11.30am
The first regatta building towards Alinghi's defence of the America's Cup will be held in September this year.
Speaking at a gala dinner in Paris this week, the CEO of America's Cup organisers AC Management Michel Bonnefous, revealed plans for a lengthy programme leading up to the event.
Three regattas will be
held this year, with more scheduled in 2005 and 2006 before the actual Louis Vuitton Cup and America's Cup in Valencia in 2007.
The first regatta will be held in Marseille, France from September 5-11. It will feature both fleet and match racing with Alinghi, the challenger of record Oracle BMW Racing, and three French syndicates -- Le Defi, K-Challenge and Team France -- already saying they will attend.
There will then be two more regattas held in Valencia in October, with match racing from the 5th to the 12th and fleet racing from the 14th to 17th.
Bonnefous said organisers wanted this America's Cup to be like a play, with several acts over the next three years building towards the climax in 2007.
- HERALD STAFF
