[Source: Emirates Team New Zealand] “The joint proposal put forth by Luna Rossa and Emirates Team New Zealand of starting the Louis Vuitton Cup later in July was done so in the hope of enhancing the event with a full muster of boats from the beginning, and therefore, placing more importance on the racing from the first race, something for which fans and sponsors are craving right now.

“The weighting of points (more points later in July) was also suggested, with the idea being to get racing underway but not determine the results too early in the racing.

Both these proposals were rejected by Artemis racing, the Challenger of Record.

“Normally the challenger series of an America’s Cup is run on terms that meet the wishes of the majority of challengers,” Dalton said. “This is not the case here with Artemis rejecting the proposal and wanting to continue running an event schedule in which, by under their own admission, they will not compete in in the early stages.

“Obviously it was assumed that 10 weeks after the Artemis tragedy, that having previously taken delivery of their second AC72 they would be ready to race.

This is not the case.”

Will the Emirates Team New Zealand AC72 sail in any official race in July? Who knows? Photo copyright Chris Cameron / Emirates Team New Zealand

[Source: Artemis Racing] In response to comments by Emirates Team New Zealand’s Managing Director Grant Dalton in a June 8, 2013 article in the New Zealand Herald, we would like to set the record straight. Dalton’s proposals to change the race (start direct elimination on July 19, rather than August 6, and alter the format to eliminate the semi-finals) would certainly not help Artemis Racing, as suggested, but make it even harder for us to compete. To shorten an already tight timeline is clearly not acceptable to us, as to any team in the same position. Dalton’s proposals benefit no team but his own, and his public insults are out of line and unsportsmanlike.

Artemis Racing’s May 9 accident set us back immensely – on a human level and a campaign level. As competitors, though, we may be down, but we are not out. Our passion for the America’s Cup remains strong. We are committed again to competing. Anyone who knows our sailors knows that our team will not shy away from a tough challenge. We are doing our best to recover and our target is to be ready for racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup’s semi-finals on August 6, if not earlier. In the meantime, the race schedule should remain unchanged and the derogatory analogies should be left on the dock.

Artemis Racing doesn’t want the Louis Vuitton Cup schedule to be altered. Photo copyright Saner van der Borch / Artemis Racing

[Source: Artemis Racing] Artemis Racing is back at work following the memorial service for Andrew “Bart” Simpson. Starting on Monday, June 3 the team resumed its preparation in earnest to compete in the 34th America’s Cup.

The team is now working to ready its second AC72, which it expects to launch in a few weeks and which will undergo a rigorous testing regime. When the sailing team is satisfied that the boat can be pushed hard in race conditions, it will join the competition.

“We are working around-the-clock to get our new boat ready, in the water and to prepare our team to race” said Paul Cayard, CEO of Artemis Racing. “We still have a mountain to climb, but our plan is to launch our new boat in early July and get ourselves in a position where we can race by the end of the month.”

Artemis Racing testing their foiling AC45 while they prepare the boat for a possible launch in a few weeks and first sail by the end of July

[Source: Artemis Racing] Artemis Racing is back to work. We will only race if our sailing team believes they are safe racing AC72s. This confidence will be dependent on many criteria, one of the most important of which is the new safety criteria and rules changes that the America’s Cup organizers and competitors will adopt.

Regarding the accident on San Francisco Bay, Artemis Racing is still in the process of conducting its own internal review. I understand that frustration exists out there because questions remain about the accident. It was, however, a complex event. We want to give it the time, respect and professionalism it deserves, so we thank everyone for their continued patience during this process.

The first AC72 yacht of the Swedish America’s Cup challenger pitchpoled on Thursday afternoon during a training session with Oracle Racing. First live TV images paint a bleak picture, with at least one sailor receiving CPR on the dock of the St Francis Yacht Club.

The Associated Press reports that one sailor has died.

More news to follow

[Source: RC44 Class Association] Having travelled over 4000 nm across the Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean, the 13 strong fleet of RC44 have arrived in Trapani for round two of the 2013 RC44 Championship Tour. The teams spanning eight nations are ready for the first day of racing on Wednesday 1st May.

After an impressive start to the season in Muscat, Oman back in February, the Russian team Katusha will look to continue their excellent start to the season. With new tactician Andy Horton (USA) calling the shots, Katusha stand at the top of both the fleet and match racing tables after one of this five event series.

2012 RC44 Fleet Race Champions, Team Aqua are in second overall with Torbjorn Tornqvist’s (SWE) Artemis Racing in third. Paul Cayard (USA) will be the man stood by Tornqvist’s side this week in Italy, as the Swedish team’s longstanding tactician Morgan Larson (USA) competes in the next act of the Extreme Sailing Series in China.

Racing in home waters will be Massimo Barranco and his Team Italia, part of the team hosting the RC44 Trapani Cup with the Vela del Sud Sailing Team, a group who are devoted to creating an international yachting hub in Sicily. Trapani has a history of hosting top international yachting events, but wants to continue their long maritime tradition as Massimo Barranco explained.

“The fact that one of the most beautiful parts of our country, Sicily, and the splendid city of Trapani, with their long maritime tradition, have been chosen to host the second stage of the RC44 Championship Tour makes us very proud. Our seas will once again form the ideal backdrop for a premium international yachting event. The Trapani regatta is a great opportunity to find out all about the other aspects of our wonderfully warm and welcoming land, and to enjoy each and every moment to the full. Here in this rich and resourceful land is where the Vela del Sud Sailing Team was born, devoting its efforts to creating an international yachting hub in Sicily. It’s a tough challenge wich we have been building day after day along with all those who share our passion for this unique and compelling.”

Team Aqua’s tactician, Cameron Appleton gave an insight into the conditions he is expecting for this week’s racing at the RC44 Trapani Cup. “Statistically, we should have fairly strong winds but as always we never know, anything could happen. The teams haven’t sailed in a strong breeze for quite a while so it should be an interesting event. The first team that manages to adjust to the weather will be the one ahead of the pack!”

Even though the RC44 class has an owner driver rule for the fleet racing and 50% of the crews must be amateur, the competition is fierce. With teams arriving early in Trapani to get some extra practice in ahead of the event, “All the teams put a great effort into their sailing, and you clearly notice when a team changes something. Everyone takes their RC44 sailing very seriously and the level is so high. There is a huge amount of respect between the teams.” Appleton explains.

The strong Scerocco wind is due to settle before the first day of racing on Wednesday 1st May. Day one will see the annual Match Race Championship continue, before four days of fleet racing for the RC44 Trapani Cup.

Finally, a very interesting and sincere video from Artemis Racing, talking about the ongoing modifications on the team’s AC72, instead of the usual irrelevant stuff such as cars or frisbees…

It has been rumored since quite some time that the first Artemis AC72 yacht was lagging in terms of speed, so Paul Cayard’s statement doesn’t come as a surprise. It seems that Juan Kouyoumdjian can design the fastest Volvo Ocean Race boats and win three consecutive editions of the round-the-world race but definitely was off pace it in the brand new world of America’s Cup catamarans.

It’s a bit of an irony though. A few years ago, in 2005 or 2006, Kouyoumdjian was complaining that an America’s Cup raced on the old, slow ACC boats was similar to racing Formula 1 with farm tractors. Now that he had the chance to design an exciting Ferrari or Lamborghini his computers came out with a tractor… Hopefully, the modifications Iain Percy is referring to will transform the tractor into a racing machine.

As for the team’s second AC72, our spies in Alameda claim that she will fly from Valencia to San Francisco on a pair of Antonov cargo planes. Instead of Valencia’s port we will now have to keep a close eye on its airport.