6th Louis Vuitton Cup | |
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Date | 1 October 2002 - 19 January 2003 |
Winner | Alinghi |
Location | Auckland, New Zealand |
The 6th Louis Vuitton Cup was held in Auckland, New Zealand in 2003. The winner, Alinghi, went on to challenge for and win the 2003 America's Cup.
The Yacht Club Punta Ala was the challenger of record.
Founded by Swiss businessman Ernesto Bertarelli, Alinghi featured Russell Coutts and Brad Butterworth who had both joined from Team New Zealand. Jochen Schuemann was also involved in the team.
Put together by Peter Harrison and New Zealander David Barnes, the team was skippered by Ian Walker. GBR 70 was known as Wight Lightning while GBR 78 was called Wight Magic.
Despite 2000 skipper Bertrand Pace joining Team New Zealand, Le Defi returned in 2003 with Luc Pillot skippering FRA 79.
Headed by shipping magnate Vincenzo Onorato, Mascalzone Latino featured an all-Italian crew. The syndicate was only established in 2001 and Paolo Ciann served as helmsman.
Part-financed by Microsoft mogul Paul Allen, OneWorld was based in Seattle. Skippered by Peter Gilmour, the team was docked one Louis Vuitton point by an arbitration panel for being in possession of design secrets from another team.
Founded by Larry Ellison who bought the assets of 2000 syndicate AmericaOne. The team was skippered by Peter Holmberg and also featured Paul Cayard and Chris Dickson. USA 71 and USA 76 were designed by Bruce Farr.