Dubai: Alinghi, the Swiss Defender of the 33rd America's Cup has arrived in Ras Al Khaimah ahead of its battle against American Challenger BMW Oracle Racing, scheduled for February.
The boat covered its 4,400-nautical-mile journey in 12 days aboard a cargo ship, Rickmers Singapore. The 193m ship left Genoa, Italy, on September 18 with the giant catamaran, Alinghi 5, two masts, seven support vessels and approximately 20 containers on board. It travelled across the Mediterranean, through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, then the Arabian Sea before docking in Saqr Port, Ras Al Khaimah on Wednesday.
"We are extremely happy that the shipment, including Alinghi 5, arrived safely in Ras Al Khaimah," said Grant Simmer, design team coordinator for the Defender in a statement issued to the media.
"All the equipment that we used in Genoa was onboard so now we can set up our base and workshops and get going. We will be doing some modifications to the yacht over the coming days and the team members are arriving and getting settled so it's going to be a busy few weeks, we hope to be sailing again as soon as possible. We greatly appreciate the support that we are getting from the local community and from the government of Ras Al Khaimah."
First among those who welcomed the Defender was Dr. Khater Massaad, CEO of RAK Investment Authority, who are playing hosts to the America's Cup this time.
"We welcome the arrival of Alinghi to Ras Al Khaimah for the preparation of the 33rd America's Cup and we also look forward to welcoming the Challenger, BMW Oracle," Dr. Massaad said.
The Alinghi 5 catamaran team will make their way to America's Cup Island of Al Hamra later this week and start preparing to defend their title when sailing gets under way on February 8.
Meanwhile, the Société Nautique de Geneve (SNG) has confirmed that it has received the modern day equivalent of the Custom House Registry detailing BMW Oracle's USA, challenger for the 33rd America's Cup.
SNG published the Measurement Procedures in August this year. These procedures will be used by the measurers to confirm the dimensions of both the Defender's and the Challenger's yachts.
