the 33rd America's Cup - Let me try to explain.........

The 33rd America’s Cup match has been delayed so many times, it is hard for the serious players, let alone the spectator to understand the latest reasons. So let me try to explain:

A. Alinghi 5 has sails which were produced on a mould in America, then shipped to Switzerland to be glued together and finished.

B. GGYC says the whole boat, including sails, must be ‘constructed’ in the country of origin, eg Switzerland, and has taken the matter to court.

C. SNG say that, if Alinghi 5’s sails are banned, Alinghi will forfeit the series rather than race and then find they are disqualified.

"We have been clear: If BMW Oracle succeeds in disqualifying the Defender's sails then there will be no Match," Meyer said. "Russell Coutts [BMW Oracle skipper] will have won the America's Cup for Larry Ellison without sailing."

D. Everything else is just ‘smoke and mirrors’. No other legal issues are involved.

So why have BMW Oracle raised the question of sails when they know that American-made sails were used by almost all teams in the 32nd AC event without any complaint or protest. Why has it become such an issue now?

Tom Ehman of GGYC says: ....... the 33rd Match is not a normal regatta. It is not even a normal America’s Cup. It is a “Deed of Gift match” in which the clear wording of the Cup’s ruling document must be adhered to by both teams.

This statement suggests that, in previous Cup events, the use of American sails was a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ between all the teams involved. Given the bad blood that exists between these two teams, it is clear that agreement or compromise is simply not possible at this late stage. It is also nearly certain that the Supreme Court will not rule on this case until after the series has begun.

Unless someone ‘blinks first’, racing will go ahead on February 8th, weather permitting. What happens after the ‘grudge match’ has been settled, and one team has ‘won’ the America’s Cup? It seems quite likely that the whole show will end up back in court. Why?, because the two teams have failed to reach agreement on so many points up to now, it seems very probable that one or the other will find a reason (genuine or spurious, depending upon your viewpoint) to protest the whole event. The fact is, they have to go racing on February 8th just to satisfy the New York Supreme Court that they were acting in accordance with the Court’s ruling; that is: if you are going to race, the race must start no later than 10 months after the Court ruled that you should!

It will still be a thrilling spectacle and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness a true ‘Battle of the Giants’. We will be there on Monday, February 8 (not the12th as previously reported) and we hope to see you there.
Mike O’Neill

BMW Oracle: ‘return America’s Cup 33 Match to Valencia’

“The America’s Cup is meant to be hard to win, not impossible to lose,” Russell Coutts

In the latest round of court battles with Team Alinghi, BMW Oracle’s hosts Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) of San Francisco have stated:

“GGYC has served our reply brief and exhibits on SNG and filed them with the NY Court. Our latest filing is a point by point rebuttal of SNG's opposition papers to our motion asking the Court to invalidate RAK as the venue and return the AC 33 Match venue to Valencia in February, 2010. The hearing on this venue motion, and our motion for fair rules previously briefed (and papers posted below), is Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 11am, Supreme Court of New York County, 60 Centre St., New York City.” 19 Oct 09

Team Alinghi, through their club Societe Nautique de Geneve SNG, replied:

Geneva, Switzerland - (2009-10-27)
“By filing their eighth legal action against the Defender of the America's Cup in two years, Larry Ellison and his Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) have demonstrated yet again that their true intention is to win sailing's most prestigious trophy in court instead of on the water. After failing in their attempts to circumvent the terms set in the governing Deed of Gift, Ellison is now seeking to snatch the Cup from Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) with a new round of baseless allegations,” said Fred Meyer, Société Nautique de Genève Vice-Commodore. “As two-time winner of the America's Cup and organiser of what was widely considered the most successful America's Cup event ever in Valencia, Spain, in 2007, SNG and Alinghi will continue to fight for their legitimate rights in order to promote the sport of sailing around the world. We hope that GGYC will abandon this unsportsmanlike conduct and either join the competition on the waters off Ras Al Khaimah this February or let other teams who want to participate challenge for the Cup,” he concluded.

Alinghi team skipper Brad Butterworth said: “BMW Oracle should clean up their unsportsmanlike behaviour with a dose of saltwater and sunshine and challenge for the Cup on the water. Otherwise they should stand aside and let other teams compete.”

"The complaint is an affront to the America's Cup, to the UAE, to our country's relationship with an important ally, and to the judicial process. It is just a PR stunt. There is nothing in the complaint that hasn't been the subject of prior or pending legal proceedings. Basically, GGYC doesn't want to race SNG on the water after it disenfranchised 19 other clubs from competing in an elimination series and dislocated hundreds of sailors and participants in the sailing industry,” concluded lead counsel for the Société Nautique de Genève, Barry Ostrager of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.

It is perhaps significant that, where GGYC have simply stated their intention to continue their court action, SNG used their reply to continue maligning Team BMW Oracle and questioning their motives. It would be nice to think that, following the court’s decision later today, a line can be drawn under this sorry chapter in the history of the America’s Cup..........but don’t hold your breath... If Ernesto Bertarelli can be persuaded to put the bad feelings that exist between him and Larry Ellisson to one side, Valencia would welcome both teams back with open arms.

America’s Cup Dealine Approaches

The two open letters below, one from AYRE Challenge and the reply from Russell Coutts of BMW Oracle, seem to show a closing of the chasm between Ernesto Bertarelli of Team Alinghi and Larry Ellison of BMW Oracle.

The documents referred to by Coutts are critical to the reaching of an amicable settlement of this long and expensive war between two of the richest men in the world. Bertarelli’s original plans for the 33rd AC Challenge were unacceptable to Ellison and to many other teams. In an effort to overcome the resulting 15 month stalemate, Bertarelli organized meetings in Geneva with other challengers which resulted in these plans being significantly revised. Team BMW Oracle were not at these meetings and their own suggestions for avoiding further court action were ignored. Bertarelli has declared a deadline of 15 December for entries and Coutts has requested copies of the proposed plans by 8 December, giving his team a week to study and digest the plans.

As the AYRE Challenge letter states: “The only important issue is to remedy the reasons that caused BOR’s action”.

Quite simply, if BMW Oracle receive the documents and proceed to nit-pick and prevaricate over relatively minor details, I believe they will lose the goodwill and respect of the majority who have supported their stand.

If BMW Oracle receive the documents and, following clarification of certain points, feel able to re-submit their challenge, then it seems likely that the America’s Cup will be able to proceed as planned in Valencia in 2010.

If Team Alinghi fails to provide the documents requested by 8 December, then BMW Oracle are, in my opinion, perfectly justified in pursuing their claim through the courts.

This will be very sad for all those who have had to put their lives on hold while this drama has unfolded, but it would be worse to see this 157 year old trophy brought into further disrepute.

Mike O’Neill

America’s Cup Latest 26 October 2008

Well, it appears that Team Alinghi’s announcement that they are “taking the necessary steps to get the 33rd America’s Cup back on track”, failed to acknowledge the conciliatory proposals put forward by Larry Ellisson of Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) in his 17 October letter to Ernesto Bertarelli of Société Nautique de Genève (SNG).

In essence, the letter comes down to nine points:


1 GGYC support plans to up-date AC regatta to extent possible under current Deed of Gift.

2 Agrees some SNG proposals to update have merit but should not be implemented without serious consideration and then only after consultation with ‘the important stakeholders’ [presumably Trustees, recent challengers and prospective challengers]

3 GGYC agrees to end legal action if SNG agree to run 33rd Challenge with similar rules to 2007 event.

4 Strongly supports a one boat per team to help cut costs, provided there is a return to similar rules to 2007 event.

5 GGYC not in favour of Defending team (Alinghi) being able to join in Challenger Selection Series as this risks diluting the ‘impact and suspense of an America’s Cup match’.

6 GGYC would be in favour of 5 if ‘points earned during the CSS against the eventual challenger are applied to the America’s Cup Match’ or

7 GGYC would be in favour of 5 if ‘the races involving the Defender do not score (or lose) points for any Challenger vis-à-vis the other Challengers in the selection series.

8 GGYC believes selection of the new type of yacht should be decided in consultation with all interested parties. Alternatively, retain the existing design for one more Match as this would be the cheapest route.

9 GGYC agrees 2010 would be a good target date for the next Cup series.

Note to Points 5, 6 & 7: GGYC are saying they accept that a one-boat campaign (to reduce costs) means that the Defender (Team Alinghi) would be at a disadvantage in not being able to race-tune effectively. It is only for this reason they would agree that, for the first time in the Cup’s 157 year history, the Defender be allowed to tune up against the potential Challengers.

What GGYC do not accept is that these ‘tune-up’ races should be allowed to build up points for the eventual Challenger as in previous Selection Series, since the Defender could potentially influence the results and therefore the eventual outcome of the Series.

This two-page letter suggests the two opposing teams are very close to having the same goals and yet, from Team Alinghi’s announcement just six days later, it seems that once again, doubt and indecision could find us waiting for a New York court’s ‘final’ decision in the New Year.
Mike O’Neill

America's Cup Latest

America’s Cup Latest

As autumn takes hold here in Valencia, there comes just a glimmer of hope for an end to the 16-month long dispute between cupholders Team Alinghi and would-be challengers BMW Oracle.

Team Alinghi and their yacht club, Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) have announced that they are “taking the necessary steps to get the 33rd America’s Cup back on track” along with their chosen Challenger of Record, Club Náutico Español de Vela (CNEV) “and all challengers keen to join the competition.”

The announcement comes just weeks after Ernesto Bertarelli of Alinghi met with Larry Ellisson of BMW Oracle in San Francisco. Whether some form of agreement was reached has not yet been disclosed. However, it cannot have been a coincidence that Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC), Ellisson’s club, offered to end its court action immediately if SNG agreed to hold: “a conventional, multiple challenger regatta under rules similar to those that governed the event in 2007.”

A decision from the New York Supreme Court of Appeal is still awaited. For BMW Oracle to be a party to SNG’s proposal would require them to drop their legal action which disputed the validity of CNEV as the Challenger of Record. Considering the vast sums of money expended by both parties in this monumental legal wrangle, it seems unlikely that Ellisson would forego the opportunity to reverse the June decision without some fairly substantial say in the procedure leading up to the proposed regatta.

Rules for the 33rd America’s Cup would be “discussed and accepted by all those joining the competition”. If agreement can be reached by the 15 December closing date for entries, it is planned that the Cup matches would take place in Valencia (subject to final negotiations with the Spanish authorities) in 2010. Racing would be in a new class of yacht which has yet to be decided. There are also plans to have pre-regattas in 2009, using the existing America’s Cup yachts.

Let us hope this really is the end of this long-running saga and let battle re-commence on the high seas off Valencia! More news soon.........

Mike O’Neill