HAPPY EASTER
This cute pic from...



...KSJ, the EFB's station chief in Newport, RI.

Here in Europe we sprang forward to "Summertime" (DST to you yanks) this morning.

Yesterday Leslie, Meg and I hopped from Hamburg down to Valencia. Meg has two weeks off from school so we are having a look around at housing and schools as the plan remains to relocate to VLC for the next couple years at the end of this school year (June). And I have plenty of AC work to do, and will now remain in VLC more or less for the duration of the Cup.

It is an easy flight from Hamburg to Palma (2:40) and thence to VLC (0:40) on Air Berlin, and only a couple hundred Euros for adults, less for children. A bit like hopping a bus. The trip was uneventful until we arrived at our apartment, where we found the hot water was not working and -- yikes! -- the cable modem (internet) on the fritz.

Two hours later they were both fixed, thanks to an emergency on-call handyman the team has on tap (and on Easter weekend to boot). We were feeling pretty settled in and went out for dinner, and then managed to lock ourselves out of the apartment. The intrepid handyman was called, and he made another visit to get us back in. Hopefully today, Easter Sunday, will be a little less eventful.

So here we are, in the "City of The Arts and Sciences" as Valencia now calls itself (as well as "Home of the America's Cup 2007!).





The apartment is in what we call "The Bronx", the area of Valencia overlooking the old Turia (diverted riverbed) where already built or under construction are the various parks, museums, cultural centers, music palaces, to say nothing of the many new apartment buildings, hotels, etc. The nice view off the front deck...



That's the Arts and Sciences Center on the left (named after Crown Prince Felipe, the eldest son of King Juan Carlos, who crewed on the 1992 Spanish Olympic Soling team that was famously penalized by your humble blogmaster during a match race in the 1991 pre-Olympic regatta -- but that's another story), and the new Music Palace on the right.




A night time view from the other side, with our apartment building (one of many) in the background.

The bustling area is convenient to both the "Darsena" (old, inner port) where, by June, the teams will have their bases, and to the Real Club Nautico Valencia (Royal Yacht Club) where BMW ORACLE, Alinghi, Luna Rossa, prospective challenger TEAM CHINA/Le Defi, and the Race Committee all have temporary bases now, and is walking distance to the nice restaurant district south of Old Town.

Question to answer in the upcoming two weeks is whether to take an apartment in this area for the longer term (through the end of the Cup in 2007 if not beyond), or a house up north in the 'burbs near the private schools, one of which Meg will attend, but making a 30-minute or so commute to the America's Cup Harbor instead of five minutes.

PICTURE TIME VI
Uploading some favorite...

...pics of some favorite people from the past few months of travels, before hitting the road again tomorrow (back to Valencia, this time with Leslie and Meg who are coming for two weeks during Meg's Easter school break).


Racy: Olympic medalist and +39 helmsman Ian Percy (GBR)
showing another way to add horsepower to a Cup boat?
Valencia, Oct 04.


Domestic tranquility: the sailing Todter family in
San Diego, Christmas 04.



Hasta luego: Mexican almuerzo in San Diego's Old
Town, concluding the Wilson (Leslie's clan) family reunion,
Jan 05.


Boys at the Bar: catching up with old St Francis
YC friends Anita Conroy, Comm. Tom Conroy, and
Comm. R.C. Keefe. San Francisco, Jan 05.


Still smiling after 40 years: taking a break
during a Challenger Commission planning session
at the home of Sheri & George Clyde. George has
agreed to assume the Chair of the CC in May,
relieving me after two long years. Will he still be
smiling a year from now? Berkely, Jan 05.



Developers: Viaduct Basin fast filling up with more
apartments and office buildings, where once were AC
team bases. Auckland, Jan 05.


Happy warrior: Coffee at HQ with business partner
and New Zealand yachting luminary John Street.
Auckland, Jan 05.


Women in Black: Chloe Williams and a colleague
who take such good care of us at Erwin Zimmet's
Merlot, our favorite Auckland eatery and watering
hole. Jan 05.

More Merlot (please!): Auckland friends and fellow
fans of Merlot (the restaurant) and Pinot Grigio
(the wine) Lloyd Gomez (USA) and Peter Kiely (NZL).
Auckland, Jan 05.


Launching: With BMW ORACLE Racing
CEO Chris "Dicko" Dickson (NZL) in his sleek
replica motoryacht, over to Gulf Harbour for
lunch and back, with ETNZ practicing on a light
air day off Rangitoto. Auckland, Jan 05.


Miss Versatility: Putting another face with the

name, BMW ORACLE colleague Julie Sutherland
(NZL), one of our team's real troopers if not troupers
As usual, in her office surrounded by important
papers. Auckland, Jan 05.


More BMW ORACLE faces: PR veteran Jane "Red Bull"

Eagleson (USA), and our diligent Design Coordinator,

Ian "Fresh" Burns (AUS), at the the BMW 3-series car launch.
Valencia, Jan 05.

PYC Chef Brian and PYC Manager "Sister Ruth"

sharing kudos for yet another nice dinner, this time

Grandma Jan's 71st birthday. Portage Lake,

Jan 05.


R is for Reclamation: ACM CEO Michel Bonnefous

(SUI) pointing out the rapid progress with land

reclamation for team bases being built in Valencia's

Darsena: the new America's Cup Harbour. Feb 05.


Launched: Challenger Commission colleague Bruno
Finzi (ITA) of Luna Rossa (left) comparing notes with
Haymarket executives Martin Nott (GBR, center) and
John Chambers (GBR, right), an old F1 friend. Haymarket
publishes ACM's newly launched "32" magazine.
Geneva, Feb 05.


Bobsy twins: BMWOR rules colleague Richard Slater
(AUS) and fellow judge David Tallis (AUS) doing what?!
Trying to capture a weak wifi signal from next door,

in the jury room at the Cruising Yacht Club during

the Farr 40 Worlds. Sydney, Mar 05.

Cheers: Challenger Commission colleagues
Luca Devoti (ITA) of +39, and John Cutler (AUS)
of Desafio Espanol, comparing personnel notes

outside Docks Restaurante, a Valenciano favorito,

during the recent Challenger Commission meetings.
Valencia, Mar 05.


Tabled: the Challenger Commission sitting around yet
another table, in this case the lunch table at the Holiday
Inn, during our recent highly successful meetings.
Valencia, Mar 05.


Hamburger: Airbus junior exec and rising star, and by now
old Hamburg friend, Stefan Voss (GER), at our local sports
club, Sportwelt Schenefeld. Mostly we exercise our knives,
forks and wine glasses. Congrats to Stefan and Stefani whose

pride and joy, Jette, just turned two. Hamburg, recently.


Cat nap: Now that male cat Bailey has been clipped, Amber is

not being chased all over the house by His Horniness, and

enjoys a break on an unusually bright, early-Spring day

in Hamburg, yesterday.


Am I? You can take the girl outta Michigan, but
you can't take Michigan outta the girl, especially
when she gets such nice hand-me-downs from her
cousins Kaitlin and Brooke (the flannel boxers)

and parental presents from the Detroit airport

gift shop (the t-shirt). Hamburg, this morning.

LUFTHANSA JUMPS IN
It became official...

...yesterday: our favorite airline will take over Swiss, the troubled airline of Switzerland. In a statement, Lufthansa revealed that both companies’ boards and major shareholders have approved the deal -- reputedly worth 310 million Euros. Under the new agreement, the German Airline will allow Swiss to maintain its separate identity as well as Zurich as its operational base, and will provide Swiss with two new long-haul jets ‘as soon as competitive cost structures are in place’.

The Swiss Government, one of the major shareholders in Swiss stated that the deal "assured Switzerland’s intercontinental connections in the long term" as well as saving many jobs. It is thought to be the biggest airline deal since Air France took over KLM last year.

LEARNER'S PERMIT
A t-shirt...



...spotted in London, but from today's papers it looks like Charles won't be the only "learner" -- Camilla will need to learn to be the Queen after all. Some have said that Buckingham Palace and the Royal Family are just the UK's version of Disneyland; is it becoming truer with every passing day?

SPORTS MARKETING
Seen at the Valencia airport...



...as I was leaving to fly back to Hamburg Saturday evening. There are two such large murals, one on either side of the main entrance into departures. Visually spectaular, and makes one proud to be associated with the team.

Advert was done by the BMW's Iberian zone, not corporate. It is this kind of advertising by team partners that drives the communication and promotion of the event to a new level.

CEO SAILOR
Nice article in Forbes about...



...Cup vet and now long-time friend, Tom "Curly" Whidden. Tom was tactician for Dennis Conner through their many Cup wins. We shared a beer and a few stories -- old and new -- together a few weeks back at the Farr 40 Worlds in Sydney, where he was tactician for John Thompson, Jr.

Remains to be seen if Dennis and/or Tom will be involved in AC 32, but in this game one has learned to never say "never."

Click here for the Forbes article. Thanks to Peter Huston for forwarding it.

NEW (DE-) LIVERY
A clever picture of the Spanish AC team's...



...new "livery," which will certainly give Shosholoza a run for the title of "most colorful." The team, formerly called El Reto, is now officially named Desafío Español or Spanish Challenge. They have bought, updated (to Version 5 of the Class Rule) and re-painted the 2003 OneWorld boats. The new look was unveiled in front of the Arts and Sciences Center in Valencia a few weeks back. Iberdrola is a large Spanish energy company, and is their title sponsor.

LOL IV
Photo courtesy of Grandpa Tom, who says...



..."yes, Condi was testifying before Congress, but, no, she was not talking about President Bush." ;)

CAUGHT IN THE ACT
After eight (!) years in Germany...

... this must be a sign that it is time to move on. Until a few weeks back I had avoided offending any of the numerous speed cameras that line Germany's busy streets every few kilometers. Then this arrived in the mail last week....




You have seven days to contest it, but what's the point? Says the person pictured was doing all of 56 in a 50 kph zone at 23:15 one evening in December on the Osdorfer Landstrasse, the nearly deserted (at that time of night) main drag from Hamburg out to our place in Rissen.

Note they block out the passenger seat (white square in the top picture) to protect the innocent, or not so innocent. And had the culprit been using a mobile phone, instead of a Palm, it would cost an additional Euro 50, I think it is -- driving while using a mobile phone, except handsfree, is strictly verboten.

¡Viva España!

DINING COMMISSION
Speaking of Las Fallas, one cannot...

...go out for a quiet dinner with friends without getting caught up in the Las Fallas festivities. Below are some of my closest BMWOR colleagues, and a couple spouses, Friday evening as we were walking to the aptly-named "Docks" restaurante, which has quickly become one our favorites in VLC.


L to R: Mirko Groeschner, Shelly Burns, Brenda
Davidson, Grant Davidson, Richard Slater, Russell
Green, Ian Burns.

It was an historic dinner -- we formed, by unanimous if not sober resolution, the AC 32 "Dining Commission," a decidely dangerous cabal in the making.

After dinner, and a cleansing ale at another nearby restaurante (Ken McAlpine's favorite Argentinian steak house, "El Gaucho"), we stood with the hundred-thousand-plus other people lining the old Turia riverbed cum park to watch the nightly Las Fallas-week fireworks extravanza.

Good times.

LAS FALLAS
Some of you are wondering what...



...holiday we could possibly be celebrating given the scary picture, similar to the one above, that has been in the upper-right "happy holiday" corner of the EFB this week.

Answer: Valencia's "Las Fallas." Check the Las Fallas post on the Challenger Commission blog, www.challengercommission.com for the full scoop.

"E-GREETINGS"
Sometimes it is nice to receive...

...one of those normally irritating email cards....

To: dad

hey hey hey i am bored and found this and i thought i should send it to somebody out there so....here ya go! luv ya dad meg

From: meg

STUCK UP?
No, I did not take this...

...picture at an America's Cup riggers party. ;)

MOVE OVER PRADA
Last Saturday night at...

...the team base here in Valencia, our clever marketing department presented new team gear via a "fashion show", complete with catwalk, models, music and popping flashbulbs. The occasion was the kick-off of our 2005 "season" in Valencia where our team and sponsor-partners came together.

The "BMW ORACLE collection" by clothing partner, Henri Lloyd, was introduced. Professional models as well as members of our team walked the walk.



"Let the show begin." Marketing Director and team fashionista Mirko
"Armani" Groeschner emceed, calling the guests to their seats.


Smart.


Technical.


Casual.


Family.

As you can see from the last picture, the merchandising collection was also introduced, and Leslie and Meg will be pleased to see that the spouses and kids are, for the first time in my AC experience, being looked after as well, from the get-go. Good times.

POSTUS INTERRUPTUS II
Apologies for the longest gap...

...in posting since we started this blog on 25 Feb 2004. Hard to believe it is one year and 90 (!) posts later. And while I don't exactly wear "Blogger" on my shirt sleeve, it has been fun and a real learning experience. The Challenger Commission Blog resulted from all I learned putting together the EFB, and while the CC Blog takes up a fair bit of time these days, it has by all accounts been a success and popular within the AC community way beyond anything I expected.

So, after a very busy two weeks -- back and forth to Sydney, chairing the International Jury at the Farr 40 Worlds, coming straight back to VLC for the first week of the 2005 AC "season", and prepping for next week's Challenger Commission meetings here in VLC -- time today to get the EFB caught up.

Thanks for your various submissions, which I shall get up later today and tonight. Here's to the one-year anniversary of the EFB! Thanks for your support and encouragement, especially Grandma Jan.

LOL III
My good friend and counterpart...

...at Alinghi, Hamish Ross, being politically correct at the UBS Trophy in Newport last June.

LOL II
What on earth (or on the moon for that matter)...

...does one wear to court today (courtesy of a Newport friend who also wishes not to be credited).

LOL*
At the risk of offending some of our...

...royalist friends, if not a few Royals, we post what must be the "engagement photo" of the year for what, no doubt, will be the wedding of the year, courtesy of a family member who wishes not to be credited. No wonder they banned fox hunting!



*and if you don't know what "LOL" means, just ask your net-savvy kids. ;)