Alinghi preparing for Cup in Valencia, Spain

At about the same time that two cranes were carefully raising an enormous wing sail onto the American challenger's monster trimaran in San Diego, two-time defending champion Alinghi of Switzerland confirmed to a New York judge that it is preparing to hold the best-of-three showdown against BMW Oracle Racing in Valencia starting Feb. 8.

There are still issues to resolve before bickering billionaires Larry Ellison of Oracle Corp. and Ernesto Bertarelli of Alinghi can ship their multihulls to Valencia for the nautical grudge match in the fastest, most extreme boats ever built for sailing's marquee regatta.

The biggest is Alinghi's appeal of the judge's rejection of its original choice of a Persian Gulf port. Also, the judge needs to approve an expert panel's report, including whether it's safe to sail the carbon-fiber giants in Valencia in February.

If those matters are resolved, then a twisting two-year court case will have steered the America's Cup right back to where it left off in July 2007 - in Valencia.

In the most dramatic development of the day, BMW Oracle Racing raised its 190-foot wing sail and, about 2 1/2 hours later, headed out for a shakedown cruise on a perfect afternoon.

Nothing of the wing sail's scope has been seen in the America's Cup before. In a process that began at 2 a.m. and took nine hours, the wing was wheeled out of its shoreside assembly tent and lifted by two cranes onto the 90-by-90-foot trimaran.

Described as the world's biggest wing, it will be tested as a replacement for a traditional soft-sail rig.

Complete with flaps, the wing sail is about 47 feet longer than the wing of an Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger airliner. It weighs 7,700 pounds and is 6,725 square feet.

The wing is built of carbon fiber and kevlar, and covered with a skin of light, shrinkable aeronautical film.

Because the powerhouse sailing teams couldn't agree to terms for a traditional regatta with multiple challengers, Alinghi and BMW Oracle Racing are headed for a rare one-on-one showdown.

They've fought over every aspect of the racing, including rules, dates and a port.

Alinghi spokesman Paco Latorre said the Swiss are making a concession in their fight with San Francisco's Golden Gate Yacht Club, which backs BMW Oracle Racing.

"Until now, both the court and GGYC had accepted and agreed February and Valencia, and we hadn't," Latorre told The Associated Press by phone. "And now because we want to have this race on the water, we accept this decision of Valencia in February. We are making the concession. We had said it's not the most suitable venue in February.

"We want to have this sorted out on the water," Latorre added. "Let's go to Valencia in February and get it done. They wanted February, they got February. They wanted Valencia, let's go and sail. It's going to be cold, it's going to be unstable, it's not going to be very pleasant for sailors and spectators, but let's get it done."

New York State Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich recently sided with the Americans and tossed out Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, as Alinghi's choice for the venue. Kornreich based her decision on the 19th-century Deed of Gift, which prohibits racing in the Northern Hemisphere between Nov. 1 and May 1.

The landlocked Swiss appealed that decision, and Latorre said they will keep that option open for the time being. Their catamaran, Alinghi 5, has been in RAK for several weeks, along with approximately 100 support personnel.

"We're very pleased to see that SNG/Alinghi have finally agreed with us that Valencia in February is the correct venue to hold the 33rd America's Cup," GGYC spokesman Tom Ehman said in a statement. "Presumably SNG will now drop their appeal of the court's decision that RAK is an illegal venue."

Valencia is in the Northern Hemisphere, but neither side objected earlier in the court fight to holding the series in the Spanish port, although they disagreed on the dates.

Alinghi and BMW Oracle Racing still have bases in Valencia, where Alinghi beat Team New Zealand two years ago.

In a letter to Kornreich on Tuesday, Alinghi's yacht club, Societe Nautique de Geneve, said talks to resolve the legal fight with the Americans had broken down.

The Swiss also said a compromise Australian venue remains possible until Friday, but only if GGYC withdraws "all legal actions." Among them is a pending complaint of breach of fiduciary duty seeking to remove SNG as the America's Cup trustee.

The legal bickering aside, the competition for the oldest trophy in international sports is expected to be, for the course of the best-of-three series, the most extreme of extreme sports.

BMW Oracle Racing's trimaran and Alinghi's equally immense catamaran are capable of sailing at 2 to 2 1/2 times the speed of the wind.

There are also inherent dangers, such as when BMW Oracle Racing's 200-foot carbon-fiber mast came crashing down last week, smashing apart on the aft beam, while sailing on the Pacific Ocean. No one was injured.

If the wing works, the Americans won't need a traditional rig.

BMW Oracle Racing said the wing sail is expected to be much more efficient than a regular rig, and more easily trimmed.