Three days of fleet racing starts today as Act 7 kicks off in Malmo
After a two day break for the 12 teams in Malmo, the Cup action gets underway once more with three days of fleet racing. With two races due to be held back to back, the first start is planned for 1210 local (1010 GMT).
As the gun goes, 288 tonnes of carbon fibre and lead will hit the start line. As Act 5 in Valencia proved, the introduction of fleet racing makes for an extraordinary spectacle, but in Malmo there are a few additional factors that will spice things up.
First is the current that sweeps up and down the coast. Unpredictable in its nature, the flow across the race course is something the crews haven’t had to deal with in Valencia and could make life tricky on the start line and at the mark roundings.
The weather mark will also look very different today. Instead of the usual triangular inflatable buoy, the weather mark is at least twice the size, circular and filled with a group of photographers. Nicknamed ‘Bruno’s Buoy’, the mark is the brainchild of AC guru and ex-AC skipper Bruno Trouble who developed the idea as a means of getting photographers closer to the action. Having spent months testing the giant pool like structure, today is the mark’s first appearance on the course for real.
With live internet radio coverage starting at 1145 local (0945 GMT), live online animation throughout the day and the prospect of pictures from the very thick of the action, Act 7 promises to be an exciting affair.
****** LIVE AUDIO ******
Follow the action live from Malmo as Richard Simmonds, Mark Covell, Andy Green and Matthew Sheahan report live from the course.
To listen to the daily commentary and recorded highlights of the racing, log on to the official site at;