Planning already started for 2006 America's Cup

The first of a weekly round-up of America's Cup news, views and happenings. Compiled by JULIE ASH.

Forget next year and 2003: sailors are already lining up for the 2006 America's Cup regatta

American Dawn Riley and France's K-Yachting are putting together a campaign for the regatta in five years.

Riley has sailed in the America's Cup regatta three times and twice in the round-the-world race.

With the 32nd cup as a target, Riley and K-Yachting hope to develop a generation of talented crew members who are able to meet the demands of America's Cup sailing.

Riley, who said, and proved, that "if you can dream it, you can do it," will manage the sailing programme, which will begin as soon as next year.

Riley was born in 1964 in Detroit, Michigan.

As the chief executive and captain of America True in the 1999-2000 event, she was the first woman to manage an America's Cup syndicate.

She was the captain of America3, the first all-women team, in the 1995 America's Cup, and was the skipper of Heineken, the all-women entry in the 1993-94 round-the-world-race.

She is a member of the United States sailing team (Yngling class) for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

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Several members of the Great Britain Challenge syndicate put their running shoes on and took to the streets in the Manakau half-marathon.

For the last few weeks, those who entered have exchanged gym workouts for sessions on the streets to practise before a full day's sailing in the Hauraki Gulf.

And it seems the training was worth it.

The first three GBR Challenge members home - Ian Weighell, Jules Salter and Toby Iles - won the Corporate Team trophy.

Weighell finished in 1h 33m 33s, Salter 1h 34m 36s and Iles 1h 34m 48s.

Greg Searle was not far behind, in 1h 36m 02s.

Race director Kevin Ryan said he was impressed with the Brits.

"They did very well. They are big guys, but they went around the half-marathon no problem," he said.

"I wonder if the other crews are as fit?"

Ryan has challenged all the other syndicates to enter next year.

* * *

The Seattle-based OneWorld Challenge have been granted the hull numbers for their two-boat campaign - USA 65 and USA 67.

The hull of USA 65 is progressing well and work has begun on USA 67.

The boat-building team are pleased with the outcome of their state-of-the-art construction programme.

"This has been a wonderful collaborative process that has been more open to new ideas than any campaign I have been on," said one of OneWorld's three lead designers, New Zealander Laurie Davidson.

"That will become obvious when you see our boats on the water."

Davidson is joined on the design team by America's Cup veterans Bruce Nelson and Phil Kaiko.

OneWorld's team are now split, with the sailing team in Auckland and the design and administrative/marketing team in Seattle.

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Britain's Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, launched the summer training session for the British challenge, the first in 15 years, when he visited their base in Auckland.

Wishing the British crew well in their build-up to the Louis Vuitton Challenger Series, which starts in October, Prescott said he had seen first-hand the benefits of winning the cup during his visit to the base in the Viaduct Harbour.

"This is a fantastic opportunity," Prescott said. "Peter Harrison [owner] and his team are putting everything they have got into this challenge. It is a showpiece for cutting-edge British technology and I wish them all the best."

Harrison said that even after a short time in New Zealand, the benefits the cup had brought to Auckland were evident.

"Everyone from government ministers to people working in shops knows about the America's Cup, what it means for New Zealand and what it has done for Auckland," he said.

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Dennis Conner's new cup boat, Stars and Stripes, which is being built at New England Boatworks in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, has also been assigned a boat number by the America's Cup class technical director, Ken McAlpine.

"I am happy to announce that we have been issued sail No 66," said Conner, who will represent the New York Yacht Club during the 31st cup.

"In 2000, we raced USA-55. For this new boat we have been issued USA-66, and I think repeating digits are good luck.

"It's always thrilling to reach this stage of an America's Cup campaign."

This is Conner's ninth cup challenge.

He and many of his sailors have been racing consistently in several regattas during the past two months.

Conner won the Etchells North American championships in September and is now the No 1-ranked Etchells sailor in the world.

"The next year is going to be an exciting one for myself, our team and, of course the New York Yacht Club," he said.

"We plan to launch our boat in January and start a full training regimen shortly thereafter."

Team Dennis Conner will be training in the waters off of Long Beach, California before relocating to their New Zealand compound next summer.

* * *

There is still no word on Paul Cayard's future with Oracle Racing.

The cup veteran has been working in administration and management for the American syndicate, but it is understood his relationship with syndicate owner Larry Ellison is on shaky ground.

Cayard is a six-time world champion and a five-time America's Cup veteran.

He was the first American skipper to win the round-the-world race, in 1998 on EF Language.

If his days with Oracle are over, then one option for Cayard could be returning to the Volvo-sponsored round-the-world race.

But in an interview with the Madforsailing website, Cayard said another prospect for him could be an Olympic campaign in the Star class - his favourite racing boat.

"Yeah, people have said that to me - forget the Volvo, forget the cup, just go and put in a good shot at the Olympics.

"They've told me I'm only aged 42 and probably still young enough to do it."

News about the America's Cup

Competition for the America's Cup

Team NZ: who's in, who's out

Peter Blake, 1948-2001