Yachting: More early manoeuvring for America's Cup hopefuls

SPAIN - The next pre-America's Cup regatta, the Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 5, begins tonight (NZ time), with the first two of five fleet races scheduled.

All 12 competitors in the 32nd America's Cup will race on the course at the same time.

"You can imagine what the top mark will be like with half a dozen boats arriving at the same time," said Dean Barker, helmsman of Emirates Team New Zealand. "It'll be interesting, a great spectacle and will be great to watch. There's absolutely no doubt the racing will become more intense."

Fleet racing is a quite different discipline from match racing. In match racing, a yacht's time around the course is irrelevant; the only thing that matters is beating one other boat. In fleet racing, each skipper's job is to place as high in the fleet as possible.

"It will be awesome. It will be one of the most impressive spectacles we've seen for a long time," said Iain Percy, helmsman for +39 and a veteran of racing in big fleets in the Olympic Star class. "It will be like a Star windward mark, except the damage will be more expensive. Every one is going to have to have their eyes open."