Dubai: Sailors are expecting perfect sailing conditions for the fourth and final leg of the Louis Vuitton Trophy when it kicks off in Mina Seyahi waters from November 14.
Ten teams are expected to take part in the event.
Dubai International Marine Club Managing Director Saeed Hareb told Gulf News: "We are in for a very emotional time when sailors take part in the last and final round of the Louis Vuitton Trophy."
The Dubai event marks the last of the Louis Vuitton Trophy regattas, as the teams begin to shift their focus to the 34th America's Cup and its series of multi-hull regattas.
"The teams have already arrived and got busy with their preparations to mount their challenge at the competition," Hareb added.
Steady wind
Despite light rain earlier this week, temperatures were still expected to hover between 24C and 32C with wind conditions remaining steady. Light showers were expected tomorrow, but that wasn't likely to dampen the enthusiasm of the sailing fraternity. Paul Cayard, President, WSTA, and skipper of the Artemis team from Sweden said: "We've witnessed some fabulous racing at the Louis Vuitton Trophy and brought the very best sailing teams in the world to some incredible venues."
"As a sailor, I am sure Dubai will be no different. We can expect more intense competition in great racing conditions as the teams begin to gear up for the next America's Cup," Cayard added.
In Dubai, teams are to compete for two weeks in a one-on-one match-racing format through a round robin and elimination rounds. It all culminates in a final between the two strongest competitors to decide the winner.
All participating teams have two official practice days ahead of racing — on November 12 and 13 — before racing takes place off the coast of Mina Seyahi, near the Palm Island Jumeirah.
As per the rules, racing will be held on the four ACC boats — NZL 84 and 92 belonging to Emirates Team New Zealand and USA 87 and 98 belonging to the BMW Oracle Racing team. Each of the teams will toss a coin the previous night to decide which of the four boats they get to race in the following day.
Emirates Team New Zealand will be the team to beat following their back-to-back wins in the past two Louis Vuitton Trophy regattas in Auckland (March) and La Maddalena (May-June).
Positions
Three of the four rounds of the Louis Vuitton Trophy have been held so far. Emirates Team New Zealand are in pole position to win overall honours following their wins at home off the coast of Auckland and then in La Maddalena in Italy earlier this summer.
Round 1:
November 7-22, 2009: Nice, Cote D'Azur: 1. Azzurra (Italy); 2. Emirates Team New Zealand (New Zealand); 3. Synergy Russian Sailing Team (Russia); 4. TeamOrigin (Great Britain); 5. All4One (France/Germany).
Round 2:
March 9-21: Auckland, New Zealand: 1. Emirates Team New Zealand (New Zealand); 2. Mascalzone Latino Audi Team (Italy); 3. Azzurra (Italy); 4. Artemis (Sweden); 5. All4One (France/Germany).
Round 3:
May 22-June 6: La Maddalena, Italy: 1. Emirates Team New Zealand (New Zealand); 2. Synergy Russian Sailing Team (Russia); 3. All4One (France/Germany); 4. Artemis (Sweden); 5. Mascalzone Latino Audi Team (Italy).
