KEY POINTS:
America's Cup syndicate BMW Oracle Racing are on their way to Auckland, having wound up their sailing programme in Valencia.
The syndicate, headed by US computer billionaire Larry Ellison, will train in Auckland from mid-November until around February. The syndicate have so far shipped one boat here (2003-
generation boat) USA71. It is not known whether they intend to fly or ship any of their new boats to New Zealand.
Since February, Oracle have sailed more than 150 days in Valencia, which has included performance testing, crew training, in-house racing as well as competing in the three Cup pre-regattas. The team launched their first new boat USA87 earlier this year which they raced in two of the pre-regattas. The construction of the team's second 2007-generation yacht continues in Anacortes, Seattle.
Chief executive and skipper Chris Dickson said they set an ambitious programme at the start of the year and felt they achieved their goals.
"The final proof will come next year but we are pleased with where we are with less than six months until the start of the Louis Vuitton Cup.
"With more than 150 sailing days and well over 500 hours of performance testing and racing logged on our first new-generation raceboat, we accomplished even more than we set out to do in 2006," Dickson said. "Each and every person within the team gave their best effort this year and I am proud of what we have achieved together in all areas."
In addition to testing and training, the team competed in 37 pre-regatta races in Valencia - winning the first.
The team competed in close to another 100 match races at various regattas, with wins posted in the Trofeo Challenge, Portugal Match Cup, Trieste Challenge and Spanish Open as well as in the German Sailing Grand Prix raced in America's Cup-class yachts.
With most of the team arriving in Auckland next weekend, Oracle have entered two crews in the New Zealand Match Racing Championships from November 22-26.
Dickson will head one team and Gavin Brady the other. Dickson is sailing with Paul Westlake, Jann Neergard, Zach Hurst and Kazuhiko Sofuku; Brady with Rod Dawson, Sean Clarkson, John Ziskind and Ed Smyth.
Dickson's younger brother Scott is also competing in the regatta with Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker. Simon Dickey, Phil Robertson, Simon Minoprio and Adam Minoprio, all of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, will also skipper teams.
* In the Velux 5 Oceans race, New Zealander Graham Dalton is heading for Porto Santo, just east of the Madeira Islands, to fix a problem with his rudder bearings. Dalton, who started the race in Spain five days late after a storm broke his mast, missed the horrendous weather that battered the rest of the fleet. His new Open 50 had kept pace with the Open 60s of Unai Basurko (ESP) and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston (GBR).
Switzerland's Bernard Stamm leads and is 16,000km from Fremantle.
