No US Entry for So-Called America's Cup?

There are 9 new teams and 9 old ones.

If SNG/Alinghi prevails in court, and this version of the next America's Cup goes forward, this will become the first time an American team has not been involved in the 157 year history of the America's Cup. In other words, Alinghi wins; BMW/Oracle loses. Exit the only viable American Team previously in contention.

Meanwhile, the U.S. team headed by BMW/Oracle has launched, on their own initiative, a gorgeous new TRI-maran for a future America's Cup mano-o-mano Cup Challenge of some sort. The weak-kneed need not apply for work on this bare-bones platform. Helmots, goggles and kneed guards may be the norm, t'is said.

It all, again, comes down to the money. My lawyer's are better that yours. We win. We now race on the water. Yadda, yadda, ya-hooooo.

AC33 Moves Ahead With 19 Teams, 12 Countries

According to ValenciaLife.net, Americas Cup Management has announced that 19 teams from 12 countries have entered the 33rd Americas Cup (2010), including eight new entries and each of the teams previously participating.

Three other teams were denied entry for improper documentation. One syndicate - Carbon Challenge - withdrew.

There will be two PRE-regattas in Valencia, Spain, next year - - one in July and the other in October. Then the CNEV Regatta in November and then, finally, the Americas Cup match (AC33!) in 2010.

The full list of entered teams is:

Alinghi, Société Nautique de Genève (SUI) – Defender

The Spanish Challenge Club Náutico Español de Vela (ESP) – Challenger of Record

Shosholoza, Royal Cape Yacht Club (RSA)

Team Origin, Royal Thames Yacht Club (GBR)

Team New Zealand, Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (NZL)

DCYC, Deutscher Challenger Yacht Club (GER)

Green Comm Challenge Circolo di Vela Gargano (ITA)

Ayre Challenge Real Club Náutico de Dénia (ESP)

Victory Challenge, Gamla Stans Yacht Skallskap (SWE)

Argo Challenge Club Nautico Gaeta (ITA)

Mascalzone Latino, Reale Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia (ITA)

Team French Spirit, Yacht Club de St Tropez (FRA)

Luna Rossa, Yacht Club Punta Ala (ITA)

Russia Team - Fiona, Yacht Club Seven Feet (RUS)

Joe Fly Società Canottieri Lecco (ITA)

K-Challenge, Cercle de la Voile de Paris (FRA)

Greek Challenge, N.O.K. Poseidon - Nautical Club of Kalamata (GRC)

Dabliu Sail Project (ITA)

China Team, Qingdao International Yacht Club (CHN)

BMW ORACLE Racing sailors depart for the Olympic Games

According to BMW/Oracle, America’s Cup Sailors Carl Williams and Hamish Pepper of have flown to Qingdao, China to compete in the Olympic Games. Interestingly, they will be representing not the U.S. their home country of New Zealand.

They will travel to Beijing to attend the Opening Ceremony on August 8th, before returning to Qingdao. The Olympic Star Class Regatta will start one week later, on August 15th.
Russell Coutts, BMW ORACLE Racing CEO and skipper, wished his fellow countrymen well and said the team was proud to be represented at the Olympic Games. Coutts, who in 1984 won a Gold Medal in the Finn class, also offered a few final words of advice. “It sounds cliché – you’ll feel the pressure but so will everyone else. And like any regatta, have fun and take one race at a time."

In addition to their duties with BMW ORACLE Racing, Williams and Pepper have done extensive Star class training in Valencia this year preparing for the Olympic challenge.
Williams and Pepper won the Star world championship in 2006, and are considered strong medal contenders in Qingdao.

IS THE END NEAR?

Here’s what some of the key players say about the recent NY Court (non-sailors’) ruling, knocking down BMW/ORACLE’s Larry Ellison and propping up Alinghi’s Enesto Bertarelli. As noted below, the paper Spanish yacht club is back in as the so-called Challenger of Record (you’ve heard of Man Without a Country, this is Club Without Any Boats….). Anyway….

Alinghi’s Skipper Brad Butterworth (four-time America’s Cup winning Tactician/Skipper) is reported to have said in Adonnante.com:

“The Cup (AC32) was not too bad and we did amend the protocol 14 times between 2003 and 2007 to achieve this.” In essence, the protocol represents the “sailing rules” for the Cup events and evolves as the Challengers of Record propose changes to the Defender and they are accepted or modified. “…Many of us thought that the first protocol was a bit harsh, however we did correct it and the modified documents was eventually signed by all the potential challengers at the time except GGY/BMWOracle.”

“With the new, bigger boats and cost cutting measure in place, I believe we were heading in the right direction to make the next America’s Cup one of the greatest sporting shows on earth.”

He noted that Sir Keith Mills of England’s TeamOrigin has volunteered to serve as a mediator between Alinghi and BMW/Oracle.

He anticipates the NY Court of Appeals taking six months to make its decision regarding the BMW/Oracle appeal to the recent successful Alinghi appeal of the lower court’s ruling. Then you add 10 months as a Deed of Gift requirement before holding a regatta. Think Summer 2010, perhaps. If the new America’s Cup 90-footers are used, it’ll be only 18 months after everyone agrees to this Alinghi-proposed Jumbo Cup boat.

Here’s how Russell Coutts (BMW/Oracle’s Hired Gun) interprets the recent decision, in a SailWorld.com interview: Surprise, he disagreed with the recent decision, which overturned BMW/Oracle’s appeal throwing out the Spanish “club.” The decision could be “disastrous” for the future of the America’s Cup. He hinted the Americans may be a part of the Cup event at all.

“If Alinghi gets away with this, it probably will signal the end of the America’s Cup as we know it,” Coutts is widely quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, he’s checking out BMW/Oracle’s new multi-hull boat being built in Anacortes, Washington, home of the U. of Washington Huskies.

“I certainly wouldn’t be recommending that we challenge under such a one-sided set of rules,” he concluded.

His words have credibility. Previously, he sailed unbeaten through THREE straight America’s Cup matches, two for his native New Zealand, and one with Alinghi in 2003, before “a falling out” with Bertarelli.

He adds, needlessly, that the current rules tilt enormously toward Alinghi, the Defender.

Team New Zealand’s Grant Dalton, in yacht.com, has called for Alinghi and BMW/Oracle to negotiate a settlement right now.

He says that Alinghi’s successful appeal means the Cup reverts to the ground rules established by Alinghi and the Spanish “club” in 2007, when Alinghi beat Team NZ in the final leg in the final regatta by approximately an inch.

So, with one last appeal, BMW/Oracle continues its legal challenges against the Defender, a sailing team that beat (in come cases “slaughtered”) all previously contenders for the Cup, including the Americans, who managed to bomb out, on belief in their own press releases about how great they were, in the very first round of the Challenge eliminations.

As it now stands, Alinghi gets to choose the regatta judges, the committee to run it, the umpires and the measurers (and they must all be employees of Alinghi). All seven Challengers have opposed this “Alinghi Vision” of the next sham series or “stacked deck.”

Meanwhile, out on the water, Alinghi’s guys won the IShares Cup in Cowes, with a five-point lead over Team Origin, the British American Team. Oracle’s TWO Extreme 40 crews, Team Cammas and Team Spithill, finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

QUESTIONS RAISED

With the latest court ruling, some immediate quesitons come to mind:

1. Will the catamaran challenge by BMW/Oracle be scrapped along with these hot boats?
2. Will Alinghi and its far-flung advertisers get "back aboard" for the next Cup event?
3. Will it be possible for the Alinghi folks to tread that fine line between gloating ("Told you so. Told you so!") and being just plain happy, to get things back on track quickly with a minimum of upset?
4. With the Challengers return "to the fold" and get their boats in the water, that is, off the drawing board and ready to race in 2009?
5. Will any new legal challenges be waged by BMW/Oracle to stall things again and again?

Anyone have any hints about this?

SNG Reinstated as Challenger of Record - - WOW

The New York Supreme Court has reinstated Club Náutico Español de Vela as the Challenger of Record, which had been challenged as "unfair" by BMW/Oracle in a legal challege last year.

The Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), declaring Club Náutico Español de Vela (CNEV) the rightful Challenger of Record for the 33rd America’s Cup and denying the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) this status.

Ernesto Bertarelli, Alinghi president, comments: “We are delighted with this result; we can now continue with our vision of a multi-challenger event. The court’s decision validates our actions and enables us to put the America's Cup back on the water.”

Lucien Masmejan, SNG lead counsel, comments: “After a year of litigation interference by the GGYC, we are extremely pleased that the Appellate Division has found its challenges to SNG's conduct of the 33rd America's Cup baseless. The GGYC’s actions have wasted a lot of time, effort and resources over the past year and we hope that it does not appeal. We must now evaluate whether adjustments have to be made due to the time consumed by its improper litigation initiatives.”

The decision of the Appellate Division reads: “…...the orders of the Supreme Court, New York County (Herman Cahn, J.), entered March 18, 2008 and May 13, 2008, which, inter alia, declared CNEV's challenge invalid and GGYC the Challenger of Record under the Deed of Gift, should be reversed, on the law, with costs, CNEV declared the Challenger of Record, and, in keeping with the Deed of Gift's requirement that the defender be given at least 10 months' written notice to prepare for the challenge, the 10-month notice period should be tolled until service of a copy of this order.”

ACM's Parting Shots: Got Nuttin'

Michel Hodara, who just resigned as the CEO of America's Cup Management, the Cup's governing body, was just interviewed in Adonnante.com (click on headline for story), which asked:

Does your former organization have any sponsorship at this point:

"You have two different sides to this question: The event and the team.

The Event: At the moment, we do not have a product. No date, no venue, no event. The 33rd America's Cup does not exist yet in terms of sponsorship product to sell. We accept this. It is like if you own a bakery and you have no bread to sell. You wouldn't feel pressured not having customers, would you?"

There you have it. Long Live the Cup, but the organization's CEO and marketing chief admits the entire revenue-generating side of the operation is kaput. What's a simple Blogster to believe?

The Team: We had Brad Butterworth (Sailing), Grant Simmer (Design and Boat Building), Lucien Masmejean (Legal) and myself(Marketing/Admin). So despite my departure, the management structure is only little affected.

Can it be, the next America's Cup 33 will never be, since racing is only part of the battle? Marketing and advertising still play key roles.

Will the Cup forever sit on the throne of the world's most neutral (& secretive) country?

We're listening. We're waiting. And we've been doing so a long, long time.

Let's stop blaming the lawyers. It's the chiefs - - sit in a room and thrash out the issues. Why rely on a judge whose courtroom has no view of the water and even less on the ball when it comes to sailing? Let's settle this like men: Pistols at 50 paces (or, at least some posturing, posing and agreement, globally). Enough is enough. Exit the gladiators. Enter the boatbuilders and genoa pullers. This isn't the UN - - set to dither into the next century. It's a handful of guys with a common love of competitive sailing (and parties). Give a little; get a lot.

Who will step up and seize the day for the masses of sailors worldwide? Stay tuned.

Alinghi CEO (not Bertarelli) Sails On (and Out)

Rumor has it that Alinghi's chief executive,m Michel Hodara, is quitting.

He has played a critical role in the successful Alinghi battle to win the Cup.

Part of the problem for Mr. Hodara remains the lack of focus on the next Cup activites: No firm dates, no firm boats, etc. How do you manage a race this way?

Alinghi has not named his replacement (not a lot of people want to work under these conditions--no real job, everything's still in court, and everything else is up in the air.

Mr. Bertarelli's America's Cup Management "company," which he ownes outright, will continue to operate more or less in Valencia, Spain.

In trying to put a positive spin on this rumor, your Blogster is devoid of ideas......

BMW ORACLE Racing Launches Sail Design Program

According to BMW Oracle Racing's web site, they are now working with North Sails in the USA to develop the huge new sails required for the 33rd America's Cup.

The sail design team is headed by BMW ORACLE Racing sail trimmer Ross Halcrow, and includes designers Laurent Delage, Robert Hook, and Juan Meseguer. Delage brings valuable multihull experience from North Sails France. Hook, another North Sails veteran, was with Emirates Team New Zealand in the last America's Cup. Meseguer, who runs the North loft in Valencia, returns to the team from the 32nd campaign.

"It is a massive challenge, as with all aspects of the multihull everything is on a larger scale," said Halcrow. "The sail plan for the multihull has huge dimensions yet we must keep weight to a minimum. While we are working with many of the same methods and materials as in the last America's Cup, the designs are quite different. We also are looking at a wider range of sails since we won't know the venue for the Match until six months in advance."

The team's other sail trimmers are also contributing to the sail design program, including Dirk de Ridder (NED), Noel Drennan (IRL), Daniel Fong (NZL), and Joe Newton (AUS). JB Braun (USA) coordinates the "aero program," integrating the rig and sail package, and held a similar role with BMW ORACLE Racing's last campaign. Craig Phillips (AUS) is managing production.

As required by the America's Cup Deed of Gift, the sails and other components of the boat must be built in the country the team represents.

Alinghi Starts Two Boat Training in 60-Foot Multi-Hulls

Alinghi, Defender of the 33rd America’s Cup, begins the next phase of training towards a possible multi-hull Deed of Gift Match in 2009 (is this weird - - no one knows what the boats will be?) and steps it up a notch, to two-boat training, with the ORMA60s Foncia and Banque Populaire IV in Lorient, France, from 30 June until 5 July.

The Swiss team intends to continue its big boat and multi-hull development through this platform, “We now need to hone our boat handling skills, manoeuvres and mark approaches by matching up to another boat,” says Alinghi team skipper and tactician Brad Butterworth. “Having crew on both ORMA60s will increase our learning curve exponentially and marks the beginning of our two-boat training programme towards a multi-hull America’s Cup.”

The sailing team has been multi-hull training for several months racing the eXtreme40s and the Décision35s respectively in the iShares Cup and in the Lake Geneva based Julius Baer Challenge and it now looks forward to training alongside such an accomplished sailing team.

“We are very pleased to have such high calibre boats to train with; both Foncia and Banque Populaire IV are accomplished race boats and we look forward to a summer of two-boat training and to gaining as much crewing and big boat experience as possible before getting on to our multi-hull sometime at the end of the year. We are looking forward to working with the Banque Populaire team and hope the training will be mutually beneficial to both sailing teams,” added Butterworth.

Alinghi was in Lorient in March sailing Foncia with skipper Alain Gautier and will return again in July and throughout the summer to match up against Banque Populaire IV, skippered by Pascal Bidégorry.

Boat specifications
Banque Populaire IV details:
Trimaran: ORMA 60' design by Nigel Irens and Benoît Cabaret and launched in 2002
Length: 18.28m
Beam: 17.60m
Draft: 5m
Mast: 30m
Displacement: 5.3t
Mainsail: 175m2
Solent: 116m2
Gennaker: 250m2

Foncia details:
Trimaran: ORMA 60’ design by VPLP and launched in 2002
Length: 18.28m
Beam: 17.60m
Mast: 28.5m
Mainsail: 188m2
Solent : 125m2
Staysail : 84m2
Gennaker: 248m2

SNG Puts Case Before NY Appellate Court

The Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), the America’s Cup Defender, June 5, 2008, put its case to the five judges sitting in the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court. The Swiss (paper) yacht club successfully consolidated its appeal from Justice Cahn’s May 12, 2008, order with the previously expedited April 14, 2008 appeal. Now it hopes for a speedy resolution and to conclude the litigation initiated by the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) almost a year ago - - killing off an exciting, 2008 America's Cup event conducted in really big boats.

Justices David Saxe, Eugene Nardelli, Karla Moskowitz, Rolando Acosta and Leland DeGrasse granted approx 30 minutes for the oral arguments from both SNG and GGYC. This was the last opportunity for either party to present their merits to the Court, and a ruling is expected in a reasonably short time. ("New York time" translation: Whenever they get around to it, between its usual cases of rape, murder and you don't wanna know.)

Lucien Masmejan, SNG lead counsel, commented: “We were pleased to have our arguments heard by the Appellate Court regarding the validity of the GGYC Challenge, while simultaneously seeking clarification on the date and venue for the 33rd America’s Cup. Justice Cahn’s orders left several issues unresolved, and we hope that our position can now be sustained by the Appellate Court. The Justices presiding over the case seemed receptive and we look forward to receiving their judgment. We are hopeful that by consolidating our appeals and achieving the expedited status, unnecessary delays will be minimised. We are looking forward to finally putting an end to the disruption brought to the America’s Cup by BMW Oracle Racing’s opportunistic legal strategy.”

In short: "Guys, this is our best shot. Let's do some sailing!" (Translation: We've fought back with both legal barrels, as has BMW/Oracle. All that's left is pistols at 50 paces.)

Alinghi Comments on NY Ruling Favoring BMW-Oracle

Your Blogster wouldn't normally run a direct, word-for-word report from ANYONE, but this one is so perfectly worded, so bland yet threatening, and classy, it bares repeating in toto (but your Blogster can't resist commenting, in capitals, on certain phrases):

New York, 18 March 2008) In response to New York Supreme Court Justice Herman Cahn’s order today designating Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) as America’s Cup Challenger of Record (CLENCH TEETH HERE) replacing Club Náutico Español de Vela (CNEV) (A SMOKING-GUN CLUB?), lead counsel for the defending yacht club, Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), Lucien Masmejan, issued the following statement (MORE OF A 'GOOD GRIEF WE LOST' REBUTTAL): “Following today’s court order, Larry Ellison has eliminated the competition (REALLY?) and gained access to the America’s Cup Match (DIDN'T HE ALREADY HAVE THIS?), a feat BMW Oracle Racing has never been able to achieve on the water (HOW UTTERLY TRUE).

While we are disappointed (FLUMMOXED?) with the outcome of this court order and believe that the matter of GGYC’s certificate of challenge wasn’t properly addressed (PROBABALY TRUE), we have decided not to appeal the decision (WE DON'T THINK WE'LL WIN IN THIS CENTURY) and we look forward to getting the fight back on the water and meeting BMW Oracle Racing on the start line of a Deed of Gift Match in July 2009 (AFTERALL, WE'VE ALREADY BEATEN THEM SEVERAL TIMES!),” Masmejan said.

Should Alinghi win the Deed of Gift Match (IN SOME SORT OF CRAZY CRAFT), the Defender is committed to getting the America’s Cup back on track for a world class multi-challenge event in 2011 in Valencia, Spain (WE'LL DO IT OUR WAY, NO MATTER WHAT). “The challengers can be assured that the 34th America’s Cup will be run with the same vision and commitment for a premiere multi-challenge sailing event that they supported in Valencia in 2007,” Masmejan concluded. (WE'LL FINALLY GET OUR CHANGE TO RUN THE DANGED THING....)

Again, phrases in capital letters have been added in the interest of ongoing clarity.

Alinghi President Honored as Audi Sailor of Year

Ernesto Bertarelli was recently honored as Audi Sailor of the for “his successes in promoting the sport of sailing through his recent America’s Cup victory.”

Bianca Gropallo, widow of Paolo Venanzangeli, an Italian America's Cup journalist, presented the award.

According to Mr. Bertarelli: “I was born in Rome and started sailing in Civitavecchia with my father, a sailing fan, so I am particularly honored and very happy to receive this prize here in Italy for what we achieved during the 32nd America’s Cup with Alinghi and AC Management. We very much hope to return to the water soon. Thank you again for the award. I’m proud of it.”

This is his second, consecutive America’s Cup victory.

They noted that this past America’s Cup event was supposedly witnessed by six million visitors and 4 billion TV viewers. (Your blogster: Perhaps 50 total in the U.S., all crew spouses and girlfriends willing to take the time to find the broadcasts on obscure cable channels.) Afterwards, the America’s Cup Management organization distributed more than 60 million Euros of net surplus (cash) among the participating teams.

Covering All Bases to be Sure

Your blogster hears that Team Alinghi is out on the water again practicing intensely in Valencia, Spain, but this time it's on 40-foot catamarans. They’re also racing on Far 40 speedsters to keep their “small” monohull skills sharp (they just finished racing at Key West Race Week, finishing a distant 9th, after having won the Far 40 division the previous year.). Hey, you can’t win them all! Tiger Woods certainly doesn’t! But he and they are still the world’s best at what they do.

Among those assembled for the Alinghi practices are Brad Butterworth, Team Captain, and Ed Baird, Dean Phipps, Yves Detrey, Warwick Fleury, Murray Jones, Lorenzo Mazza, Francesco Rapetti, Pieter van Nieuwenhuyzen, Juan Vila, Nils Frei, Curtis Blewett, Rodney Ardern, Nicolas Texier, Luc Dubois and Pierre-Yves Jorand. Imagine these guys on your boat at the next around-the-buoys regatta. Whoa! That spinnaker would never be launched and doused quite as fast, and mark roundings would be a walk in the park. Give me chills just imagining the confidence you'd have at the starting line.

Brad says they have already set up a busy summer racing schedule on both monohulls and cats, since it still isn’t clear either the TYPE and STYLE of the boat for the next America’s Cup regatta, or the DATES of the eliminations and final series. Hint: Monohulls, sail the boat flat, boys; cats, get that pontoon out of the water upwind! Tacking, keep the boat moving and accelerate, accelerate, accelerate! Nothing beats a good start, pass a boat at every mark, and it ain't over till the pointy end crosses the finish line. Many a race has been lost in the last five feet by an over-confident crew or skipper.

A New York judge, who’s probably NEVER EVEN BEEN ON A SAILBOAT has the dubious honor of deciding what’ll be what in the next America’s Cup match-up. Go figure.

No 2nd Regatta Scheduled by Challenger

It’s official. Club Nautico Espanol de Vela (CNEV), one-time America’s Cup 33 Challenger of Record, is apparently NOT scheduled to host a follow-up regatta of any sort in 2008, following its hastily thrown-together race back in Nov. 2007 to “satisfy” (partially and fleetingly) one of the Deed of Gift’s requirements for the Challenger of Record to be a “real” yacht club - - one that hosts regattas.

The Spanish Sailing Federation’s new regatta calendar for 2008 has been published and there’s no clue regarding the scheduling of a follow-up 2nd-Annual Trofeo Desafio Espanol Regatta by CNEV to honor the winning Alinghi sailing organization.

Psssst: Maybe this whole deal WAS all a sham after all. Don't tell the NY judge!

Would it really kill Alinghi/CNEV to both schedule a second regatta and start a web site for CNEV? Hey, your blogster will create a web site for the club for FREE! Just email me.

According to Valencia Sailing, and as a reminder, this first regatta was the so-called cornerstone of BMW/Oracle’s successful legal case overturning CNEV’s quickie appointment as official Challenger of Record. BMW/Oracle argued, persuasively, that CVEV was only a “paper” yacht club and had only been formed in order for a European club to become the Challenger of Record. They further argued that previous Challengers (not Challenger's of Record) had been accepted as sponsors for America's Cup yachts. Some had represented bars (not clubs) or paper organizations of some sort without yacht club fundamentals (boats, docks, clubhouses, racing committees, etc.).

Nothing, of course, today really exists anymore unless it has a web presence, hint, hint….

Cup TV

If you haven't seen or experienced "Alinghi TV," you've missed something special.

Click on the "Cup TV" headline and it'll take you right there. They have captured a series of vignettes or "best of" moments of the past America's Cup campaign (AC32 in July 2007) and tried to offer some of the color and flavor of the event.

This should be required watching for ALL of the officials, lawyers, judges and other hangers-on who have the power to influence, even change, the way the America's Cup activities are run.

For one thing, you'll see these races are somewhat less that just glamour and glitz. They'll also a lot of raw emotions and muscled crews clawing their way to the top, led by immense brainpower, skill and luck, all riding upon the technology of the practical, experimental and futuristic.

This is some powerful and interesting stuff.

Since television treats sailing events as something with a small following (despite the MILLIONS of sailors in most countries of the civilized world), any little shred of televised sailboat racing is golden, indeed. Roll the videotape!

Sex, DRUGS & Rock 'n Roll

Finally, some sex, drugs and rock 'n roll in the America's Club - - the stuff of news media interest!

Daringly, according to SwissInfo.ch, the International Sailing Federation has CLEARED NZ's Simon Daubney of charges that he tested positive for cocaine metabolites (not cocaine itself). The Swiss Olympic Association had ALREADY CLEARED HIS NAME ("not infringed the anti-doping rules...."), hence the description of "daringly," for the ISF.

(He defended himself with the concept that someone might have slipped it into his kool aid or whatever.)

He subsequently resigned from the ALINGHI squad, before racing with them for the Cup, and that was that. Now, we find out the whole thing has been tossed. Sorry, Mr. New Zealander. Go back to living your drug-free life.... Good luck with this black eye on your record. Sorry.....

This was, apparently, the FIRST America's Cup "doping" mini-scandal...ever. Gosh, these guys are clean cut!

Best of luck getting your life back together again, Mr. Daubney. If you're also an attorney, maybe the barristers working for Alinghi or BMW/Oracle need an extra hand preparing their next filing? They seem to have a few bill-able hours left on their contracts!

Blogster Proclaims Verdict: Sail! That's an Order

In the interest of time, Judge Herman J. Cahn, let’s just declare the Golden Gate Yacht Club’s challenging certificate under the Deed of Gift for the next America’s Cup - - or for a regatta they’ve invented between just them and the Defender (for who knows what reason) - - as NULL and VOID and USELESS as one of Marilyn Monroe’s bra’s.

Let’s look at the facts, as clearly outlined by Barry R. Ostrager of the esteemed New York law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLC.

The Golden Gate Yacht Club’s Challenge includes a flub, a typo, something a law clerk might include who knows nothing of sailing. They accidentally include the word "keel" yacht when they really meant "keel-less" yacht, as in high-speed and high-end and highly expensive catamaran they think they might beat the Cup Defender in.

Next, the Golden Gate Yacht Club has decided, on its own and for NO REASON except its own embarrassing FEAR, to rule out a standard America’s Cup Challenger Elimination Series in favor of a one-on-one sail-off between just two yachts: The Defender (two-time winner Alinghi et all) and (surprise) THEMSELVES (winner of NO America’s Cup). Now, how they came to this conclusion, that they DESERVE to be included in such a regatta, is a total mystery. They were not just eliminated, EARLY ON, in the last America’s Cup Challenger elimination series (AC32 in July last year), they were soundly stomped out, and this was BEFORE even getting to the point to racing against the Alinghi rock stars.

So, look here, judge. What you have is a clear case of one of the losers trying valiantly to “triangulate and reshape” (a trendy phrase used in politics a lot, as in “I knew John F. Kennedy and you’re no John F. Kennedy.”). They clearly intend to truncate the entire America’s Cup debate, and actual on-water (as opposed to in-court) racing, so it all comes down to a GRUDGE MATCH between Titan One, Ernesto Bertarelli (Alinghi) and Titan Two, Larry Ellison (BMW/Oracle - - or maybe just Oracle at this point, since advertisers are running for the exits, but Larry still runs Oracle, so they can’t pull out, unless stockholders revolt.).

A big footnote: This race is NOT supposed to be a grudge match between two teams representing two countries. It’s supposed to be a global regatta open to several teams from several countries, pure and simple, with a run-off between the challenging teams, before tackling the Defender. Not brain surgery, in fact, it’s a system that has worked well since the middle of the 19th century.

Let’s toss this “Golden G.” Certificate, give the Defender the right to properly host a regatta, which it has been trying to do since JULY LAST YEAR, and get this show on the road before there is no more show to be shown, and no spectators to spill beer on the program.

If the Defending “rules” see a bit one-sided or too avant-guard to satisfy everyone, too bad. Win it back and you can set your own agenda. That’s the way this game is played. The winner stacks the deck and works at stomping the competition. The competition design boats that can beat the Defender, and practices and practices until they sail flawlessly to win it away.

Let’s not further complicate the sport by getting into a pissing contest of defining when “is” means “is,” in the unforgotten words of a past U.S. President (whose wife is currently running after his job). Fire the lawyers and dust off the marina slips. We’re going a-sailing once again.

New Year's Resolution: Get on With It!

It’s official. This is the Silly Season, totally.

Let’s review this week’s “excitement:”

First, we have the specter of Larry Ellison’s BMW/Oracle guys trying to defend their challenge against Ernesto Bertarelli and his Alinghi guys in something the Ellison folks described (accidentally, one supposes) as a 90 by 90 foot keelboat. It's like an Indy 500 car with an anchor dragging behind the bumper.

This genie’s out of the spout now and can’t be put back, legally. Don’t they wish now!

Second, while sailors worldwide are pondering this ludicrous-looking “boat” (Mr. Bertarelli’s folks call it a barge, maybe one for King Tut (your blogster’s example)?), the Ellison legal team tries valiantly to back track (front track?) before a no-nonsense New York City judge, who is not amused one bit by these nautical types (he usually only with murderers and con-men, guys and gals whose motivations make perfect sense - - money, greed, sex, drugs and rock & roll). Ellison’s lawyers can’t possibly be sailors, since with a straight face they try to defend this nonsense.

Third, with two races to go, Enersto Bertarelli has been having a lovely time actually RACING in Key West Race Week 2008 in Florida, racing in Farr 40 rocketships. Who cares what place he earns (he’s about 9th right now out of 25+ racers, with a 17th and a 6th, with no first’s, as the first four placers), but it’s a respectable showing in this fleet of hot-doggers and pro’s. And great practice

There’s definitely no “hiding” in these fleets of mostly NEW boats with mostly NEW, IDENTICAL SAILS, and crews from all over the place (there are three Italian boats ahead of Alinghi (“Alingette,” your Blogger calls it), which sports a one-of-a-kind, slick-looking paint job with an unforgettable swirling name starting at the bow, a definite plus and minus if you’re trying to hide in the fleet or not setting yourself up to be blanketed by the local teams.

Farr 40’s, of course, satisfy most wealthy types with short attention spans, requiring a set of new sales ($30,000”) and boat ($347,492, less sails and electronics and windex) at regular intervals, and instant reflexes on the race courses or ka-blewie goes everything including the carbon-fiber rig. For that money you get a boat that actually 40.74 feet long with a hefty 8.53 foot draft (precluding entry in many marina’s worldwide at low tide). They’ve also eliminated running backs and carry no overlapping jib, both the bane of crews worldwide. They do, of course, sport gigantic spinnakers to separate the men from the pretenders. One can even order an oversized, oversized wheel for the truly immense pleasure of steering while resting a chin on the wheel while heading to the downwind mark.

So, that’s it.

Another “Lost Week” in the America’s Cup saga. The New York judge says let’s take a few more days and study sailing technology (obviously, he’s in a bit over his head, but willing to wing it with a little help from international sailing bodies).

Of course, the Bertarelli Defense Team is already talking about future appeals of any ruling going the wrong way, and further legal line-splitting. Yes, let’s keep this going indefinitely until participants reach maturity.

Court Again, Without a Paddle

Yawn.

Ka-ching, in the coffers of the lawyer non-sailors.

Obviously, if you follow the America’s Cup saga at all, you’ve heard (maybe not?) that the Alinghi and America’s Cup Management guys have tossed the ball back to the New York judge and cried: “You didn’t get it. You didn’t understand us guys and the larger issues at stake. You….need to hear it from a local law firm’s aces! We're counter-suing for justice (and because we can)!”

At stake, the usual things: When’s a yacht club a yacht club, who’s the legitimate Challenger of Record, and what-the-hell sort of boats and when-the-hell are they going to get a round to designing, bulding and racing them?

Bulletin:

The magnificant supporting facilities in Valencia, among the big arguments for having the next event there, are slowing dying - - leases are/have expired, the rats are leaving the sinking ship, and the local chamber of commerce is trying to put a positive spin on this high-end, one-use property (only high-end if it hosts an America’s Cup now and then….).

We should know something, finally, this month about the next America’s Cup yacht, be it a barge with keels, or a 300-foot canoe powered by the energy of brass balls clanging together.

As they say on Wall Street: “Wanna hot tip. Buy high and expect to lose everything, unless you happen to win, by some miracle of fate or technology or skill, the usual vilians in all this.”

For the more curious among us: Let’s have our own version of an Iowa Presidential caucus: All in favor of having the next Cup held in New York Harbor, in gold-plated New York Yacht Club Swan 44’s, say: “Aye!”

"Stay tuned."

Who’s the home team?

When it comes to the America’s Cup, who exactly does one cheer for?

There are the Swiss, the current champs, but who has the time to read Swiss newspapers or is in the area (Switzerland) to catch up on team gossip? They're a non-entity for foreigners. Neutrals, bankers, watch-makers, whose Army has great knives, but no nukes.

There are the USA guys, winners from times gone by, but how does one cheer them on? Most of these Top Guns for Hire already are racing on other boats, happily supporting the teams of other countries (Traitors? Turncoats? ExPats?). Who cares a rats-part about them?

And, there’s everybody else. New Zealanders? The Aussie’s? They’re so far away, it’s hard to relate, somehow. The Brits? How jolly, but boring. The Spanish or Italians? One can support them, but when the fighting gets rough, you have to translate everything they say and write into English before universal understanding, perhaps.

Who’s that leave: Individual team owners or presidents, one supposes. And, exactly how does one relate to someone who can buy a new Ferrari every darned day of the year and still have buckets and barrels and trainloads of money left over to spend?

So, let’s hear it for the sailmakers, the designers, the boat builders (who?), and the riggers and the hoards of little guys who create and keep these monster boats going. Three cheers!!! Now there’s someone authentic to cheer on without holding back.

2007 AC33 Helm-to-Lee's Sailing “Achievement” Awards

AC33 Helm-to-Lee’s Spoilsport of the Year: Larry Ellison & BMW/Oracle who, despite losing in the early rounds of the past America’s Cup, initiated a (winning) legal challenge in New York City that even yet has failed to resolve much of ANYTHING. Close second: Ernesto Bertarelli et al, who are going on to “appeal” this negative New York verdict. (It’s still a USA court folks. Is it a shock its rulings favor US teams every time?)

AC33 Helm-to-Lee’s Yachtsperson of the Year: Ernesto Bertarelli, who has honestly tried (at his own expense) to reach out to all Challengers and thereby orchestrate a better, more exciting and more interesting America’s Cup event in 2008 or 2009.

AC33 Helm-to-Lee’s Wimpiest Sailing Advertiser of the Year: France’s Louis Vuitton, which pulled the plug on its long-standing support of the AC Challenger Series of elimination rounds leading up to the next America’s Cup. What else could they possibly want besides an audience of millions and millions of viewers with money to burn? Wimpy, wimpy, wimpy!

AC33 Helm-to-Lee’s Worst America’s Cup Web Site: BMW/Oracle, whose site features “old-hat” information and buries news of substance several levels down. It also receives a booby prize for one of the most difficult to navigate sites in the sailing community.

AC33 Helm-to-Lee’s Worst News Media Coverage: All the major wire services (like the Associated Press) and major newspapers (starting with The New York Times), whose sailing coverage is just awful, minimal and simplistic for such an exciting sport. Shame.

AC33 Helm-to-Lee’s Most Unexciting Sailing Organization: America’s Cup Management committee, which appears not to have even “scratched the surface” on trying to promote AC33, using readily available public relations tools and promotional concepts, in a consistent, ongoing, organized and formal way. It's going to take a lot more than "situation normal" to "launch" this event in the years ahead, certainly in the United States. Let's pick up the pace and run with the ball, so to speak. You're up against some powerful lobbyists for news space, from football teams to the Olympic events. Think millions, not thousands, of dollars to get noticed and level the media field.

AC33 Helm-to-Lee’s Most Boring America’s Cup Teams and Skippers: All Challengers please take a bow to each other and say: "We suck. We promise not to hide in 2008." Where are the exciting personalities, the rock-star images, the excitement of the chase and the sex/drugs/rock & roll associated with every other sporting event in the world? Let’s not be bashful, please. We’re trying to build interest and excitement. No Melba milk-toasters need apply for these jobs. This sport requires racing AND promotional skills.

AC33 Helm-to-Lee's Worst Photos and Videotapes: All participants. For an event that was viewed by millions and offered prime seating to thousands, where are all the photos and the videotape? You can't tell your Blogster that the few hundred photos and few snippets of videotape on various web sites are ALL THERE IS? Where's the rest and who's keeping it off the market? This sport requires constant reinforcement of the "excitement" and "special nature" of the sport. Photos and videotapes are worth a thousands words in today's Information Age. Let's get them out there and build a following. They can't all have been "sold" to one news media organization or be "owned" by one photographer. That's crazy.

AC33 Helm-to-Lee’s Most Confused Sporting Event: AC33, the next America’s Cup. Right now it’s still a non-starter, five months after AC32. We can all do better in 2008.

AC33 Helm-to-Lee's Best AC32 Book: alinghi, from Swiss publisher Favre. It's thin on text but rich on colorful photos and the "thrill of the chase." Keep 'em coming in 2008! This has to be the tip of the proverbial iceberg!

Blogster's New Year’s Resolutions:

• Continue to report and comment about America’s Cup 33 activities, providing substantive and relevant information with an eye toward contributing to the fun and joy of sailing.
• Analyze each activity in the context of common sense and practicality, then comment accordingly on an ongoing basis.
• Help to build a global audience for this splendid, somewhat misunderstood, sailboat racing, especially in the US market, where the America’s Cup event coverage in the news media has virtually stopped, for a variety of reasons.
• Offer a selection of quality advertisers to the sailing community at large.
  

- Your Blogster