THE BLUSTER BEGINS, A GOOD THING

Let’s hear what JUST ONE of the five Challenger teams is saying about the way it intends to compete for this trophy in 2009:

“The modern European America’s Cup competition has created an opportunity that hasn’t existed before. It is now possible to run a commercially viable team at this level. We have the best design, sailing, financial and management talent of a generation available to us. Never before has a British team had all the ingredients necessary for success at the same time. As a result we can compete at the America’s Cup in a manner that no previous British challenge has done before,” concluded Sir Keith Mills.

That’s fighting words uttered at the Southampton International Boat Show from Sir Keith (Team Principal). He concedes that this is “the oldest sporting trophy in the world, sailing’s Holy Grail and the only major sports trophy Britain has yet to win.”

They’re pumped, with a team where half were born in Great Britain.

They claim to already have a team where 70 per cent have prior America’s Cup racing experience, four were part of previous America’s Cup-winning crews, five sailed in the rather strenuous and taxing Around the World race, and two hold Olympic Gold Medals!

This team sees HUGE and BUILDING INTEREST in the next America’s Cup . . . all over the world!

So there, Mr. Caswell (see article immediately below this one). It ain't over yet.

IF NO ONE CAME?

Chris Caswell, a columnist for “Sailing” magazine asks: “what if they held a Cup and no one came?

A valid, if not interesting, question these days.

For starters, FIVE countries have ALREADY entered the next match-up in 2009.

Second, the winning America’s Cup Management folks have just distributed more than $37,341,911.30 to the winning Alinghi team from Switzerland, more than E$9 million (Euros) to the Challenger of Record, and E$1 million (Euros) each to the other losing Challengers. This race ain’t just for a silver cup - - it’s for some serious money. And the America's Cup Management organization kept enough for itself to both defray ALL COSTS and have a lot left over for their troubles.

Third, why is he “fed up with the whole thing,” since this year’s racing had all the ingredients for an entertaining contest: Rich and not-so-rich competitors, top-name sponsors in the sailing and non-sailing advertising worlds, thrilling racing (including a one-second nail-biter at the end of the final day’s racing, and a well-managed operation.

Yes, it wasn’t in the United States of America. And yes, the coverage in this country STANK in ALL THE NEWS MEDIA: Shame on you.

Posing the hypothetical question if this is no longer the America’s Cup but the Ernesto Bertarelli (winning guy) Cup or the Butterworth (winning skipper) Cup, he goes on to proclaim that it’s OUR CUP - - the world’s cup. (Maybe he wasn’t around when Mr. Bertarelli won it this year and the previous time, as well. In some ways it IS his Cup - - at least FOR NOW. 2009, it’s up for grabs again.

And yes, I’d guess Team Alinghi knows that they are only the CUSTODIANS and TEMPORARY GUARDIAN of this most-coveted sailing award. It’s just like ANY OTHER revolving trophy: The Winner pretends to be the world’s best, for a while, then it can quickly move to another winner, along with the mantle of extreme success and spoils.

And yes, this Cup does live by itself in the minds and hearts of the greater sailing community. These concepts aren’t WON or LOST during the competitions. The endure.

He correctly points out that for 132 years, the New York Yacht Club “owned the Cup” and “played fast and loose with the rules to its own advantage,” until some Aussie’s, coupled with a great designer, wrested the Cup away to Down Under.

He claims that the “tide of opinion” (whatever that is) has shifted from “I don’t much care” about the Cup” to “The hell with ‘em.” (Your Blogster: This seems doubtful, since those in the U.S. who follow the Cup, still do, and those that don’t still don’t, I’d postulate.”)

He claims that having larger boats in the next competition doesn’t seem to be a good thing: Why not? More excitement, more action, more thrills, grander accidents. Sounds pretty good, though, huh?

As far as sponsors “stepping away,” most advertising budgets are controlled tightly by the Chief Executive Officer, whose interests and businesses change from year to year. The walking away of Louis Vuitton, while a surprise, can’t possibly mean that the sport ends, since for more than a hundred years before this sponsor came on board and “invented” the Challenger races, the sport muddled along quite nicely.

Yes, it did seem that the Cup folks out-priced themselves from the U.S. TV market (was there any PRIME TIME COVERAGE on a non-cable channel (not that most saw). But other millions came from Europe, with massive audiences, apparently. They’re still in place, one would guess.

He does suggest that it would be more interesting if the crews actually CAME FROM the countries they represented. And wonders why cheaper boats wouldn’t do the same thing (hello—they already have international regattas in one designs and similar boats for large cups and prestige. The America’s Cup event is unique BECAUSE their yachts are huge and challenging and something WAY OUT OF THE ORDINARY to sail.

Dead or down? Your Blogster wouldn’t count this event out yet. We’ve still the legal hassles to be dealt with in New York (BMW/Oracle vs. Alinghi), the hype and personality clashes to learn about of the Winner and Challengers, and the country “ethnocentric posturing” to contend with - - all of which generate enormous mass media and public interest. Then there’s the new equipment issue, the escalating salaries of skippers and crews making news, and all the rest.

No, you’re totally wrong Chris. More boats and spectators than ever will come. Bank on it. If they don’t, well, then maybe it IS Ernesto’s Cup after all.

'The King Has Left the Helm . . .

Word has it that world-renowned sailor Russell Coutts has been likening himself to no less than Elvis Presley, The King of Rock’N Roll (Maybe he’s the new King Neptune, the top Shellback, as Skipper, Head, CEO, Top Daug of BWM/Oracle soon-to-be Racing syndicate?).

He’s been seen, some say, on World Tour in Memphis (at Graceland - - hey, they have a little yacht club and plastic trophies), that’s in Tennessee, guys, (and who knows where else in Europe, he’s put in appearance, anywhere there are two buoys and a starter pistol).

They say he's been a-singin’, a-grinnin’ and a-pickin’. He’s appeared just about anywhere there’s a one-design to be had and an owner willing to serve as tactician or tie some bowlines. Has he really renamed his 44-footer: “Caught in a Trap” or is it “Heartbreak Hotel?” While Mr. Coutts probably can’t sing a lick, he certainly can brag of scary sailing credentials as he jet-sets the globe in search of concert venues and more silver (that’s trophies, to the uninitiated): Three-time winning skipper of America’s Cup yachts (1995, 2000 and 2003), and two-time Farr 40 World Champion, not to forget his Olympic Gold medal in Finns (which has to be one of the most uncomfortable boats ever to be sailed, since you have to hang over the side and look cool the whole time, but there’s only one sail to mess with, leaving you plenty of time to strum a few tunes). ‘Course, Farr isn’t big on seats, either, so you gotta stand, as per usual.

Your Blogster has it on good authority that he has it he’s been seen all over Europe, carrying a portable trophy case in one hand and Oracle software gift-pack in the other. Since July, he’s been “acting” as chief cook and bottle-washer of the BMW Oracle Racing team for the 2009 America’s Cup, but he surely must have been missing that day when they announced: “To win it, you gotta be in it.” (That’s also the NY Lotto organization’s advertising campaign; we can send him the DVD.) Can’t you talk to Larry E. about joining the America’s Cup 2009 party one of these days? Tic, toc, tic, toc.

Nevertheless, to carry off The King persona, Mr. Coutts has to do the following (tongue in cheek, of course), but if he’s really serious about this stuff - -

1. Buy a white, sequined sailing suit, complete with white (non-skid) cowboy boots and a Gore-Tex cape, with stand-up collar, and a stack of silk mufflers (he can toss them at the boats behind him or at doting race officials or protest committees).

2. Start smiling out of the side of his mouth and let his hair grow - - not long, but HIGH (keep it standing straight up and slicked-out with graphite winch lube).

3. Make some homey sailing movies in Hawaii (Elvis made 31 of these clinkers, so you’d better hurry up to beat the King’s record). Don’t worry, they have little plot, even less acting and, besides the good guy (The King) always gets the girl and the boat and her daddy’s money. Not to forget the billion records he’s sold (not bad for someone whose been dead 30 years). Are there a billion races out there to be won?

4. Go the Disneyworld and get some photos taken of him on the Waterworld movie’s trimaran, “driven” by another King look-alike (Kevin Costner). That weird and fast tri sits ignominiously tied up alongside Mickey, Minnie and a bronze statue of Pluto captaining a brigantine, grasping a huge ship’s wheel and sporting a yellow Sou’wester.

5. Take up guitar (you don’t have to play it, just wear it while skippering), buy a 1961 White El Dorado convertible with red leather, and get some babes to hang on his every batted lash. These cars (you can still get them in Florida) feature a 7-foot long hood, with kingly Cadillac hood ornament, and make you feel like a man when you slide behind the wheel….. That’s 500+ horsepower out front and room for all your groupies out back on the convertible-top’s parade cover. They also have enough room in the trunk for a couple of Z-3’s. (“It’s good to be King,” as Mel Brooks would say. “Count de Monee.”)

6. Start saying little phrases like “Oh, Shucks,” “Tweren’t nothing,” and “Yawl are too kind to me, too kind.” “Let me play another one…. This one’s for my mother…..”

7. Toss out all his black, wrap-around sunglasses and turn them in for The King’s mirrored automotive goggles with chrome sides and portholes.

8. Start wearing Olympic Gold Medal around town and one’s for the New Zealand Commander of the British Empire and Distinguished Companion of New Zealand Order of Merit.

9. Or maybe just it’s time for him to gain 75 pounds, starting having his manager fleece him, and turn to uppers, downers and painkillers to get him through the day.

Please remember, Mr. Coutts, you have to ENTER the building before you we can say: “Elvis has left the building.” [Maybe he’s still brushing up on the words to “Hound Dog” and “Love Me Tender”….. But that’s another story.] Being King definitely has its responsibilities and a lot to live up to. Are you up to this sort of media pressure? Can you really sail wearing a cape and playing riffs?

Ernesto Memo to Larry: Drop Suit, Join Party, Energize Sponsors

Appealing to what could be described as Larry Ellison’s “common sense,” Ernesto Bertarelli - - America’s Cup Holder and two-time Defender who’s spearheading Team Alinghi - - today made a personal plea to BMW/Oracle Racing to “come about,” in sailing parlance, specifically:

Get your ENTRY PAPERS IN right away for the next America’s Cup challenge. You’re missing all the fun. It’s less than two years away. Get the agony over with. You’ve made your point about displeasure with the previous races. As the former Challenge of Record (previously BMW/Oracle) you’ve already missed crucial sessions of the newly minted Competitor Commission (private meetings between the five declared America’s Cup Challengers).

This commission, initiated by the Alinghi syndicate, gathers current Challengers to comment on the admittedly imperfect Protocol, in forum-type meetings, to define the new class rule(book) and competition regulations. After these firsts meetings, the rule and regulations have ALREADY been modified in more favorable ways for the Challengers. But only “entered Challengers” may attend these sessions and voice their opinions. “I would again appeal to BMW/Oracle Racing to enter the 33rd America’s Cup as a legitimate Challenger. It has been demonstrated that dialogue is possible for the better(ment) of this event, and it should be noted by them, that many areas of the(ir) concern have been addressed,” Mr. Bertarelli said.

Second, Mr. Bertarelli added, “We would also like BMW/Oracle Racing to consider that their (legal) action(s) are hindering the opportunity for other teams to enter the competition, and harming the ability of exiting competitors to generate SPONSORSHIP INCOME and properly plan their challenge.” (caps added). Spelled out by your Blogster: D R O P T H E L E G A L S T U F F.

So, HELM TO LEE, LARRY. Come about. Heave-to. Catch a breath. Pop your lightest chute and bring it on home, just like the last race’s nail-biter. (Implication: Only a spoil-sport comes in at the last minute, after having complained about the rules, then tries to ruin the event for everyone. The time has come to put up or shut up, so to speak….. Or, in a more positive way: Alinghi is extending an olive branch or two - - it’s almost the whole darned tree. Grab it.)

The ball’s in your court. It’s YOUR TURN. Grind up the charm, crank up your PR machine and spin the wheel of your ship of state a NEW DIRECTION - - into the Challengers’ Ring of Fire. Bring your skipper(s). Offer up your expertise. It’s needed right now as never before, but not from behind a legal smokescreen of entanglement, inventiveness and negativity.

In This Corner: Couldn’t Have Said It Better

Let’s listen to a statement this past month by Captain Salvatore Sarno, in distant South Africa, regarding his Team ShoSholoza’s early entry into the America’s Cup 33 match. They were the second Challenger, right after the official Challenger of Record (Spain). This becomes the second time he’ll be going after the famed Ol’ Mug. They placed 7th.

Why early entry: “…We need time to explore the South African Corporate Company Market to get another Main Sponsor and additional Supporters.” (P.S.: If we can host the World Cup Soccer in 2010, why not an America’s Cup entry?)

And corporate sponsors don’t want to sponsor something they haven’t seen (the implication: They want to see a BOAT!).

Why in person: It didn’t hurt, of course, that Captain Sarno happened to be in Geneva, he says, and decided to drop off the application paperwork in person right then….. But that’s another story!

Legal Challenges: Regarding the NEW PROTOCOL for America’s Cup 33, he notes that the Larry Ellison/BMW/ORACLE/Golden Gate Yacht Club’s legal challenges to the Cup appears to make no sense.

Challenger envy: “I have participated in the America’s Cup knowing full well that it is the Defender [implication: Alinghi] that dictates the rules AND IN MY OPINION, ALL THE CHALLENGERS WANT TO WIN THE CUP AND THEN DICTATE THEIR OWN RULES. This is what I will do.” (caps added)

Specifically, he claims:

The new rules will help significantly a small team. And, he says, there is plenty of time to “conceive, design, build and test the new boat.”
He appreciates the ban on two-boat building and testing, which greatly could expands cost. A boat: A hole in the water into which you dump money. Another boat; another hole, but maybe not enough money.
He disagrees strongly with the negative comments and rumors that have been circulating about unfairness, etc., regarding the next Cup event. This will be a great, competitive Cup event.
Refreshingly, he believes all winning should be on the water, in fast boats, rather that in the “New York High Court Room.”
Very candidly, he believes the legal activities generated by GGYC are damaging his search for sponsors and his plans to work with a new design team.

Translation: Let’s get out of court and get on with the race preparations (And, we really need a sponsor - - is anyone in South Africa listening?). Don’t diamonds come from down there? De Beers—are you listening! You’d be in good company with the other sponsors in previous match-ups.

Follow the Money: Early Xmas

Bailing buckets and wheelbarrows of it! The America’s Cup Management (ACM) organization, overseers of the business side of these match races, has announced they will share the “surplus funds” generated by America’s Cup 32 about SIX MONTHS EARLIER than anticipated and required to do so. Heard from the Challengers: “Hip, Hip, Hurrah! Hip, Hip, Hurrah, Ernesto! You go, guy!”

ACM raked in E$240,000,000 (that's in valuable Euros, not lowly US dollars at today's $1.3865/Euro), prior to this year’s Cup Defense. They ended up with E$66,500,000 (Euros) above and beyond their expenses (a net surplus distribution), a total of 90 per cent of which has now been sent out, half (45%) to the winning Alinghi team and 45% to the challenger team participants in the 32nd America’s Cup match held in July this year. The ACM retains 10% for itself. (And we thought they worked as volunteers, for the prestige of serving this exciting, global contest.)

The money was collected over four years by ACM from:

The City Bid process (Valencia, Spain)
Television rights
Hospitality
Concessions
Marina/moorings

The Challenger distribution formula netted losing-challenger Emirates Team New Zealand a mere E$9,000,000 and the other challengers over E$1,000,000 each. (Team Alinghi received E$26,932,500 (Euros; $37,341,911.30 US dollars), which should just about pay the bar bills (or protein-drink tab) for the crew, with a few bucks left over for their foul-weather gear, gloves, deck shoes and bar bells, maybe even a few Euros for customized Swiss Army knives, with Alinghi logos, for any out-of-country and neglected family members this past four years, as well. (P.S.: Your blogster takes no responsibility for the math here.... Some numbers may vary accordingly and are subject to updates!

In a stroke of GOOD FORTUNE (literally) for America’s Cup 33 Challengers, ACM decided to share the surplus right now, instead of waiting until March 2008. The theory, they said, is to jumpstart Challenger team efforts, rather than drag out the payments until next year, as specified in Protocol 32.

Alinghi check-writer Ernesto Bertarelli is said to have voiced something about this having been a “fantastic sporting event” with a viable “commercial business model” comparable to other global sporting blah, blah, blah. No one enters this race for the money…but so far, no one has turned it back in!

65 Feet Ain’t What it Used to Be!

TIME WAS that a 65-foot America’s Cup yacht got a spectator’s adrenalin going. Less so today, it appears. The Alinghi guys are going to fix this.

TIME WAS when going into a typical international marina, boats over 50 feet were unusual, even few and far between. Now, yachts over 100 (!) feet raise only a few eyebrows, and mostly from those who pay scant attention to goings-on around them. The world’s awash in RBBs (Really Big Boats) and are being built and launched every day.

TIME WAS when really wealthy guys received a rushing of breath just watching their 65-foot America’s Cup yachts. No more, it appears, especially when the can TOWER over them from enormous spectator boats or when tied up to the docks or when out watching the races at the start/finish line. These AC yachts almost resemble canoes as their sleek hulls slide by these multiplying mega-yachts.

Today’s well-to-do own or charter MULTI-DECK yachts that can LORD OVER America’s Cup boats in any marina. A case in point: Dennis Connor’s America II yacht rests gracefully at anchor in New York Harbor’s North Cove Marina (http://www.thenorthcove.com), see their live web cam link.

A person might think a 65-footer would be a wonder of wonder for those rollerblading and jogging by. No so. In fact, one has to STRAIN to even SEE this small yacht, while it rests elegantly between a Sparkman & Stephens 77-foot sloop, and some unnamed mega-yachts (motoryachts the size of SMALL OFFICE BUILDINGS).

Even Dennis Connor’s two 50-foot Formula 1’s, America’s Cup flush-deck training sloops, seem dwarfed by their enormous slip-mates, including a 65-foot Privilege cat., and a 115-foot visiting world-traveling sloop. It’s even small compared with Ken Reed’s visiting Puma Volvo-Cup boat, in a slip opposite America II. Reed’s Puma challenger is a bright orange monster with plumb bow, a square-ish look, and gaudy panther graphics. It’s a mean machine that looks ill at ease tied to the dock.

Anyway, it’s easy to visualize growing support for Alinghi’s 90-foot (mega) America’s Cup boats for 2009, when comparing today’s sloops with today’s yachting buffs. Bravo for the vision and foresight for bigger/better boats. They should be forces to reckon with, both inside the marina where the millions of stroller pass by, and outside on the race course. Dwarfs no more.

NY Court Nixes Ellison Injunction (No Con of Cahn, so to speak)

Justice Herman Cahn of the NY State Supreme Court (the first level court for lawsuits in that state) navigated the fog of legal-speak this week that the preliminary injunction sought by the Golden Gate Yacht Club (representing Larry Ellison/BMW/Oracle Racing) against Defender Alinghi Ernesto Bertarelli et al) WILL NOT BE UPHELD. There will be no speed-up of the countdown to trial, no pre-trial speed-up of document delivery (legal discovery), and no speed-up release of the sailing venue and rules for the BMW/Oracle (ex-Challenger of Record) sought-after catamaran race (July 2008) between the official AC22 (2007) and AC33(2009) matches. These matters may soon be as dead in the water as PCBs from GE in the Hudson River.

Resolve this among yourselves, guys, Judge Cahn calmly chided the ex-Challenger of Record. You gotta love this somewhat obvious outcome. But the Californians felt they should try anyway. At least both sides appear to be happy (enough) at his ruling, according to their public statments.

The Court also suggested that Alinghi et al move forward with a motion to DISMISS the case, anticipating they would then move for a “SUMMARY JUDGMENT” for both parties to resolve their differences without delay and without trial, sometimes called a “best case scenario” by some, certainly by the Europeans, assuming the winners usually take all the spoils going forward.

Here’s the Court’s ever-so-helpful Day Planner dates for concluding these legal matters:

By Sept. 17 – Alinghi must move to dismiss the GGYC suit (why didn’t they think of that?)
By Oct. 1 – GGYC must file ITS opposition to motion to dismiss and then must file its own summary judgment, to settle their differences off-line (whether they want to or not)
By Oct. 5 – Alinghi must reply to GGYC motion to dismiss the suit (OK, if you force us)
By Oct. 15 – Alinghi must oppose GGYC’s summary judgment (can’t we do this right now?)
By Oct. 19 – GGYC must reply to GGYC’s opposition to summary judgment (is anyone lost here in this adult game of Not-It?)
On Oct. 22 – The NY Court holds a hearing on ALL THESE MOTIONS and counter-motions, yells, screams and threats. (And there won’t be a joint, congratulatory dinner afterward.)

Got it? Dismiss & counter the dismissal; resolve & reply to resolve or resolve to reply or some such nonsense, keeping the lawyers’ client-hours ticking, (e)motions flying and the legal avalanche of paper precariously balanced until Oct. 22, when the Court steps in as a White Knight to slay the dragons (force mediation?) and toss the lawyers back out onto their cigarette boats.

That’s the SECOND BIG NEWS Alinghi-ans (Alinghi-ites?) received this month. On Sept. 17th, the newly created Arbitration Panel under America’s Cup Management (ACM) for the 2009 races ruled favorably (shock/awe) regarding the validity of the quickie selection of a small (some say, paper-only) Spanish yacht club as the Challenger of Record, charged with setting a number of activities for all of the Challengers in 2009, including the expected entry from Larry Ellison, Oracle Chief Executive Officer, and his zealous legal bulldogs (see below). The Arbiter’s ruling, including compliance with the Deed of Gift, will be included in the ongoing (now paper-tiger) suit.

GGYC had sought an earlier date for the TRIAL to begin, and for the schedule for information exchange between the Defender (a.k.a., Cup Winners/Holders) and the Challengers (5 so far, plus the expected BMW/Oracle juggernaut, consisting of 30 sailors and 50 corporate litigators, ex-public defenders, personal-injury lawyers and divorce attorneys, it’s said, which may even be somewhat true!). You Alinghi guys gotta tell us where we’re gonna have this-here Defender-Spoiler (Non-Challenger of Record) catamaran race that we dreamt up and proclaimed as fair one night after a few Cuba Libre’s at Allioto’s on Fisherman’s Wharf.

GGYC ALSO had hoped (and prayed, perhaps) that the Defender would lee-bow (that’s daring-do and furiously) provide - - and quickly - - the CLUB SAILING RULES for the next match races AND wants the Defender to identify WHERE a preliminary Defender-Oracle/BMW cat-challenge would be held a year earlier (on July 2008) than the next Cup (expected as early as July 2009 in Valencia, Spain). Obviously, everyone wants the rules as soon as possible so they can find all the loopholes and begin bending them to taste

Recall: The BMW/Oracle team quickly imploded in the early trials of this year’s America’s Cup. No one knows quite why (if they do, they aren’t saying; payoffs are out, these are, for Pete’s Sake, billionaire-funded teams), especially since they were among the favored teams and had the most exciting new technologies, supposedly and, for sure, top boat speed. But as all sailor/racers know, it takes a lot more than good boat speed to win a race. It takes winning strategy, skipper & crew skills, favorable wind shifts, gear durability, and luck, only some of which they apparently had.

Official, named parties to these legal maneuverings:

Defender (Alinghi) – represented by Societe Nautique de Geneve (SNG), (Hamish Ross)
Challenger of Record – represented by club Nautico Espanol de Vela (CNEV), (David W. Rivkin of Debevoise & Plimpton)
vs.
Ex-Challenger of Record (Oracle/BMW racing) – represented by Golden Gate Yacht (Tom Ehman) Club in San Francisco, Ca.

What Happens to These Yachts?

Newport, RI, home to the America's Cup Races for over 50 years, now boasts an America’s Cup fleet, albeit one’s from the past and all made from WOOD. Imagine!

Companies and individuals may charter these wonderful yachts or just come and stare at them.

They are located in the marina at the Newport Harbor Hotel and Marina, located at 49 America's Cup Avenue. It's directly across from Trinity Church and just north of Bannister's Wharf in the heart of downtown Newport, a two-block walk from the public parking lot at the Visitor's Center.

These classic Twelve Meter sloops all raced for the Cup. Three boats actually won it a total of four times: Weatherly, Intrepid (twice), and Freedom. Others present include Competitors Nefertiti and Ted Turner's American Eagle.

The thought of hauling, sanding, painting and preparing these yachts for service . . . appalls and thrills at the same time.

Thank heavens for random digital orbital sanders and UV resistent varnish. Now, if we could just find some of those bottom paints of the past that REALLY WORKED, OK they killed a few fish too if they drank them, not the namby-pamby ones we're forced to use today, at least in the good ol' US. (I did see a few cans down in Tortola last year, but they're probably already gone....)

5th Challenger: Germany’s Back

Michael Scheeren’s United Internet Team Germany throws its hopes into the ring of the four other America’s Cup Challengers. Rolf Bahr, Presdent of the German Sailing Association notes: “This is great - - great for Germany and great for the sailing sport.”

Hear, hear! The more the merrier! Hu – ha!

New skipper Karol Jablonski, formerly of the Desafio Espanol team, which led right into the semi-finals, says he’s ready to do new battles.

Getting in early as a Challenger, they believe they can use the time to show up at the starting line with the best-possible team and an excellent boat.

Good luck, guys. A winning attitude is all part of the game.

After Early Decisions, Let’s Get on With it!

It’s critical for followers of the America’s Cup not to get distracted from the big prize in the accumulating fog of stories, rumors and innuendo by so-called cup commentators, both in print and on-line.

First, the winner et al of the America’s Cup sets the bulk of the rules for the next party, always has, always will. These are the rules that count - - the next venue, the boats for the competition, and the preliminary races. This year it’s Ernesto Bertarelli and his Alinghi champs making these calls. They can because they won, pure and simple (albeit by one second, but who’s counting, in this winner-take-all competition).

And they wasted no time - - immediately issuing the Protocol of initial rules, and selecting a Challenger of Record, a paper tiger right now, but one growing fangs.

Second, the winner et al can expect to be the subject of lawsuits and other legal maneuverings, large and small, from the losing teams. And in America, where law suits and legal challengers are as common as tasteless rap singers, we have an early suit for quick resolution. These challenges also, by definition, represent a right of passage of sorts, for the winners to press through. Losing teams want to feel as though all avenues of recourse have been taken to win the cup, both on and off the water, sadly, since this is supposed to be a SAILING CHALLENGE, not a LEGAL CALLENGE between national teams.

Finally, the winner team for the America’s Cup is expected to try a number of ways to prevent others from taking the cup away. Why not? There’s so much at stake, and that’s the way it works. That’s the ugly political side of the Cup, AND OF MOST SPORTING CONTESTS, including no less that the Olympics. Politics rarely hides and the America’s Cup match is no different. It’s political and always has been.

But politics is a double-edged sword in the open marketplace of the world’s news media. Two can play and lots more, too. One day’s Defender can become tomorrow’s Challenger.

However, the good news is that sailboat races in general, despite all the legal and political maneuverings, still require boats to cross the finish line first - - against fickle tides and currents, bad and good starts, durable or failing equipment, rigs and sails, and in front of spectator boats and cameras. It can be shown that All the Kings Horses and All the Kings Men (even some women) NEVER guarantee the outcome. In fact, most attempts at “buying races” or “stacking the rules” just piss off the other competitors enough to make them try just that harder to beat the leaders by out-sailing them and out-smarting them. When they do, they know they’ve beaten both the boat and the man.

Mr. Bertarelli has chosen some roads less traveled for the next cup (bigger boats, raced more often, even against the Defender, and let’s not wait four years, but only two - - all courageous, if not a little daring, decisions). Bravo for making these tough decisions and getting the information out in a timely manner. He is to congratulated and respected for his decisions. He even has added a gloss of respectability around the whole thing by appointing committees and legal eagles to handle potential problems. In general, these should all be irrelevant to the next winner who, hopefully, will win out on the water, fair and square.

As in all sailing regattas, some rules will the practical and simple to comply with, while others will be somewhat gray and vague. So far, hats off to Alinghi. So far, the decisions have been crystal clear and within reason (if not a little controversial). So far, things are on track. So be it.

America’s Cup: Fear Factor Dreams

• Be afraid. The next America’s Cup may, in fact, be sailed on reasonably similar boats with the views of the Challengers well represented . . . early and often.
  
• Be afraid. The Defender, Alinghi, announced this week a “progress report” of sorts that addresses several Challenger and Challenger-to-Be (BMW/Oracle) issues, including the relatively short boat-design period of only approximately a year and a half, nanoseconds in design/builder terms, apparently, but who’s really counting/complaining but spoil-sports? How about doubling it by working 24-hrs a day and, maybe add some weekends? The Defender announced that the “design consultation period” will start this month and last for six weeks, resulting in a complete definition of the Class Rule (s) - - what they’re gonna look like, folks! Challengers will have input (lots to say) by their “expert consultant” in the process. Most important, they will attempt to shape the rules to a “tight design box,” that is, to close tolerances, minimizing math and maximizing design requirements, to guarantee, more or less if it’s possible, some close racing. Def. of tight design box: Boats have little leeway in their size and appearance for these new “monster” boats of 90 feet or so.
  
• Be afraid. The emphasis on the design on these new boats will be SAILING SKILLS rather than boat design, and exciting/dare-devil racing it might just be. “We are keen to return the America’s Cup to the romantic era of J-Class size yachts, albeit updated with the very latest technology,” Skipper Brad Butterworth of Alinghi announced in a Geneva news conference. “This will create a superb spectacle and event—for sailing fans worldwide.” (Did anyone really like those days on 135 footers with armies of drones pulling in sheets by hand? I don't think so -- besides a few of the titans of industry captaining these outrageous yachts, muttering, "Hey, MINE'S bigger that YOURS!)
  
• Be afraid. A new Competitor Commission will be formed shortly to discuss 2009’s Protocol rules. Things are really going down the announced trail. Refreshing, indeed!
  
• Be afraid. The days of unorthodox catamaran Challengers and oddly-shaped keels are over. The next match races should be keen competitions among the world’s best sailors. May the best TEAMS (not boats) can win. Gosh, real racing among real people on a more or less level playing sea, if nature cooperates.
  
  
  
  

TEAMORIGIN APPLAUDS ALINGHI PROTOCOL

Perhaps with stiff upper lip and heavy doses of lager and lime, England's oldest yacht club, the one that was challenged for the ORIGINAL America's Cup in the 19th century, will be announcing, publicly, its views regarding America's Cup 32 in July and the subsequent issuance of the new Protocol governing the next one. They had a great time and support Alinghi in the next one.

Regarding the Golden Gate Yacht Club's (a.k.a., GGYC and BMW/Oracle) disputes regarding America's Cup 32 this year, they are clearly in the wrong. The elements defining a yacht club supporting a Challenger of Record (not GGYC) have been met. The Challenger of Record (CNEV, a new Spanish yacht club) is recognised by the Real Federation of Espanol de Vela, the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation and will host host regattats by year end.

In this regard, TEAMORIGIN bluntly will be announcing:

"TEAMORIGIN therefore recognises the ligitimacy of the Challenger of Record and hence the Protocol, and is mounting its challenge operations for the 33rd America's Cup baed on this Protocol. We accept the validity of the Protocol and belive that it fundamentally allows challenging teams a fair opportunity to compete in the America's Cup. I urge the GGY and BMW Oracle Racing to Withdraw their lawsuits and spurious challenge, which can only damage the reputation of the America's Cup."

They suggest the court challenges be withdrawn and that the real competitions should be "conducted in the water...not the courtroom"

They added:

"ACM (the America's Cup Management) ran a fantastic event this Spring, not only from a sports and entertainment point of view, but also by setting the standards on a number of non-sports aspects placing the America's Cup firmly in the 21st century, in amongst the most important sporting competitions in the world today. Alinghi and ACM should be complimented on running an event in Valencia that has had a massively positive impact, not only on the America's Cup, but the sport of sailing as a whole," comments Sir Keith Mills.

Regarding the next Cup match-up in 2009:

"We do not believe that the new Protocol will have a negative impact on the future of the America's Cup. To the contrary, we believe it provides a platform for further growth and some real opportunities for those who decide to challenge," continued Sr. Keith.

They applaud the new format:

* It introduces a new 90-foot yacht to the competition (All Challengers will be EQUAL, not sailing against the winning Alinghi boat from America's Cup 32 this year)
* It prohibits 2-boat testing (cutting costs, perhaps dramatically)
* It allows for regular, official racing to be conducted in Valencia, Spain, the same venue to be so teams may race their opponents in practice match-ups, making sponsors (and boat designers) happy.

Finally, they note that the new ACM has "acted quickly and constructively" in announcing:

1. The next host city (Valencia, Spain) and the race in July 2009.
2. They've invited the Challengers to PARTICIPATE in a series of meetings, starting this month and concluding next month, to DEFINE the new Class Rule(s).
3. They're putting into place a three-member Arbitration Panel, two of whom were members of the International Jury of this year's Cup event.

The Royal thames Yacht Club, located in the Knightsbridge section of central London, is headed by no less than HRH Duke of York. They'll be trumpeting these words at the Southhampton Boat Show in a week or two.

And, remember, these words come, voluntarily, from a CHALLENGER who lost in the previous match-ups. Biff has heard of good sports, but this raises the bar!!! As Oprah might say: "You go, Guys!"

Cup Disputes: Challenger Seeks Candor (1871)

Apparently, there’s nothing new about a “losing” America’s Cup Challenger trying to seek redress against the winning club. Back in 1868 - - that's 1 8 6 8 - - Mr. James Ashbury issued the first America’s Cup challenge on behalf of England. Following his loss in Cambria to the USA in 1871, the New York Yacht Club is said to have issued a letter to his host club, regarding Mr. Ashbury's whining CLUB-BASHING.

Here’s the NY Yacht Club’s so-called response: “There are certain acts a gentleman cannot commit. Whatever the cause, Mr Ashbury evidently thinks otherwise. With an apparent unconsciousness that ought to give offence, he seems to look behind every action for an unworthy motive, and seek in every explanation evidences of concealment and want of candor."

Apparently, this sort of response to Challenger complaints remains a common one for Defenders of the America’s Cup, even today!

All Other Things Being Equal . . . Hah!

“All other things being equal” receives much over- and under-thinking back at the clubhouse. What things? When are they equal? Who says and who’s judging them?

When you win, all things definitely WERE EQUAL; when you lose, it was your competitor’s rare combination of unbelievable hull-speeds, lucky wind shifts and masterful sail trim, and uncanny ability (i.e., luck) in reading course variables. "We geniuses, for sure. We won, didn't we?"

Rarely does ANY skipper admit he or she just got darned lucky or got snookered, guessed wrong a few times, called for speed-stalling sail sets, tacked or jibed too early or late, or just plain forgot or misjudged the applicable sailing rules. The latter comes into play with on-water judges (who rarely make gross errors) and abundant armchair lawyers who surface when the racing concludes. “Now here’s what I would have done and where you went wrong, they postulize.

“Things” are NEVER EQUAL, FAIR, EQUITABLE or OBVIOUS during a sailboat race. Sailing at the America's Cup level, Biff says, is no different. In the words of the Man of Steel: It's a bird (a seagull), it's a plane (on-off, expensive, disposible), no, it's SUPERSAILING, bought and paid for by someone.

Add varying boat designs and rigging, and the professional skills of the sailors and one begins to see the tip of the Sailing Iceberg: What you see is NOT what you get and what you think is not necessarily what really is, if that makes any sense.

Let’s sum up with the following How-To Guide to winning a sailing race such as the America’s Cup. One only needs to learn as much as possible about:

* Evolving wind conditions (out of your control) where the race is being sailed, though nature rarely repeats or cooperates itself in day-to-day regattas. (Which is why sailing regattas are generally conducted over several days, optimizing the winds now and then for every participant.)
* Tide and currents (somewhat predictable): These main quantifiable and predictable, two of the variables are relatively easy to predict. But many a sailor has bet the farm on one or the other, to be unpleasantly surprised at the finish line.
* Waves, wakes and water temperature (mostly out of your control): With spectator boats, even helicopters, definitely add an element of uncertainty in these areas.
* Boat hulls: Here, sailors remain hostage to the boat’s designer(s) and mathematical wizardry, in the case of America’s Cup yachts. There are the predictive formulas and the tank-tested idea, taken out on the waters to see what really happens in full-sized boats. Rarely does boat speed match its predictors, such as velocity made good programs, since water-wind-tide-currents rarely synch-up in precise arrangement to predetermined computer predictions.
* Skippers plot and execute, tacticians judge and pray, crewmembers cheer, cry and watch nearby boats - - and everyone makes educated GUESSES regarding their next moves.
With so-called moding and remoding (changing hull, that is, keel shapes to match wind/wave conditions), some elements of boat design may be improved dramatically - - by adding length, width, size and shape to a keel - - a boat hull maximized for light winds may be adjusted for beefier ones, to an extent.
* With sails, since most are made by the same manufacturer (not all), variations in their designs remain minimal, though not really. Guessing a light-wind genoa will be needed when a heavier one should do has tripped up many a Contender and Defender.
* Finally, the dozens and dozens of different fittings, lines, line arrangements and rigging adjustors add additional elements of surprise and confusion out on the race course when another 75-footer is aimed at your broadsides or taking your wind from behind.
Not to forget the crews: Team leadership and team functioning, individual crew skills, weights, strengths and positioning, and the ongoing possibility of injury or sickness.

So, all things being equal - - never the case - - one should be able to win by “buying a race” at the America’s Cup level. WRONG!!!! There remain just too many variables.

It’s the reduction of these variables to a precise set of standards and repeatable sets and skill-sets that make the winners win, and losers also-rans. (Unless a team has a legal bent, with the nerve to go way out on a limb...beyond the race course and into the courtroom - -and what fun is this!).

Why Sailing is so Danged Interesting? (To Sailors)

Answer: It’s both physical and mental, with a foundation of advanced technologies and a dose of invention and daring-do thrown in. Watching it on TV, however, won’t capture these two pillars of sailing’s attraction, only the RESULTS. There’s a lot more to it, say all.

Some “for-instances:”

The sailing waters venue (such as in this past one, the actual FICKLE waters of Valentia, Spain, not the predicted STEADY one’s) offered major variables to both Defender and Contender, that helped or confounded each skipper at any given time.

Second, naturally, above all else (even above the MONEY spent) there’s the WIND, though these America’s Cup boats have masts so tall, the winds at the top of the mast might actually vary somewhat from what the skipper and crew feel in their faces. Winds simultaneous inspire, humble, betray, lie (when they suddenly shift or take a header), shock (when predictions turn to smoke), terrorize (mostly when spinnakers take a blast), and did I mention humble sailors world-wide?

Then, there’s the tide (up and down) and current (back and forth) in constant churn before, during and after the race. Weather services offer guidance and mathematicians make predictions based on un-measurable moon and sun forces. Gravity and global warming shake up the mix.

Heading out to the staring line, one skipper might be silently singing “happy songs” to the Wind Gods for providing the anticipated light or heavier winds on cue. Tacking around the upwind mark, however, these same friendly winds (because that’s the way they set the boat up at the dock) might come to a grinding halt (an incredibly unpleasant, nauseating curse) then blow with nature’s hidden fury in a matter of minutes. Or do both in the same race. Either way, sailors take what comes and figure that the other boat also has to contend with similar conditions—so it’s a matter of “outsmarting” them by anticipating the conditions slightly and reacting to them faster, quicker, better. Winners concentrate, react; losers drift off or react just a tad slower.

Overlay fickle weather conditions on top of hundreds of other variables and the very real possibility of what could be called “SAILING OVERTHINK” takes hold. It’s actually possible for these naturally triggered events to “freeze” the thinking of the tactician or strategist, causing a sort of second-stage hypothermia. The net-net, they become BLIND or unresponsive to actual sailing conditions, and call for wrong tacks or wrong sails at the wrong times…immediate death in sailing…to just stare into the distance, calculating the odds the other boat will break a halyard.
Sailing OVER-THINK: Bet on it most of the time!