Preparations for yachting regatta nearly complete

The final touches are being put on the Race Village at Dubai International Marine Club for the spectators when the Louis Vuitton Trophy's Dubai leg begins.

Yachts belonging to Emirates Team New Zealand at the Dubai International Marine Club.
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DUBAI // The yachts are rigged and ready to set sail. Now the final touches are being put to the Race Village at the Dubai International Marine Club for the thousands of spectators expected when the Louis Vuitton Trophy's Dubai leg begins.

From November 14, six teams will battle it out over two weeks of intense racing off the club's shoreline.

On land, the club is completing the new two-storey chalet between the clubhouse and the race department with outdoor restaurants and giant television screens.

Saeed Harib, the club's chief executive, said the chalet would be ready on November 9. "They are doing 16 hours a day to get it done on time," he said.

Apart from the village, everything is ready, he said. "The support boats are in the water, ready for the logistics. We are waiting for the competitors to come to put the boats in the water and make a test."

Safety services will be provided by the police and coastguard.

The teams include BMW Oracle Racing, which won the America's Cup in Valencia in February, and Mascalzone Latino, the Cup's current official Challenger of Record.

The other teams are Synergy, from Russia, the French-German All4One, Artemis from Sweden, and Emirates Team New Zealand, which won the last two LVT events, in Auckland, New Zealand, and La Maddalena in Sardinia.