The modern America's Cup Class yachts, due to race over America's Cup style windward-leeward courses to the east of the Isle of Wight, are busy preparing all over the Solent.

John Caulcutt's High Voltage (ex-Il Moro III) is racing in Cowes Week, whereas her younger sister Il Moro V, the Louis Vuitton Cup winner from 1992 and unsuccessful challenger of that year, is being readied at the Royal Clarence Yard in Portsmouth Harbour.

Il Moro V was recently bought by Bill Koch, winner of the 1992 America's Cup, and he has had the old Italian Challenger completely restored to the configuration she was in back in 1992, right down to the colour of the ropes on the deck. Koch also has his 1992 winner, America3, present and is bringing 40 of his America3 team to Cowes to race the two boats.

Team New Zealand's NZL-32, the 1995 Louis Vuitton and America's Cup winner arrived at the same Royal Clarence Yard Marina in Portsmouth having made perhaps the longest passage ever for an ACC boat on its own bottom.

Departing from Lorient in France on Thursday 1st August the "Mighty 32" arrived in the Solent two days later after a trip of nearly 300 miles, made partly under sail and partly behind a tow boat.

Syndicate head Tom Schnackenberg and his crew have been spending the time since putting this legendary boat back into race configuration, before skipper Dean Barker and the race crew arrive next week.