Defender/Challengers Hammer Out Class Rule

One of the critical “jabs” being taken at the America’s Cup Defender, Ernesto Bertarelli/Alinghi et al, involves the involvement of the involved Challengers, at least those who have signed up.

Are they really involved, to repeat, to repeat? Has the Challenger of Record managed to pull together the team of Challengers as "an effective resource" when addressing such basic issues as the TYPE OF BOAT and its design?

This week, we got a hint: Designers from the SIX Challengers announced they have been meeting “regularly” with the Defender, ever since the next yacht’s design process began on September 15. The result?

A new “Class Rule” for the 2009 America’s Cup event has been pulled together out of this process. It's been printed and handed out only to them so far.

Here’s how Juan Kouyoumdjian, principle designer for the British Challenger, TEAMORIGIN, puts it: “This has been an efficient and productive process, and the boat itself will be spectacular: Challenging to design, to sail and to race.”

Obviously, no one is paying him to say this. His team got its licks in, so to speak, and seems pleased. He had the option of saying nothing.

Ditto for John Cutler, technical director for Challenger Desafio Espanol: “We are happy with the process…hard work…for the teams…Challengers…Defender…lots of changes… The boat will be exciting to sail, a challenge to design and also a challenge for the crew to master. It will provide exciting racing.” Another believer in the process Alinghi has set up!

Absent from the process: The previous Challenger of Record, BMW/Oracle, though they have made a number of requests through their master skipper extraordinaire, Russell Couts.

The actual "Class Rule," which captures the recommendations into one document, has only been made available, so far, to the Defender and Challengers, not to the public (i.e., BMW/Oracle), pending the outcome of BMW/Oracle’s court case in New York Supreme Court, which could change things significantly. (The case involves the legitimacy, among other things, of the Challenger of Record's "club status.")

America's Cup Guru Tom Schnackenberg, the Class Rule and Competition Regulations Consultant for the America’s Cup Management organization, heads up the design consultation process. He noted: “The process has been an invigorating one with the Challengers helping enormously in making improvements to the rule. It is amazing how inventive people are in this environment, bouncing ideas off each other. These past six weeks have been a very enjoyable experience.”

To sum up:

* One can’t honestly claim that Alinghi is ramming down the throats of the Challengers it’s views on the next Cup event. Yes, they’ve established a 90-foot yacht - - one fast and big as hell - - as the vessel of choice (as BMW/Oracle continues speaking about some giant catamarans they’d like to race before the main event). And why not? Bigger is Better in yacht racing and just about everything else. If the winner wants a bigger boat, well, why not?
* The Challengers don’t seem to be complaining, especially since they may NEVER have been asked their opinions on the next boat’s design before.
* Once they’ve had their say, they then can’t complain they were railroaded into the event.

Let’s all sing “Cumbiya, My Love.”