Challenger for America’s Cup

After four days with relatively no wind, the Louis Vuitton Cup to choose the challenger for defending champion Alinghi of Switzerland finally began Friday in Valencia, Spain:

Highlights: Teams from Africa and Asia entered for the first time.

Lowlights: Both lost. Victory Challenge held off Shosholoza of South Africa to win by 29 seconds. The 2000 Louis Vuitton Cup winner, Luna Rossa, beat China Team by 2 minutes 7 seconds.

Oracle: The only U.S. entry among the 11 boats, BMW Oracle Racing, was never challenged, winning by two minutes over United Internet Team Germany. Owner Larry Ellison was at the helm for Oracle.

What’s next? Difficult to tell because of the unpredictable weather conditions off eastern Spain. Organizers are trying to finish the Louis Vuitton Cup before June 11. The final against Alinghi is scheduled to run from June 23 to July 4.

Quote of the day: “People are a bit nervous about the lack of wind,” said Jacques Taglang, an America’s Cup historian. “Watching sailors sunbathing on the boats isn’t great for television.”

*--* STANDINGS Boat Pts 1 BMW ORACLE Racing 4 1 Mascalzone Latino Capitalia 4 1 Luna Rossa Challenge 4 2 Victory Challenge 2 2 Team Shosholoza 2 2 Areva Challenge 2 2 Desafio Espanol *2 3 Emirates Team New Zealand *0 3 United Internet Team Germany 0 3 +39 Challenge 0 3 China Team 0 * Had byes Friday and sailed only one match each.

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