| Competition: | 32nd America's Cup |
| Image Alt: | Color photograph of racing catamarans |
| Defender Country: | Switzerland |
| Defender Flag Variant: | civil |
| Defender Burgee: | Yachting Pennant Flag for Société Nautique de Genève.gif |
| Defender Club: | Société Nautique de Genève |
| Defender Yacht: | SUI-100 |
| Challenger Country: | New Zealand |
| Challenger Flag Variant: | civil |
| Challenger Burgee: | Burgee of rnzys.svg |
| Challenger Club: | Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron |
| Challenger Yacht: | NZL-92 |
| Location: | Port America's Cup, Valencia, Spain |
| Coordinates: | 39.4667°N -18.5°W |
| Dates: | 25 April – 3 July 2007 |
| Rule: | International America's Cup Class |
| Winning Club: | Société Nautique de Genève |
| Score: | 5–2 |
| Prev: | 2003 |
| Next: | 2010 |
The 2007 America's Cup was the thirty-second challenge for the America's Cup and was won by Alinghi in the 7th race. The Cup is the most famous and most prestigious regatta and Match Race in the sport of sailing.
As per the Deed of Gift of the America's Cup the yacht club that holds the Cup is the one that chooses the location for the next challenge to take place. Alinghi, the syndicate representing the Société Nautique de Genève, the winners of the thirty-first edition, are based in Switzerland which is a landlocked country, so Alinghi put the hosting rights out to a competitive bid process. During a preliminary selection the bids of Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Porto Cervo and Elba were eliminated. The four finalists were Cascais (near Lisbon), Marseille, Naples (ITA) and Valencia. On November 27, 2003, it was announced that the venue would be Valencia, Spain. A new building, Veles e Vents designed by David Chipperfield, was built in the harbour of Valencia to house the central base for all the America's Cup teams.[1]
By winning the 32nd America's Cup, Alinghi changed what seemed to have become a tradition: that the winner of race three goes on to win the match. Emirates Team New Zealand, despite winning the third heat, was not able to capture the Cup. The score of the 32nd America's Cup has also differentiated the match from previous editions. The past three America's Cups – 1995, 2000 and 2003 – were all sweeps.
Eleven challengers from nine countries submitted formal entries prior to the closing deadline of April 29, 2005.
See main article: Louis Vuitton Cup 2007.
See also: Louis Vuitton Acts.
In preparation for the 2007 America's Cup, there were a series of regattas leading up to the Cup races, called "Acts" which culminated in the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup. The winner, Emirates Team New Zealand, became the Challenger and raced against the Defender, Alinghi, for the America's Cup.
In 2004, there were three acts, Act 1 held September 2004 in Marseille, France; Act 2 held October 2004 in Valencia, Spain; and Act 3 held October 2004, also in Valencia. These events featured fleet and match racing between America's Cup class yachts representing the syndicates that were vying for selection as challenger for the America's Cup in 2007. Points were awarded for each Act, and the team with the highest score at the end of the year is declared the ACC (America's Cup Class) Champion for that year. In 2004, Emirates Team New Zealand narrowly won over second place American challenger BMW Oracle Racing and third place Swiss defender Team Alinghi.
The schedule of Acts in 2005 included Acts 4 and 5 in Valencia (June 16-June 26), Acts 6 and 7 in Malmö, Sweden (August 25-September 4) and Acts 8 and 9 in Trapani, Italy (September 29-October 9).
All races were run on a windward-leeward course consisting of four legs with legs 1 and 4 being 3.3nmi in length, and legs 2 and 3 being 3nmi for a total of 12.6nmi.
In the results table below, the team entering the starting area from the side (i.e. entering from the right-hand side on starboard tack) has a slight advantage. The team was decided for the first race by the toss of a coin. side advantage then alternates race by race.
| Date | Team 1 | Team 2 | Winner | Score | Delta | Timings | Race Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 23, 2007 | Alinghi SUI-100 | Emirates Team New Zealand NZL-92 | Alinghi | 1-0 | 0:35 | http://www.americascup.com/multimedia/docs/2007/06/ac_race1.html | Stable 12kn breeze with choppy sea. No aggression in the pre-start with both teams making good starts. Alinghi led by 0:13 at the first mark and 0:14 at the final turning mark. |
| June 24, 2007 | Emirates Team New Zealand NZL-92 | Alinghi SUI-100 | Emirates Team New Zealand | 1-1 | 0:28 | http://www.americascup.com/multimedia/docs/2007/06/ac_race2.html | 10kn breeze. Aggressive pre-start with ETNZ winning the start but Alinghi led at the first two marks. Alinghi did not apply a tight cover allowing ETNZ to benefit and lead through to the finish. |
| June 26, 2007 | Alinghi SUI-100 | Emirates Team New Zealand NZL-92 | Emirates Team New Zealand | 1-2 | 0:25 | http://www.americascup.com/multimedia/docs/2007/06/ac_race3.html | Very light breeze with race start postponed twice. Aggression from Alinghi forced a poor start by ETNZ who used conditions better to lead by 1:23 at the 1st mark. The gap closed right up when ETNZ could not sheet their jib due to a spinnaker handling error. Alinghi leading at the start of the final leg allowed a left/right separation of more than a kilometre to develop. Closing the finish line ETNZ gybed slightly in front of Alinghi to win. |
| June 27, 2007 | Emirates Team New Zealand NZL-92 | Alinghi SUI-100 | Alinghi[2] | 2-2 | 0:30 | http://www.americascup.com/multimedia/docs/2007/06/ac_race4.html | Tricky 8 to 10kn breeze. Alinghi made excellent full-speed start and rounded first mark 20 seconds ahead. ETNZ then made small gains but suffered wrap in the spinnaker during a gybe, allowing Alinghi to extend their lead. ETNZ continued attacking through to the finish. |
| June 29, 2007 | Alinghi SUI-100 | Emirates Team New Zealand NZL-92 | Alinghi | 3-2 | 0:19 | http://www.americascup.com/multimedia/docs/2007/06/ac_race5.html | Perfect 15kn sea breeze. Aggressive pre-start. ETNZ forced Alinghi across the top of the Race Committee boat and into the spectator fleet. ETNZ led by 0:12 at the first mark. For the 3rd race running ETNZ had spinnaker problems. A small rip developed in the spinnaker which then blew apart. The 2nd spinnaker was hoisted before it had been properly attached and blew like a flag from the mast head. The third spinnaker set worked after 4 minutes of chaos but Alinghi by now had gone into the lead. ETNZ got to within three boat lengths on the 2nd beat and within one boat length on the final leg but Alinghi led through to the finish. |
| June 30, 2007 | Emirates Team New Zealand NZL-92 | Alinghi SUI-100 | Alinghi | 4-2 | 0:28 | http://www.americascup.com/multimedia/docs/2007/06/ac_race6.html | Aggressive pre-start but each team made a good start. ETNZ led at the first two marks. After a tacking duel where Alinghi got a right hand shift, Alinghi led at the 3rd mark through to the finish. |
| July 1, 2007 | Alinghi SUI-100 | Emirates Team New Zealand NZL-92 | Racing Postponed | 4-2 | NA | NA | Unstable winds caused racing to be postponed until Tuesday July 3. |
| July 3, 2007 | Alinghi SUI-100 | Emirates Team New Zealand NZL-92 | Alinghi | 5-2 | 0:01 | http://www.americascup.com/multimedia/docs/2007/07/ac_race7.html | Aggressive pre-start with both boats at full speed off the line. Alinghi rounded the windward mark 7 seconds ahead. Down the run, spinnaker handling by ETNZ looked a little better and at the bottom gate ETNZ rounded the left-hand mark and Alinghi rounded the right-hand mark 14 seconds behind. ETNZ tacked over to loose-cover Alinghi and a tacking duel ensued with Alinghi making very slight gains on each tack until eventually, still a boat length ahead, ETNZ disengaged. ETNZ tacked onto port to lay the mark and immediately bore away to go under Alinghi who was on starboard. Alinghi flew a Y flag in protest, and the Umpires awarded a penalty against ETNZ for not keeping clear. ETNZ rounded the final mark 12 seconds behind. On the run to the finish ETNZ could not close the gap until Alinghi, on their final approach to the finish, had their spinnaker pole fly off the mast collapsing the spinnaker, coinciding with a drop in the breeze and a massive 120 degree windshift to forward. Alinghi, now virtually stationary, was being overtaken. Now heading upwind (due to the massive windshift) to the line, ETNZ tacked from starboard to port and then back to starboard to satisfy their penalty, but did so with too much distance before the line, enabling Alinghi to squeeze across the finish line 1 second ahead while ETNZ was downspeed from the penalty tacks. |
| Role | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| Skipper / Tactician | Brad Butterworth (NZL) | |
| Helmsman | Ed Baird (USA) | |
| Navigator | Juan Vila (ESP) | |
| Afterguard / Runner | Ernesto Bertarelli (SUI) | |
| Strategist / Traveller | Murray Jones (NZL) | |
| Runner / Grinder | Rodney Ardern (NZL) | |
| Runner / Pitman | Dean Phipps (NZL) | |
| Mainsail Trimmer | Warwick Fleury (NZL) | |
| Main Grinder | Will McCarthy (AUS) | |
| Trimmer | Simon Daubney (NZL) | |
| Trimmer | Lorenzo Mazza (ITA) | |
| Grinder | Matt Welling (USA) | |
| Grinder | Mark McTeigue (AUS) | |
| Pitman | Josh Belsky (USA) | |
| Mast | Francesco Rapetti (ITA) | |
| Mid-Bow | Curtis Blewett (CAN) | |
| Bow | Pieter van Nieuwenhuyzen (NED) |
| Role | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| Skipper / Helmsman | Dean Barker (NZL) | |
| Tactician | Terry Hutchinson (USA) | |
| Navigator | Kevin Hall (USA) | |
| Strategist | Ray Davies (NZL) | |
| Traveller/Up the mast | Adam Beashel (AUS) | |
| Pit | Barry Mckay (NZL) | |
| Runner /Pit | Tony Rae (NZL) | |
| Mainsail Trimmer | Don Cowie (NZL) | |
| Main Grinder | Chris Ward (NZL) | |
| Trimmer Upwind | Grant Loretz (NZL) [5] | |
| Trimmer Downwind | James Dagg (NZL) | |
| Grinder | Rob Waddell (NZL) | |
| Grinder | Jono McBeth (NZL) | |
| Mast | Matt Mason (NZL) | |
| Floater | Grant Dalton (NZL) | |
| Mid-Bow | Richard Meacham (NZL) | |
| Bow | Jeremy Lomas (NZL) |