iShares Cup - Catamarans in Amsterdam

Amsterdam, Netherlands - Two days down, and one to go in the final series for the 2008 iShares Cup.  Team Alinghi has continued its strong, steady sailing to broaden its lead for the Cup, but even after all of the races in all of the series, there's no sure thing.  The competitors are going into the final day's sailing with 70 points waiting on the water - plenty to shake things up both for the Amsterdam series, and the iShares Cup itself.

The sailing in Amsterdam started in very light winds, with the fleet dodging holes and chasing puffs.  Tall buildings right up to the venue have guaranteed there are places along the courses where the wind is completely dead at times, and others where it's funneled by the buildings into nice breezes.  Urban sailing has it's own challenges, apparently.

The breezes picked up a bit, and so did a few hulls, but this hasn't been a speedy venue so far.  While still exciting, the action is a little slower in the Netherlands leg of the iShares Cup, and maybe that's appropriate.  Even the wind doesn't want to rush through Amsterdam on a beautiful, sunny weekend at the end of Summer - who would?

2008 iShares Cup - Amsterdam

Leaderboard after two days sailing
 
1. Alinghi     102
2. BT     82
3. TEAMORIGIN     74
4. Oman Sail     73
5. Holmatro      70
6. JPMorgan Asset Management     61
7. Tommy Hilfiger     55
8. iShares      54
9. Volvo Ocean Race     45
10. Team Aqua     41

- B. Hampton exclusively for YachtPals.com

 Videos:  Highlights from iShares Cup Amsterdam.

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