The 2007

Louis Vuitton Cup The Louis Vuitton Cup was the name of the Challenger Selection Series sailing competition from 1983, named after its sponsor, Louis Vuitton. The winner of the competition became the challenger to compete with the defender of the America's Cu ...

held in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

, Spain, from April 16 to June 6 was the event used to select the challenger for the

2007 America's Cup 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 o ...

. Eleven potential challengers competed in the competition which consisted of two

round robins Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere * Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the num ...

, two semi-finals and a final. The winner was

Emirates Team New Zealand Team New Zealand or TNZ is a sailing team based in Auckland, New Zealand representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. Team New Zealand became a household name in their home country following their consecutive wins in the America's Cup ...

, who challenged the defender

Alinghi Alinghi, or Alinghi Red Bull Racing because of the sports marketing branding by Red Bull, is the syndicate set up by Ernesto Bertarelli, racing under the colors of the Société Nautique de Genève, to challenge for the America's Cup, as well as ...

in June 2007 for the

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one ...

Teams

Team New Zealand

Managed by

Grant Dalton Grant Stanley Dalton (born 1 July 1957) is a New Zealand sailor who has competed in five Whitbread Round the World Races and currently manages Team New Zealand. Background Dalton is a professional sailor who started sailing at the age 8 in th ...

and skippered by Dean Barker, the crew included

Terry Hutchinson Terry Hutchinson (born May 20, 1968) is an American sailor eleven-time world champion in the Corel 45, J/24, TP 52, Farr 40 and IMS classes, and a winning tactician of the Louis Vuitton Cup. In 2008 and 2014, he was named Rolex Yachtsman of t ...

; navigator Kevin Hall; strategist

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter for the rock band the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother Dave on lead guitar and backing voc ...

; Adam Beashel;

Barry Mckay Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

;

Tony Rae Anthony James Morell Rae (1927-2000) was an Australian-born headmaster of a GPS School and chairman of the Headmasters' Conference of the Independent Schools of Australia. Early life Tony Rae (the familiar form was part of his persona) was ...

; Don Cowie; Chris Ward ; Grant Loretz;

Robert Salthouse Robert Salthouse (born 5 December 1965) is a New Zealand sailor who has sailed in multiple Volvo Ocean Races and America's Cups. Salthouse joined New Zealand Challenge and sailed in the 1987 Louis Vuitton Cup and on '' KZ 1'' during the 1988 Amer ...

; James Dagg;

Rob Waddell Robert Norman Waddell (born 7 January 1975) is a New Zealand Olympic Gold Medalist and double World Champion Single sculler rower, and America's Cup yachtsman. He is a triple New Zealand Supreme 'Halberg Awards' Sportsperson of the year winner ...

; Andrew Hemmings; Jono McBeth; Matt Mason; Richard Meacham and

Jeremy Lomas Jeremy Lomas is a New Zealand sailor who has been involved in multiple America's Cups. Lomas sailed on '' Merit Cup'' during the 1997–98 Whitbread Round the World Race. He joined Team New Zealand before their 2000 America's Cup defence and wo ...

Ben Ainslie Sir Charles Benedict Ainslie (born 5 February 1977) is a British competitive sailor. Ainslie is the most successful sailor in Olympic history. He won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 onwards, including gold at the four consecutiv ...

and Kelvin Harrap sailed the trial boat.

BMW Oracle Racing

Skippered by Chris Dickson, the crew included Gavin Brady, Phil Jameson, Paul Westlake, Scott Crawford, Alberto Barovier, Brad Webb, Brian MacInnes, Joe Spooner,

Ross Halcrow Ross "Rosco" Halcrow (born 17 November 1966) is a New Zealand sailor who has won both the America's Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race. Halcrow was a sailmaker and backup crew member for New Zealand Challenge in both the 1987 America's Cup and 1992 Ame ...

Robbie Naismith Robbie Naismith (born 4 May 1964) is a New Zealand sailor who has competed in multiple Whitbread Round the World Races and America's Cups. From Whangārei, Naismith sailed in the 1989 Admiral's Cup before sailing the 1989–90 Whitbread Round th ...

, Bertrand Pacé, Craig Monk, Carl Williams,

Peter Isler Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

and owner

Larry Ellison Lawrence Joseph Ellison (born August 17, 1944) is an American business magnate and investor who is the co-founder, executive chairman, chief technology officer (CTO) and former chief executive officer (CEO) of the American computer technology ...

Luna Rossa Challenge

Luna Rossa Challenge Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, originally named Prada Challenge, then Luna Rossa Challenge, is an Italian sailboat racing syndicate first created to compete for the 2000 America's Cup. It won the Louis Vuitton Cup on their first attempt in 2000, but ...

was led by Francesco de Angelis and helmsman

James Spithill James Spithill (born 28 June 1979) is an Australian yachtsman. In 2010, as skipper and helmsman for BMW Oracle Racing, Spithill won the America's Cup. He defended the cup twice, both times against Emirates Team New Zealand, first successfully ...

. The crew included

Peter Gilmour Peter Gilmour (born 25 January 1960) is an Australian sailing skipper. He is an America's Cup veteran and was named Western Australian Sportsman of the Year in 1987. He is also the only 4 time World Match racing Tour Champion. He currently res ...

, Francesco Bruni, mid-bowman

Max Sirena Massimiliano "Max" Sirena (born 4 December 1971 in Rimini) is an Italian sailor who has competed in multiple America's Cups. Biography Sirena sailed with Luna Rossa Challenge in their 2000, 2003 and 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup campaigns as a mid-bowm ...

, Emanuele Marino, Manuel Modena, Marco Montis, Benjamin Durham, Andy Horton, Michele Cannoni, Gilberto Nobili,

Joey Newton Joey Newton (born 16 December 1977) is an Australian sailor who has competed in multiple America's Cups. Newton originally sailed Sabots, 420s and Lasers in Australia. He then joined Syd Fischer's Young Australia Challenge for the 2000 Louis ...

, Shannon Falcone, Christian Kamp, Romolo Ranieri, Emanuele Marino,

Andrew Taylor Andrew or Andy Taylor may refer to: Sport * Andrew Taylor (footballer, born 1986), English footballer * Andy Taylor (footballer, born 1986), English footballer * Andy Taylor (footballer, born 1988), English footballer * Andrew Taylor (Austral ...

Matteo Plazzi Matteo Plazzi (born in Ravenna) is an Italian sailor who has competed in multiple America's Cups. Plazzi's first foray into the America's Cup was with ''Azzurra'' in the 1987 Louis Vuitton Cup. In addition to competing in the America's Cup, Matteo ...

, Simone de Mari, Massimo Gherarducci, Paolo Bassani, Alan Smith, and Olympians

Torben Grael Torben is a Danish variant of the given name Torbjörn. People named Torben include: *Torben Betts (born 1968), English playwright and screenwriter * Torben Boye (born 1966), Danish former footballer * Torben Frank (born 1968), Danish former foot ...

, Philippe Presti, Michele Ivaldi,

Magnus Augustson Karl Magnus Augustson (born 14 Match 1973) is a Swedish Olympic sailor. He finished 7th in the Soling event at the 2000 Summer Olympics together with Hans Wallén and Johan Barne. Augustson has sailed in multiple America’s Cups, competing for ...

and

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

and Jonathan McKee.

Desafío Español 2007

Skippered by

Luis Doreste Luis Doreste Blanco (born 7 March 1961 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas) is a Spanish sailor who won gold medal both in the 1984 Summer Olympics ( 470 class), and in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona (Flying Dutchman). A mem ...

, the boat was helmed by

Karol Jabłoński Karol Jabłoński (born August 25, 1962 in Giżycko, Poland) Polish regatta helmsman, skipper, ice sailor. One of the most versatile sailors, succeeded in sea sailing, match racing and ice sailing. Several time World and European champion. Recogni ...

and John Cutler was the teams tactician and technical director. The team was coached by

Paul Cayard Paul Pierre Cayard (born May 19, 1959) is an American yachtsman and professional sailor. He has competed at multiple world championship level sailing events, including the America's Cup, the Whitbread Round the World Race, the Volvo Ocean Rac ...

Victory Challenge

Magnus Holmberg Johan Magnus Holmberg (born 23 September 1961) is a Swedish Olympic sailor that represented Sweden at the 1984, 1992, and 1996 Summer Olympics. In 1992, he finished 5th together with his crew of Björn Alm and Johan Barne in the Soling class. ...

skippered

Victory Challenge Victory Challenge was a Swedish yacht racing team that competed in 2003 America's Cup and 2007 America's Cup. The team was initiated in 1999 by Swedish businessman Jan Stenbeck, and after his death in August 2002, his son Hugo Stenbeck took over ...

. The afterguard included Stefan Rahn, Santiago Lange,

Thierry Fouchier Thierry Fouchier (born 14 March 1966) is a French sailor who has competed in multiple America's Cups. From Marseille, Fouchier sailed with Le Defi at the 2000 Louis Vuitton Cup and with Victory Challenge at the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup. He then jo ...

, and Morgan Larson. The crew also included six members of the former GBR Challenge; traveller/strategist

Neal McDonald Neal McDonald (born 22 July 1963) is a British sailor who has competed in seven Volvo Ocean Races. Sailing career Born in Brighton, McDonald is a qualified naval architect and a member of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors. He represented Grea ...

, Simon Fisher, David Carr, Nik Pearson, Richard Sydenham and Ian Weighell.

Jeremy Scantlebury Jeremy Scantlebury is a New Zealand sailor who has competed in multiple America's Cups. Scantlebury sailed with Digby Taylor on ''NZI Enterprise'' during the 1985–86 Whitbread Round the World Race. He raced with New Zealand Challenge on ''KZ 7 ...

was the sailing team manager.

Mascalzone Latino

Vasco Vascotto was the skipper for Mascalzone Latino, which included helmsman Flavio Favini, Cameron Dunn, Jes Gram-Hansen, Andrea Pavan, Chris Dougall, Pierluigi De Felice, Giuseppe Brizzi, Davide Scarpa, Nacho Postigo, Giulio Giovanella and funder

Vincenzo Onorato Vincenzo Onorato (born 15 May 1957) is an Italian ship-owner and the head of the Mascalzone Latino Sailing Team which is in the Farr 40 circuit. Sailing Oronato competed in the Melges 32, Mumm 36, Farr 30, Farr 40 and X-41 World Championshi ...

Team Shosholoza

South Africa's first challenge,

Team Shosholoza Team Shosholoza is a yacht racing team representing Royal Cape Yacht Club of Cape Town, South Africa, competing in the 2007 America's Cup. The name Shosholoza refers to a popular South African indigenous song and is used in an attempt to encom ...

was skippered by

Mark Sadler Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

and

Ian Ainslie Ian Richard Ainslie is a South African Olympic sailor, who specialized in the Finn class boats. Ainslie took part in three Olympic Games – Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000). He won the 2001 J/22 World Championships. He sa ...

. The crew included Italians Paolo Cian and Tommaso Chieffi.

Areva Challenge

Managed by Dawn Riley,

Areva Challenge ALL4ONE Challenge is a French-German yacht racing team that competes in International America's Cup Class races. The team has formerly competed as K-Challenge and between 2005 and 2007 they were known as Areva Challenge. History As Areva Challeng ...

was led by

Thierry Peponnet Thierry Peponnet (born 7 September 1959) is a French sailor and Olympic champion. He won a gold medal in the 470 class at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, together with Luc Pillot. They received bronze medals in 1984. He was involved ...

and included Sebastien Col,

Tanguy Cariou Tanguy Cariou (born 21 April 1973) is a French yacht racer who competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics. He sailed with Areva Challenge at the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup, and has also raced with Alinghi and the Groupama Sailing Team in the Extreme Sail ...

, Frederic Guilmin, Jean François Cuzon, Jim Turner, and Wade Morgan.

+39 Challenge

From Italy,

+39 Challenge +39 Challenge was a yacht racing team established in 2004 that competed for the Louis Vuitton Cup 2007, the challenger series held prior to the America's Cup. The teams was based at the Yacht club "Circolo Vela Gargnano" in Gargnano, Italy, and w ...

included non-sailing skipper Luca Devoti, helmsman

Iain Percy Iain Bryden Percy (born 21 March 1976) is an English sailor and double Olympic champion for Great Britain. Olympics Percy competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he won a gold medal in the Finn class.

, and other Olympic competitors such as

Rafael Trujillo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( , ; 24 October 189130 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (, "The Chief" or "The Boss"), was a Dominican dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from February 1930 until his assassination in May 1961. He ser ...

and Ian Walker. The rest of the crew was navigator Bruno Zirilli; afterguard Andrew Simpson; traveller Gabriele Bruni; runner Anthony Nossiter; trimmers Stefano Rizzi and Christian Scherrer; grinders Michele Gnutti, Chris Brittle and Pawel Bielecki; mast Alejandro Colla; mast/pitman Massimo Galli; sewerman Piero Romeo; mid-bowman Corrado Rossignoli; Andy Fethers; and bowman Jacek Wisoski.

Team Germany

United Internet Team Germany United Internet Team Germany is a yacht racing team that competed for the Louis Vuitton Cup 2007, the challenger series held prior to the America's Cup. They planned to compete in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series in 2009. However, they withdrew d ...

was skippered by

Jesper Bank Jesper Bank (born 6 April 1957 in Fredericia) is a Danish sailor and Olympic champion. He received a bronze medal in the '' Soling Class'' at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. He won a gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barce ...

and included America's Cup veteran David Dellenbaugh.

China Team

Pierre Mas was the skipper of

China Team China Team is a yacht racing team formed in 2005. China Team first appeared in competition in the Louis Vuitton Cup 2007, the challenger series held prior to the America's Cup. They had an alliance with French team, Le Défi, increasing their acce ...

which had an alliance with Le Défi. Only two of the crew were Chinese.

Round robin

Round robin 2 was completed on May 9, 2007. Teams had accrued bonus points based on their results in the

Louis Vuitton Acts The Louis Vuitton Acts were a series of International America's Cup Class regattas leading up to the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup and 2007 America's Cup. Thirteen regattas or acts were held in total. These regattas involved all eleven challengers plus th ...

which took place in the preceding years. For the round-robin races, two points were awarded for a win and zero for a defeat. The first four boats then progressed to the semi-finals stage of the

and the remainder were eliminated. As winner of the round-robin events

won the right to choose their opponent.

Round robin 1

The 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup started slowly with all races postponed for the first four days of competition due to light and variable winds. There were rumors that BMW Oracle was planning on rotating the crew off the boat because they were running out of stories to tell as they sat in the boat waiting for wind. To entertain fans, some teams came up with interesting stunts. For instance, United Internet Germany came up with a way to

wakeboard Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard (a board with foot bindings), is towed behind a motorboat across its wake and especially up off the crest in order to perform aerial maneuvers. A hallmark of wakeboardin ...

, by having their largest sail trimmers pull on the wakeboarder using the jib trimming system. +39, an Italian challenger, used the windless days off to continue making repairs to their mast, which shattered in a starboard-port situation with Internet Team Germany two weeks earlier, and completed mast repairs by the time racing had commenced. The highlights for the week were not on the water, but rather off it. The Measurement Committee released the final rule interpretations. The rules state that any cup team can request an interpretation and remain anonymous. Additionally, any interpretation by the committee stays private for 6 months. Every cup team and all the media was trying to find out more about two of the final interpretations. It seems that one boat may have found a significant advantage, but everyone would have to wait until the end of the Cup to find out who and exactly what had happened. Racing was scheduled to start on April 16, 2007, but did not get underway until April 20, 2007. All the scheduled races for April 21, 2007, were postponed by the race committee to April 22, 2007, due to light winds. Some of the scheduled races for April 22, 2007, and all of the races on April 23, 2007, were postponed by the race committee until April 24, 2007, due to poor wind conditions. Some of the scheduled races for April 27, 2007, were postponed by the race committee until April 28, 2007, due to very light and variable winds.

Round robin 2

The following week brought a little wind, and although most days the race committee postponed races for wind, they were able to race most days. Although many of the results were easy to predict, a few upsets occurred in the first round robin. In the first race of the first flight, the powerhouse from New Zealand lost to the Mascalzone Latino, an Italian challenger. In the fourth flight, Shosholoza, the underdog from South Africa, beat Luna Rossa from Italy, a three time cup veteran. Due to the lack of wind the first week, the second round robin began without any lay days after the first. The first surprise of the second round robin was by China Team, who beat the favored

BMW Oracle Racing Oracle Team USA is an American yacht racing syndicate initially formed to compete for the 2003 America's Cup. They competed again in the 2007 event before winning the 33rd America's Cup regatta in 2010 – representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club. ...

team by 3 minutes and 15 seconds, the only team yet to achieve a win against BMW Oracle. The win was due to a delamination on the American team's headsail foil which caused the headsail to become partially detached making the sail totally ineffective for part of the race. Also, the Americans gave their best crew members a holiday and sailed against the Chinese with a less experienced crew. The following day several of the China Team members arrived at the compound with bald heads. Reportedly they bet one another that if they beat the Americans, they would shave their heads. The final round of round robin competition featured a race for the top place. Both Emirates Team New Zealand and the United States had lost one race in the first round and zero in the second round robin. Because of Bonus Points from previous acts, New Zealand had a one-point advantage over the United States. Each race counted as two points, so a win for either team would result in the first-place finish in the round robins. The final race was expected to be an exciting match between the two. However, after the start, the race quickly became disappointing for BMW Oracle fans, with New Zealand stretching their early lead. The result was New Zealand winning the round robin, and was able to choose its opponent for the subsequent semi-final round. Some of the scheduled races for April 29, 2007 were postponed by the race committee until April 30, 2007 due to lack of wind. All races scheduled for May 1 were postponed to May 2 due to excessive wind. All races scheduled for May 3 were postponed to May 4 due to thunder storms.

Knock-out stage

Semi-finals

As winner of the round-robin events

won the right to choose their opponent in the semi-finals and chose ''Desafío Español 2007''. Hence

raced against

in the other semi-final. The first team in each semi-final to win 5 races then qualified for the finals of the

. Each pairing had raced against each other twice in the preceding round-robin events. In their previous meetings,

had a 2–0 record against ''Desafío Español 2007'' with winning margins of 1:12 and 0:43. In their semi-final competition

always led at the 1st mark and beat ''Desafío Español 2007'' 5–2, advancing to the finals. Likewise,

had a 2–0 record against

with winning margins of 0:06 and 0:19 but were comprehensively beaten 1–5 by ''Luna Rosa Challenge'' in their semi-final. Superior tactics by

in the pre-start sequences were a significant factor in their semi-final win. Luna Rossa Challenge advanced to face

in the finals.

Final

The finals of the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup pitted

against

. Both boats had decisive results in the semi-finals, where Luna Rossa Challenge defeated

5–1, and Emirates Team New Zealand defeated ''Desafío Español 2007'' 5–2. The two teams raced against each other in each of the two round robins. Luna Rossa Challenge won their race in round robin 1 on 26 April 2007 by 48 seconds. Emirates Team New Zealand won their race in round robin 2 on 7 May 2007 by 36 seconds. Prior to the final, expert commentators were fairly unanimous that

were in top form but

had improved since the round robins as evidenced by their comprehensive beating of

, one of the favourites, in their semi-final. In the best of 9 race final Emirates Team New Zealand beat Luna Rossa Challenge 5–0. However to put this into context, Luna Rossa Challenge 'worst' defeat was in race 3 when Emirates Team New Zealand were only 0:1:38 seconds faster in a race lasting 1:35:37 i.e. a 1.71% performance advantage. In the other 4 races the performance margin was even smaller.

won the toss prior to the first race of the final which gave them the advantage of entering the starting area from the "yellow" side. ''In the results tables below, the team with the advantage of entering the starting area from the yellow side (entering from the right-hand side on starboard tack) is marked with . This is decided for the first race by the toss of a coin; then the advantage of starting from the yellow side alternates race by race.''

References

External links

32nd America's Cup Official WebsitePeter Lester
NZ yachting commentator
AC 32 Challenger Commission
Official website of the Challenger Commission for the 32nd America's Cup in Valencia
Team Alinghi
Official website the America's Cup Defender
BMW Oracle Racing
Official website of Challenger of Record of the America's Cup
BMW Oracle Racing Blog
Tom Ehman's Insider Blog
CupInfo.com
America's Cup News and Information for 2007
America's Cup News, articles & photosValencia Sailing
Website with original photos and commentary on all America's Cup related activity
Cup In Europe web site
Exhaustive information, photos and commentary in French.
Coupe de l'America
French website about the competition.
Mariantic
America's Cup News & Views
2007AC.com - America's Cup ForumsSouth African team websiteThe effect of the America's cup on the city of Valencia
article at ErasmusPC
Hundreds of Louis Vuitton Cup photosLyn Hines Marine Marketing
America's Cup and sailing news analysis and photos {{America'sCup Louis Vuitton Cup L Sports competitions in Valencia 2007 in Spanish sport 21st century in Valencia April 2007 sports events in Europe May 2007 sports events in Europe June 2007 sports events in Europe 2007 America's Cup International America's Cup Class Sailing competitions in Spain