America's Cup defender arrives at RAK port

RAS AL KHAIMAH // Alinghi, the giant catamaran due to defend the America's Cup yachting trophy off the Ras al Khaimah coast in February, has arrived safely at its UAE base after a 12-day voyage from its headquarters in Genoa, Italy. The journey of 4,400 nautical miles onboard the 193-metre cargo ship Rickmers Singapore followed a route from the Mediterranean Sea, down the Suez Canal into the Red Sea and then the Arabian Sea before docking at Saqr Port, RAK.

Alinghi will soon set sail for its Al Hamra base to prepare for the challenge of the American-based BMW Oracle Racing team in a best-of-three series from February 8 to 12. "We are extremely happy that the shipment arrived safely in Ras al Khaimah, said Grant Simmer, the design team co-ordinator of Alinghi. "All the equipment that we used in Genoa was on board, 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."
wjohnson@thenational.ae