The mission, to win the America’s Cup in the Gulf next February – the 33rd edition of sailing’s oldest and most prestigious trophy – pits two specially designed multihull boats – the Swiss team’s Alinghi 5 catamaran and the BMW-Oracle trimaran USA against each other in a best-of-three long-distance race contest.
Previous competitions have involved about 10 challengers but this time Alinghi is defending the title against BMW-Oracle alone following repeated New York Supreme Court challenges from BMW-Oracle over the rules. These have centred on the design and dimensions of the boats, and the timing and venue.
