The Swiss syndicate Alinghi was the winner at the America's Cup yachting regatta in Auckland in 2003, against the defenders Team New Zealand. Alinghi's winning yacht was identified and christened by its sail number: SUI-64.
Alinghi also had a test yacht from the 2000 America's cup, SUI-59 (formerly called Fast 2000) as well as another racing yacht which was never used in the 2003 America's Cup or Louis Vuitton Cup, SUI-75.
Alinghi is a coined name, created by the syndicate's founder Ernesto Bertarelli. Bertarelli had raced several smaller yachts named Alinghi previously, but 2003 was his first attempt at the America's Cup. In order to maximize his chance of success, the yacht was developed by the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne specifially for the race and he hired the best in the business: Russell Coutts. Coutts had already won the America's Cup for New Zealand in 1995 and he successfully defended for New Zealand in 2000. Along with Coutts came several other important Kiwi sailors, not the least of which was Brad Butterworth. Bertarelli himself served as Navigator during the racing.
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Last updated: 10-11-2005 12:41:31
