America's Cup Winner Alinghi Faces Oracle BMW Racing In Head-To-Head Competition On San Francisco Bay

SEPTEMBER 4, 2003 – San Francisco, CA – The professional sailing crews on board America's Cup winner ALINGHI and leading US America's Cup contender ORACLE BMW Racing will battle it out for the MOËT CUP on San Francisco Bay September 15-20, while the public onshore enjoys the unique opportunity to watch in close proximity as the powerful boats push the edge of technology around the San Francisco Bay race course.

Shore-based activities and entertainment for both adults and children, including a spectacular fireworks display, are designed to entice the public to the waterfront throughout the duration of the MOËT CUP, creating a festive atmosphere on shore as the teams compete.

The MOËT CUP Hospitality Village located adjacent to event headquarters at the Golden Gate Yacht Club, One Yacht Road in the Marina District, welcomes the public each race day at Noon (Monday, September 15 until 4 pm and Tuesday, September 16- Saturday September 20 until 5pm). Racing starts daily at approximately 1pm on a windward/leeward race course located between Treasure Island and the Golden Gate Bridge. Sailors and armchair sailors alike can follow the racing action with the help of insightful live play-by-play commentary by local sailing star Dawn Riley and veteran America’s Cup sailor and television analyst Gary Jobson. The commentary will accompany Virtual Spectator, a live 3-D animated feed of the race boats that provides real-time data such as speed, distance and time to finish.

Visitors to the MOËT CUP Hospitality Village will have the chance throughout the week to view the 152-year-old America’s Cup, the oldest trophy in modern sport, as well as the Louis Vuitton Cup, the trophy established in 1983 and awarded to the winner of the America’s Cup Challenger Series. A one-third scale model of an America’s Cup Class boat will also be on display. Visitors will have the chance to purchase official team merchandise and to buy food and beverages while catching the racing action from the MOËT CUP Hospitality Village, located just off the finish line area of the race course. St John’s Hospital will have a facility on site to provide EMT services if required.

Anyone planning to come to the waterfront for the MOËT CUP activities should visit www.ggyc.com for viewing locations, directions, public parking and public transportation information.

MOËT CUP ACTIVITIES
- Wednesday, September 10 -- Prior to the start of the MOËT CUP, the Treasure Island Sailing Center (TISC) will host the “2003 Youth America’s Cup Class Racing Celebration”. This event offers children of all ages the chance to meet America’s Cup sailors from the racing teams. Children age 7 and up can also enjoy boat rides with America’s Cup sailors. The event will be a hands-on introduction to the excitement of the America’s Cup Class racing in the week ahead. Hosted at the Treasure Island Sailing Center facility, a local community sailing and racing center, located at Piers 11 and 12 from 4:30-8pm, this event is designed to be a fun and educational experience for children. Parents are invited. For more information, visit www.tisailing.org or email tisailing@yahoo.com or call 415-421-2225.

- Monday, September 15 -- Following the first day of racing, a spectacular public fireworks display, provided by Larry Ellison, will celebrate America’s Cup sailing in San Francisco Bay. The fireworks will launch at just after dark (between 8:30-9:00PM) from a barge in the Bay just south of the Golden Gate Bridge. The public is invited to view this dramatic 24-minute display that is custom choreographed to music. Vantage points spanning the waterfront from the East Bay Bridge to the Golden Gate Bridge include Pier 39, the Aquatic Park Pier, Fort Mason, the Marina Green, and Crissy Field. The Marin County headlands also provide a viewing location across the Bay in Sausalito. Bleachers adjacent to the MOËT CUP Hospitality Center are offered on a first come, first served basis. In the event of inclement weather, the fireworks will be postponed until Saturday, September 20.

These same vantage points are the best places along the waterfront to watch the daily racing, September 15-20 from approximately 1pm to 4 pm. The starting line will be located off Treasure Island and best viewed from Pier 39. The finish line will be off of the MOËT CUP Hospitality Village at the Golden Gate Yacht Club and best viewed from there or Crissy Field.

- Saturday, September 20 -- A second event designed to involve local children will be the TISC MOËT CUP Community Day, hosted by the Treasure Island Sailing Center. From 11:00 am until 3:30 pm, children of all ages are encouraged to join the fun at the MOËT CUP Hospitality Village. Games, arts and crafts, and concessions will be available. No entry fee required.

ON THE WATER
The two-part MOËT CUP series will feature match racing with America’s Cup team heads Larry Ellison of ORACLE BMW Racing, and Ernesto Bertarelli of America’s Cup defending champion, ALINGHI, at the helm. This series will be known as the Owner/Driver Series and will consist of five races each worth one point. In a second match race series of the MOËT CUP, the Pro/Driver Series, the America’s Cup veteran crews will spar in seven races, each worth one point. ORACLE BMW Racing will sail USA 76, and ALINGHI will race SUI 64, the same state-of-the-art boats sailed in New Zealand earlier this year. The MOËT CUP trophy will be awarded to the winner of the Pro/Driver Series.

Both teams are fielding all-star crews from the America’s Cup. Chris Dickson will skipper ORACLE BMW Racing, with Gavin Brady on the helm. Among those in the ORACLE BMW Racing squad are 2003 Louis Vuitton Finalist veterans David Brooke, Eric Doyle, Robbie Naismith, Matt Welling and Bob Wylie. Local sailor John Kostecki -- Olympic medallist, 2002 Volvo Ocean Race winner and America’s Cup veteran -- recently joined the ORACLE BMW Racing afterguard.

Jochen Schuemann, ALINGHI’s sport director, will be the skipper for the MOËT CUP and Brad Butterworth will act as tactician. The ALINGHI team will feature many of the crew that were on board for the America’s Cup victory earlier this year including Josh Belsky, Curtis Blewett and Francesco Rapetti. Winning America’s Cup skipper Russell Coutts will not be sailing with the team but will join ALINGHI in San Francisco later in the MOËT CUP.

Both teams will be fighting hard to establish themselves as front-runner for the next America’s Cup to be staged in Europe at a venue and date still to be determined. ORACLE BMW Racing, and its affiliated yacht club, the Golden Gate Yacht Club of San Francisco, is the Challenger of Record, the first team to announce a campaign to try to win the America’s Cup from ALINGHI, representing Société de Nautique de Genève of Switzerland.

ALINGHI and ORACLE BMW Racing are working together to improve the 152-year-old competition. The MOËT CUP is a first step toward making the event more accessible to the general public and sailing fans worldwide. For the teams, this highly anticipated competition provides a training platform and the opportunity to try out new crew in an authentic racing environment.

Moët & Chandon is the official sponsor of the MOËT CUP. Event partners include Oracle Corporation, BMW, Hewlett-Packard, and TAG Heuer. The Golden Gate Yacht Club in partnership with the Treasure Island Sailing Center will run the MOËT CUP on-the-water Race Committee.

Information about the MOËT CUP and race results and updates during the event can be found by visiting the Golden Gate Yacht Club web site at www.ggyc.com.