Sweden will enjoy its first America's Cup racing at the end of August this year, when Malmö-Skåne is the scene of Louis Vuitton Acts 6 & 7, two in a series of regattas that open the 32nd America's Cup.
During these opening Acts, the challengers earn Louis Vuitton Ranking points that will determine how many points they eventually carry forward into the beginning of the Louis Vuitton Cup in 2007, the regatta to select the Challenger to face Team Alinghi in June that year. In a very real sense for the teams, the 32nd America's Cup has already begun!!
For the Swedish Victory Challenge, this is an opportunity to show the home crowd what the America's Cup is all about. Victory Challenge is racing for the first time in 2005, having not challenged until after racing was concluded in 2004. This is the fifth time Sweden has mounted a challenge for the America's Cup.
The Malmö-Skåne region of Sweden is an outstanding location for America's Cup style racing. The region of Skåne is oriented to the sea, with over 500 km of coastline, and some of Sweden's nicest beaches. Within 90-minutes of the venue there are 60 Yacht Clubs, and 50 000 yachts. There are 3.5-million people living within a one-hour drive of Malmö, including the Danish city of Copenhagen just a short trip over the Øresund bridge.
For the Louis Vuitton Acts, the race village and AC Park set-up is compact and easy to access for spectators and for the teams themselves. And with the two race course areas just off the coast, there are countless vantage points to view the competition.
The typical weather conditions for late August and September should ensure there is good racing for the sailors. Historically the wind is between four and 16 knots over 90% of the time. The average temperature is just over 20-degrees celcius in the afternoon, with the sun setting at around 20:00 each day at the time of the Malmö-Skåne Louis Vuitton Acts.
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2005 ACC Season Map
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