Valencia - 22/05/2006

Alinghi christens SUI91

Ernesto Bertarelli’s wife and daughter officially christened SUI91, the latest addition to the Alinghi stable on Sunday 21 May. The event was a very casual family affair, with music, sundowners and a BBQ. The Bertarelli family attended, plus Alinghi team members, family and friends, and the Mayoress of Valencia Rita Barberá, on the final day of Act 11.

Ernesto Bertarelli's wife and daughter officially christened SUI91, the latest addition to the Alinghi stable on Sunday 21 May. The event was a very casual family affair, with music, sundowners and a BBQ. The Bertarelli family attended, plus Alinghi team members, family and friends, and the Mayoress of Valencia Rita Barberá, on the final day of Act 11.

Ernesto, who had been racing for most of the week, was there to watch the christening of SUI91 with a bottle of Moet & Chandon, he commented on the moment: "This is a very proud moment for me, the team has been working hard on our new boat, our first step to winning the America's Cup again, and it is with great satisfaction that we christen her this evening." SUI91 is Boat 3 on Alinghi's race card, and the first of two new boats the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup, will launch. The boat was built at the Décision boatyard in Vevey, Switzerland and it has taken 20,000 hours to design and almost the same to build. The design team is made up of 16 people, each specialising in a particular component. Rolf Vrolijk, principal naval architect, together with Manolo Ruiz de Elvira, designed the hull and Dirk Kramers led a team of engineers. The cross over with the sailing team has been primary, as Grant Simmer, design coordinator explains: "SUI91 represents several years of work by the design team together with the ideas and input of the sailing team who has always been a strong component in the Alinghi design process." The America's Cup Class yacht arrived in Valencia on 4 April after a 1,230km overland trip from Switzerland, and shore crew members, Michel Marie and Gary Hutchinson have been coordinating the team of boatbuilders to complete the boat.
Team skipper and tactician Brad Butterworth, sundowner in hand, gave his take on the new arrival: "It's the result of three years of hard work from the designers but also a huge commitment by the boatbuilders. To single one out, it would be Gary Hutchinson, who has done a fantastic job in getting the boat to where it is. I'm looking forward to going sailing on it!"

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