FOR the second time in his sailing career, skipper Russell Coutts has won the Louis Vuitton Cup after his Swiss-entered Alinghi team defeated the American Oracle BMW Racing crew last Sunday in the waters off Auckland.
After a two hour delay due to light winds, Alinghi lured Oracle BMW helmsman Peter Holmberg into a pre-start penalty. Later, the American boat sailed into a light patch and what had been a 150 metre lead evaporated into a loss by 34 seconds. The Alinghi team crossed the finish line to a cacophony of cowbells and ships' horns, securing a 5-1 series victory.
With this win the team, assembled by pharmaceuticals billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli, earns the right to challenge defenders Team New Zealand for the America's Cup, starting on February 15th. For the second time in a row, there will be no American boat in the event. Should the Swiss team be successful, they would then be able to decide the venue for the next America's Cup. For land-locked Switzerland this would give an interesting array of choices including several popular regatta areas in the Mediterranean.
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