So it's all over for the Oracle BMW America's Cup team after Alinghi beat them 5 - 1 to win the Louis Vuitton Cup and advance to the America's Cup where they will face Team New Zealand.

The Louis Vuitton Cup final was a hard fought affair, perhaps a little closer than the final result might indicate. There is no doubt that Alinghi was the stronger of the two and by far the best prepared of all the challengers to go on and meet team New Zealand next month.

The Americas Cup match itself starts on the 15th of February and should be a very interesting affair, Alinghi in their basically conventional boat against Team New Zealand and their "Hula". The match will be a best of nine series.

With a month to go before the cup match itself there is still some speculation that the Alinghi team may try and impliment their own version of the "Hula" before the match starts. While this seems unlikely anything is possible in Cup game. In the next few weeks Team New Zealand will wrap up their final preparations as they prepare to defend the cup against a strong team led by their former leader and including several of their former team mates.

While there is no racing to follow for a while now it is worth taking a surf past the Team New Zealand web site when you get a chance. You will find it at www.teamnewzealand.com. It is a good web site packed with information about the team and the progress they are making towards the cup.

Have a look and see for yourself.