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VALENCIA, Spain: A lack of wind on Monday led organisers to cancel the first race of the 33rd America's Cup, pitting defending Swiss champions Alinghi against US side Oracle in a best-of-three series.
The race - a 40-nautical-mile windward-leeward course off the coast of the Spanish port of Valencia - will now be held on Wednesday, the next scheduled race day, in accordance with the rules of the 159-year-old sailing competition.
The start of the race had originally been due at 1000 local time (0900GMT) but race director Harold Bennett initially delayed it due to light and shifting winds before deciding to scrap racing altogether for the day.
Wind speeds in the race area located some 27 nautical miles (50 kilometres) from the coast had been forecast between 10-12 knots but ended up varying from just 1.5 knots to a maximum of 11 knots.
The two giant boats spent hours at the starting area waiting for conditions to improve before the race was finally called off and they returned to the port, where dozens of people had gathered to watch the event on a giant outdoor television screen.
"We managed to lift off and 'fly' once. The rest of the time we slept a bit, we ate and we talked a lot," said Alinghi boss Ernesto Bertarelli, who is set to be one of the helmsmen for his side during the race.
The cup, sailing's oldest and most prestigious trophy, has traditionally been run in monohulls but this year for the first time both sides will sail multihulls.
The 33rd edition pits Alinghi's giant catamaran, the Alinghi 5, against Oracle's equally large trimaran, the USA - the biggest, fastest and most expensive entries in the event's history.
The Alinghi 5 features a mast that is as tall as a 17-storey building while the USA has a solid vertical wingspan of 68 metres (223 feet), more than twice the length of the wing of a Boeing 747.
Oracle's team meteorologist Chris Bedford predicted the region would probably get a swell on Wednesday down from the northeast along the coast that "may turn into some kind of a sea breeze in the afternoon, if we're lucky".
"That's what we're keeping our fingers crossed for," he added.
During the last cup, also held in Valencia in July 2007, the acceptable wind range was set at between seven and 23 knots.
But the rules for the 33rd edition of the race do not specify minimum or maximum wind speeds.
Instead it is up to the race committee to determine whether to start or continue a race, taking into account safety and legal considerations.
Both teams agreed with its decision to cancel Monday's race although many spectators who gathered at the port were unhappy that it did not go ahead.
"Of course I am a bit disappointed. I came to see the boats that everyone is talking so much about," said Marta Cortijo, a retired woman in her 60s, at the port after the initial decision to delay the start of the race was announced.
Alinghi and Oracle, backed by 65-year-old US software tycoon Larry Ellison, have been embroiled in a bitter legal conflict over the rules and formal of the event after the Swiss side won the last America's Cup.
The Supreme Court of the State of New York finally decided in April that the Cup should be settled by a one-on-one multihull duel in February instead of the traditional fully-fledged regatta involving several teams.
Regardless of which team wins, the 33rd cup will likely be tied up in court long after it ends.
In December Oracle accused Alinghi of infringing nationality rules by allegedly using US-made sails for its catamaran, something the Swiss side denies.
The New York court is due to consider that case on February 25, which means that an Alinghi victory could be overturned. - AFP/de
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