Swiss Pick UAE's Ras Al-Khaimah for America's Cup

Everything leading up to the 33rd America's Cup has been unconventional and surprising, so it figures that the venue might as well be extraordinary, too.

Yes, the stodgy old America's Cup is going to be decided in the Middle East.

Two-time defending champion Alinghi of Switzerland picked the Persian Gulf port Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, as the site where it will settle its bitter feud with American challenger BMW Oracle Racing.

A twisting, two-year court tussle between bickering billionaire syndicate bosses has led to a rare best-of-3 series in massive multihulls for the oldest trophy in international sports. The nautical grudge match is scheduled to begin Feb. 8.

It could be the most extreme, spectacular racing in the 158-year history of the America's Cup. The space age-looking boats are 90 feet long, dwarf their crews, are capable of sailing 2 to 2 1/2 times the speed of the wind and are potentially lethal if pushed too hard.

Alinghi, led by biotech tycoon Ernesto Bertarelli, will sail a catamaran. BMW Oracle Racing, owned by Oracle Corp. founder and CEO Larry Ellison, is testing its trimaran in San Diego. The one-time pals sail aboard the boats they own. Each boat is estimated to have cost well more than $10 million.

Ras al-Khaimah, which literally means "The Top of the Tent," is a little-known, mostly industrial city-state on the southern end of the Persian Gulf. It's not far from the Strait of Hormuz, which separates the UAE from Iran, and is known for producing cement, not oil.

Alinghi officials said Ras al-Khaimah is ideal because of its weather and support pledged by leaders there.

"It's a pretty nice place to sail," Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. Butterworth is a four-time America's Cup winner and former crewmate of Russell Coutts, one of the Cup's most dominant skippers who now leads BMW Oracle Racing.