Oracle team visits proposed America's Cup site in UAE

Oracle representatives arrived in the UAE to gather information on the site selected by defending America's Cup champions Alinghi for the 33rd America's Cup, the US syndicate said.

Six Oracle members, mostly in charge of logistics, will stay for a few days in Ras al-Khaimah to "look at all aspects" related to the multihull duel scheduled there between the two sides in February 2010, an Oracle spokeswoman told AFP.

In a surprise move Switzerland's Alinghi announced last month that the small emirate in the northern part of the UAE along the Persian Gulf would house the duel imposed by a New York court.

Oracle has opposed the choice but was visiting the site "with an open mind" and would decide if it will accept it after this visit, the spokeswoman said.

Under the "Deed of the Gift", the 19th century rules that govern the oldest trophy in international sport, a duel may be held in February in the northern hemisphere only as part of a "mutual agreement" between the two rivals, she said.

Alinghi said it chose Ras al-Khaimah due to its good weather conditions during that time of the year and quality of the facilities made available to competitors by the emirate.

The Swiss side won the last America's Cup, in Valencia, Spain in 2007, and the two teams have since been engaged in a lengthy legal battle over the next edition of the event.

Oracle went back to a New York court last week in an attempt to stop what it calls the unfair manipulation of the rules by Alinghi in the latest action in their bitter legal spat.