Our new friend Ynotoman, reported in his blog:
http://ynotoman.wordpress.com/2009/08/06/ras-al-khaimah-will-hold-33rd-americas-cup/
that "The neighboring Emirate to Oman, Ras al Khaimah, will hold the 33rd America's Cup as landlocked Switzerland has nominated the Emirate for 2010. Congradulations Ras al Khaimah."
"Sitting next to Musandam the event might well come into Omani spectacular waters."
"With 11 wins in 20 starts by Masirah, Oman's racing boat, Oman really should try and put an AC33 yacht and team in for the America's Cup 2010."
You wouldn't even know that there's going to be a 33rd America's Cup regatta if you only paid attention to USA news media, as I have not seen this covered anywhere yet.
This will be the grudge match - best of three races between Swiss and USA only.
BYM Sailing :
America's Cup: Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates selected as venue
http://www.bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=58426
The America's Cup Defender, Alinghi, and its yacht club, the Société Nautique de Genève, today announced the venue for the 33rd America's Cup in February 2010.
“We are pleased to announce that Ras al-Khaimah, in the United Arab Emirates, will be the Host Country for the 33rd America's Cup,” said Fred Meyer, Vice-Commodore of the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG).
“This is a venue that offers perfect weather and great sailing conditions for a Match in February; the authorities have shown tremendous interest in, and support for hosting the America's Cup; and the country has experience in organising first-class sporting events such as ATP tennis, PGA golf and Formula One. They will make a purpose-built island available at the Al Hamra Village in Ras al-Khaimah to provide the America's Cup teams, sponsors and fans with an outstanding venue.”
Having won the 32nd America's Cup in 2007 in Valencia with its yacht racing team, Alinghi, the SNG is granted the right to choose the venue for the next America's Cup which is scheduled to start on 8 February 2010.
“Our absolute priorities in making this decision are the prevailing weather conditions and the resulting safety that they bring to both teams,” explains Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth. “We looked everywhere for a venue that suited having good racing for the Match dates in February. We had trained in the UAE in the winter with Alinghi before and in the end we settled on Ras al-Khaimah in particular because of the infrastructure in Al Hamra Village and because it has a great building sea breeze during the day, similar to Mediterranean conditions in the summer, making it good for these boats and safe for all concerned.”
His Highness Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Crown Prince of Ras al-Khaimah, expresses his satisfaction:
“It is a great moment for us to host the America's Cup here. It is significant because it reflects how the Emirates have become a place for hosting international events. It is a reflection on what we have achieved in terms of becoming the destination for tourists and trade and industry and is a reflection of our integration in the world at large. This announcement reflects the nature of our country and its aim of becoming host to many nationalities who live side by side in peace. It is a hope and dream that this is the kind of space that we want to have on our globe. It is a great moment for us to host this prestigious event and to welcome all the sports people to the UAE and to Ras al-Khaimah to watch this great event; we are looking forward to its success.”
Background information on the 33rd America's Cup venue
RAS AL-KHAIMAH
Ras al-Khaimah literally means ‘the top of the tent' in Arabic. One of the seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), it covers an area of 656 square miles (1,700km2) and borders on Oman, situated in the southern part of the Persian Gulf. The emirate has a population of approx 300,000 and is ruled by HH Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammad Al Qasimi. The Deputy Ruler is Crown Prince HH Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi. The capital city of Ras al-Khaimah is located 45 minutes from Dubai airport and is also served by the Ras al-Khaimah International airport.
THE VENUE
A 22-hectare purpose-built island inside the Al Hamra Village lagoon will host the team bases and all the necessary facilities for the media, the sponsors and the public. The Al Hamra Village is a new luxury resort with more than 3,500 residences on the coast of Ras al-Khaimah.
INTERNATIONAL EVENTS IN UAE
- Motorsport: Formula-1 in Abu Dhabi since 2009 (Hamilton, Alonso, Schumacher…)
- Golf: PGA in Dubai since 1989 and Abu Dhabi since 2006 (Woods, Els, Montgomery, García…); Tiger Woods has designed his first golf course in Dubai
- Tennis: ATP in Dubai since 1993 (Federer, Nadal, Murray, Roddick, Agassi…) and WTA in Dubai since 2001 (Williams, Hingis, Davenport…)
- Sailing: RC44 in Dubai since 2007 (Coutts, Spithill, Barker, Col…) and Alinghi winter training in Dubai in 2006/7
- Football: FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi in 2009 (FC Barcelona, Estudiantes, Auckland City…)
- Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi (completion expected in 2011)
- New York Philharmonic Orchestra in Abu Dhabi in 2009
INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC INITIATIVES IN UAE
- École Polytéchnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) is creating a new University campus in Ras al-Khaimah
- Harvard Medical School Dubai Centre was launched in 2004 through a joint effort by Harvard Medical and Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) to develop an academic centre for health care delivery, medical education, and research
ABC NEWS REPORTS:
August 5, 2009 (AP)
America's Cup grudge match headed for Persian Gulf port Ras al-Khaimah
By BERNIE WILSON
The Associated Press
Everything leading up to the 33rd America's Cup has been unconventional and surprising, so it figures that the venue might as well be extraordinary, too.
Yes, the stodgy old America's Cup is going to be decided in the Middle East.
Two-time defending champion Alinghi of Switzerland picked the Persian Gulf port Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, as the site where it will settle its bitter feud with American challenger BMW Oracle Racing.
A twisting, two-year court tussle between bickering billionaire syndicate bosses has led to a rare best-of-3 series in massive multihulls for the oldest trophy in international sports. The nautical grudge match is scheduled to begin Feb. 8.
It could be the most extreme, spectacular racing in the 158-year history of the America's Cup. The space age-looking boats are 90 feet long, dwarf their crews, are capable of sailing 2 to 2 1/2 times the speed of the wind and are potentially lethal if pushed too hard.
Alinghi, led by biotech tycoon Ernesto Bertarelli, will sail a catamaran. BMW Oracle Racing, owned by Oracle Corp. founder and CEO Larry Ellison, is testing its trimaran in San Diego. The one-time pals sail aboard the boats they own. Each boat is estimated to have cost well more than $10 million.
Ras al-Khaimah, which literally means "The Top of the Tent," is a little-known, mostly industrial city-state on the southern end of the Persian Gulf. It's not far from the Strait of Hormuz, which separates the UAE from Iran, and is known for producing cement, not oil.
Alinghi officials said Ras al-Khaimah is ideal because of its weather and support pledged by leaders there.
"It's a pretty nice place to sail," Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. Butterworth is a four-time America's Cup winner and former crewmate of Russell Coutts, one of the Cup's most dominant skippers who now leads BMW Oracle Racing.
Butterworth said Ras al-Khaimah has a nice sea breeze that reminds him of the Caribbean. Safe weather conditions for the crews and their big boats was a concern, he added.
In a statement released by the Swiss, Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi said it is "a great moment for us to host the America's Cup here. It is significant because it reflects how the Emirates have become a place for hosting international events. It is a reflection on what we have achieved in terms of becoming the destination for tourists and trade and industry and is a reflection of our integration in the world at large."
BMW Oracle Racing officials aren't as enthusiastic. As with many other issues, the Americans are considering going back to a New York court to challenge the selection.
They believe the choice of Ras al-Khaimah, without mutual consent, violates the provisions of the Deed of Gift that governs the America's Cup and the decisions of New York courts. The Americans believe the venue should be Valencia, Spain — which the Swiss say will be too rough for the big boats in February — or a Southern Hemisphere port.
Coutts, Alinghi's skipper in its 5-0 victory over his native New Zealand in 2003 before having a falling out with Bertarelli, told The AP that BMW Oracle Racing will likely send officials to Ras al-Khaimah to gather more information before deciding whether to return to court. He's sailed in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but not Ras al-Khaimah.
"I didn't really know where it was on the map until it was announced," Coutts said. He said the only thing he knows about Ras al-Khaimah was from seeing an animation of the venue on a sailing Web site.
"We're not going to rush to make a decision," said Coutts, who sailed undefeated through three straight America's Cup matches, the first two with Team New Zealand. "We're going to try to find out the information first. Frankly, none of us have been to Ras al-Khaimah. I certainly don't know what's there and what's been planned."
Fred Meyer, vice commodore of Alinghi's backing yacht club, Societe Nautique de Geneve, said UAE officials will build an island to be used by the teams, sponsors and fans.
Alinghi trained in Dubai, UAE, prior to the 2007 America's Cup, when it beat Team New Zealand in Valencia.
"It was a real eye-opener for me," Butterworth said. "We went and watched Tiger (Woods) play in the Desert Classic there and Roger Federer played there that time of the year, so there's a lot of sport going on in that area. I think eventually a regatta was going to happen there one way or the other."
Alinghi is believed to have wanted a port with light wind and flat seas, which could give its giant cat, Alinghi 5, an edge over BMW Oracle Racing's trimaran.
Alinghi is scheduled to use a giant, Russian-built helicopter to lift Alinghi 5 off Lake Geneva on Friday and fly it over the Alps along the Great St. Bernard Pass to Genoa, Italy, for a month of training on the Mediterranean.
The America's Cup got its name after the schooner America beat a fleet of British ships around the Isle of Wight on Aug. 22, 1851, to win an ornate silver trophy that had been called the Hundred Guinea Cup. Since then it has been contested off New York; Newport, R.I; Fremantle, Australia; San Diego; Auckland, New Zealand; and Valencia.
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