America's Cup opening delay

Wind conditions delay first Cup race

By Rachel Griffiths   Last updated: 8th February 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

America's Cup opening delay

The first race of the 33rd America's Cup between defending Swiss champions Alinghi and US side Oracle has been postponed due to lack of wind.

The race, a 40-nautical-mile windward-leeward course off the coast of the Spanish port of Valencia, was due to get underway at 9am.

However race director Harold Bennett was forced to abandon plans to race as winds failed to consistently stay above around eight knots.

The rules for the prestigious race do not outline minimum or maximum wind speeds, with the acceptable wind range set at between seven and 23 knots during the last Cup held in Valencia.

The opening race of the best-of-three series will now be held on Wednesday.

The 33rd America's Cup will field the biggest, fastest and most expensive entries in the 159-year history of the event, with Alinghi's giant catamaran, the Alinghi 5, pitted against Oracle's equally large trimaran, the USA.

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