The America's Cup has always been elitist. Now it's going theatrical.
Figuring that it's never too early to start kicking up the salt spray, organizers have scheduled several regattas as a prelude to the 2007 America's Cup.
The first one begins on Sunday in Marseille, France, when cup winner Alinghi of Switzerland and five challengers convene for a week of fleet and match racing.
Officially, it's called Act 1. Acts 2 and 3 will follow in October and November in Valencia, Spain. Several more "acts" in 2005 and 2006 will lead up to the finale, the 32nd America's Cup in Valencia in 2007.
Whatever the pre-regattas are called, they give the stodgy old cup an updated look.
"It's a new era," said Chris Dickson, the New Zealander who leads San Francisco-based BMW Oracle Racing, currently the only US syndicate that's challenged for the oldest trophy in sports.
"This is the first time in the recent history of the America's Cup that teams have had the opportunity to check in against each other," Dickson said.
Just like theatergoers, reggatagoers will definitely need a program, because the players have changed dramatically since Alinghi's historic victory over hard-luck Team New Zealand in March 2003.
The America's Cup is in European hands for the first time in its 153-year history -- and it belongs to a country without an ocean, at that. The most dominant skipper in cup history, New Zealander Russell Coutts, was recently fired. There's even a syndicate from South Africa.
Coutts got the harshest reality check of all when he was sacked as Alinghi's skipper in late July because of differences with Swiss biotech billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli over the cup's management and direction.
Coutts, who went 14-0 in the last three finals, for two different countries, is legally blocked from sailing for anyone else in 2007.
Although Dickson won't say it, BMW Oracle might just be the favorite to win the America's Cup and bring it to San Francisco Bay following the upheaval with Alinghi.
"They won the America's Cup convincingly, and they won it deservingly," Dickson said. "Every other team, including us, has a lot of catch-up to play to get to where Alinghi was. We're 100 percent confident we've closed the gap, just how far we've close it, were not sure."
American Kevin Hall, who went straight from the Olympics to his new job as Team New Zealand's navigator, feels Coutts' sacking will have a big impact.
"I think it probably makes most of us other teams feel like we have a much bigger shot than we would have," Hall said. "I think he was a huge part of Alinghi's success last time, and it will be interesting to see if they're just as dominant this time."
Coutts didn't steer Alinghi during two exhibition regattas against BMW Oracle Racing during the last year.
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