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.