The 31st America's Cup - Race Day 3

The 31st America's Cup - Race Day 3

RACE 4 CALLED OFF Fickle breezes on the Hauraki Gulf prevented the race committee from setting a fair race course, and Race 4 of the America's Cup was postponed.

AUCKLAND - February 20, 2003 - A light rain fell on the course and capricious winds prevailed, confounding the efforts of Principal Race Officer Harold Bennett to set a fair course. The start for Race 4 was scheduled for 13:14, but the Southwest winds were very light, and although it soon picked up in strength, the direction was never settled with 30-degree shifts regularly sweeping across the course.

Under Condition 13 of the Notice of Race for the America's Cup, no warning signal shall be made after 15:30 unless both teams consent to start racing. At 15:10, Bennett informed both teams via radio that the conditions were unlikely to settle in time for a race. Team New Zealand immediately agreed, while Alinghi consulted with their weather team. At 15:20 Bennett asked if the teams would agree to wait past the 15:30 time limit, and both teams consented to calling off the race.

Friday is a scheduled lay day. The fourth race of the Match is scheduled to start at 13:15 on Saturday, February 22.

QUOTES FROM THE BOAT

JON BILGER, WEATHER TEAM COORDINATOR - "The met service predicted 20 knots but we said it would be light and variable and coming in stronger in the afternoon. We could have raced today, but it was very shifty. It would have been a testing day. The wind strength was ok - 10-15 knots - but there were all sorts of little gusts, and it would have been a very difficult race. But the sailing team was still disappointed not to race."

HIGHLIGHT - ALINGHI NUMBERS

* Television : The television audience in Switzerland is remarkable, especially considering many people have to turn their on their t.v. sets at 1:15 in the morning. There was 28.3% of total viewers for Race 1, and 63.1% of total viewers spectators for Race 2.

* Website figures: The Alinghi site has experienced exponential increase of web traffic. The guestbook has received as many messages in just 4 days as during the entire Louis Vuitton Cup. Hundreds of support messages from Switzerland and all over the world flood in every day. The daily orders in the E-shop has doubled since the Louis Vuitton Cup Finals

* Alinghi Base visitors: The number of visitors to the Interactive Plaza has reached almost 100,000 since the opening in May 2002. 25% of those visitors have come through the doors since the Louis Vuitton Finals.

* Alinghi store: Since the first race of the America's Cup, sales in the Alinghi retail store has doubled. In a single day Alinghi sells the same volume that was made in one week at the beginning of the Louis Vuitton Cup.

* Dock Out : 1,100 visitors at the Alinghi base for the Race 1 "dock out" of SUI 64.

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