pieter van Nieuwenhuyzen.