8:40 AM Wed 10 Feb 2010 GMT
The 2010 America's Cup Race Committee has advised that today's America's Cup racing will now not start off Valencia before 1300 CET (1200 GMT), 7am USA EC, 2300 AEST and 0100 NZ time.
The Locals put the chances of any racing being held today at slim, as PRO Harold Bennett is waiting for seas to abate, before even considering just how steady the breeze might really be and that would mean for a second scheduled race day no racing has been possible.
This 2010 Deed of Gift rules event could fast turn into a DOG.
Because the two teams were unable to agree in Singapore to bring the event into the 20th or 21st century, the event has defaulted to the rules of the original Deed of Gift.
The problem is that under the current (inflexible) interpretation of the original Deed of Gift, the match racing leg length of the race is set at 20 nautical miles, much longer than the typical 2 nautical mile lengths sailed in modern times.
The very long leg lengths make the chances of top and bottom marks having similar wind directions unlikely unless there is steady gradient pressure. No problem for racing monhulls but for the gossamer spider Alinghi, 15 knots is well above her range and the extended 747 wing of USA-17 will probably want to stay south of 25 knots at all times.
The second inflexible, and as some have suggested, stupid interpretation of the DOG rules is that there has to be a day's delay after scheduled days which cannot be sailed, not just after days raced.
Had short 2-3 mile lengths been sailed, then a giant world-wide television audience would have seen an exciting and historic race on Monday. Instead the cable channels switched away to motor car racing reruns.
Had races been able to be run the day after a non race, then the two boats could have sailed yesterday. No racing today will mean no attempt before Friday and the weather is not looking promising then either.
The effect of this Deed of Gift interpretation is that many media and event visitors may leave Valencia without seeing any racing at all. That spells DOG.
We hope we are wrong! Stay tuned and maybe we will see racing in three hours time.
by Sail-World.com
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Rundle Island, QLD
