As The Cup Turns

The soap opera that is the Americas Cup takes a turn even more bizarre today, as Alinghi today announced the venue as Ras-Al-Khaimah in the UAE. In case you have never heard of this place before, check the map below:

Note that the country directly across from Ras-Al-Khaimah, roughly 30nm away, is Iran. I had promised myself not to cover the America's Cup until some semblance of sanity (and sailing) is brought back into the competition, however this latest move on the part of Alinghi dragged me back in.

Here are some photos of the spectator fleet gearing up.

Of course, this means that Oracle and Alinghi will be back in court arguing over yet another item. The very thought of a race called the Americas Cup being sailed of the coast of Iran is absurd, so one would hope that the courts knock this down, but in this soap opera it is hard to predict the next turn it will take.