In the video (before demasting) and the photos of the boat after the mast came down the center board on the main hull is not in place! Is this evidence of preparations for the wing.

They claim that the memory-card was full before the mast came down, which is obviously a lie.

The centerboard is not in place because they removed the centerboard well, the current position of the mast is actually where the centerboard was before.
They say that the wing will come on next week.

Probably done on purpose, the insurance claim will help cover the cost of the -replacement- the wing!

I'd bet they are self-insured and carry a very large catastrophic policy.

That was the BEST 23 seconds of my day (not life)...

I bet they soiled them self when it came down!...

Yes Alex, I'll take "Unfounded, uninformed accusations for 1000 please."

Hahaha...
26.000 sensors and a chase boat that would register a fart from the crew,
but no cash for a decent memorycard just sounds strange to me.

Good news for our Aussie members.
The latest news is that the whole AC circus is moving to Aus, no precise location known though.
Both teams will discuss it over the weekend and we will hopefully know by Monday if and where they are going.
If they cant agree then it will probably go back to Valencia.

Errrrrr....dunno about that. I haven't been able to keep up as close as I usually do, but the Australia "thorned olive branch" from Alinghi so far really offered nothing in return to GGYC/BMWO. It didn't even get specific as to the location and specifies only 1500 miles of coast line in exchange for GGYC to drop all legal action.

This means that BMWO would have to concede that Alinghi can add and remove movable ballast after measurement, change the rules ad-hoc, continue with the lopsided management of the judiciary function of the event, etc....and for what in exchange exactly?

The venue that appears to be the default (based on Cahn's ruling in 2007) is Valencia Spain. Both teams already have bases there and it's already setup for the event. What incentive does BMWO have to relocate to Australia besides shaving perhaps 7 days off their transportation time?

I don't know what happened in the judge's chambers this afternoon but unless Alinghi offers up some concessions regarding the current litigation they're facing from BMWO, I don't see why BMWO should waver. Most of the litigation is leaning heavily in their favor so they'll probably get what they're asking for anyway.

Does that big Russian helicopter carry that much fuel?

Wonder why Alinghi dont want to race in Valencia?

I have guesses...

One of my guesses is that the Australia bit is just some weight to add negotiating leverage to the Spain bid ... so Spain has some competition and Ernesto can get more funding out of the municipality. Another theory is that it's simply ego and some bad blood between Alinghi and Spain. Or Alinghi just doesn't want GGYC to get what they've asked for all along.

Any pictures of the Wing yet? Upright and installed I mean.

The wing is very well guarded and apart from some vague photos there are no pics of what the thing looks like.
Today a big telescopic crane drove in to move some stuff around like containers to make place for stepping the wing this weekend or next week.

Auckland would be a MUCH better place to sail in Feb.





















As I am getting Married over there at the time. Might be a difficult decission for some of the sailors if the AC clashes. My fiance has already warned me I have got to be at the wedding.

Have the wedding and reception on one of those dinner party boats and have the best of both worlds.

You may have had Mutual Consent for Auckland in February but with these changed circumstances I don't see how you can agree.

Btw, on the "memory card was full" BS call you made...

the VIDEO CAMERA's memory card was full.

http://bmworacleracing.com/en/news/...refer=/en/index.html&track.type=home
"Secret weapon revealed by BMW ORACLE Racing.
The latest development by the BMW ORACLE Racing team was unveiled today when an enormous wing was prepared to be wheeled out of the tent at the team base in San Diego.

The wing will be tested as an option to increase performance compared with a traditional soft sail rig as previously sea-trialed on the BOR 90, the 90-foot trimaran the team has built for the 33rd America’s Cup.



The construction of the wing took place at Core Builders, the team’s boatbuilding facility in Anacortes, Washington, with finishing work completed at the team base in San Diego.



“This was a massive undertaking,” said Tim Smyth (NZL), who, along with Mark Turner (NZL), has been overseeing the wing construction team in Anacortes and in San Diego.



“Building a wing of this size was something new for all of us, and we’re proud our guys were able to rise to the challenge.”



A wing of this scale has never been built for a race boat. In terms of size, the wing on BOR 90 dwarfs those on modern aircraft. Towering nearly 190 ft (57 m) above the deck, it is 80 percent bigger than a wing on a 747 airplane (102 ft / 31 m).



The primary advantage of the wing over a soft sail is that it is easier to control and does not distort. This makes it easier for the trimmers on board to maintain an optimum aerofoil shape in a wide range of conditions.



Full-scale, on-the-water testing of the wing will begin later this week as the team resumes sea trials in preparation for the 33rd America’s Cup Match in February."