The staging of the 33rd America's Cup continues to be fought by lawyers rather than sailors, with BMW Oracle, the American team backed by Larry Ellison, the computing mogul, appealing against a court ruling last week that a Spanish team would be the challengers of record to Alinghi, the holders from Switzerland, and thus be the team with whom the rules for a multi-challenger event are negotiated.
It will delay the staging of the next cup by at least six months, probably pushing the finals into 2011. However, both sides have said that they would not be opposed to Team Origin, the British sailing team run by Sir Keith Mills, stepping in as alternative challengers and peace-brokers.
Oracle argue that Club Nautico Español de Vela, the Spanish challengers, are glorified patsies, which would allow Alinghi to set their rules for the competition.
Speaking to The Times, Russell Coutts, the Oracle chief executive who won the America's Cup for Alinghi in 2003, but then fell out with the team's owner, said: “The Spanish club was set up as a convenience for Alinghi, who wanted to control the rules for the competition. That's not how the cup has been conducted in the past. Why not just call it the Alinghi Cup, if that's what they want? I'd find it difficult to enter the event and spend all that money with such a one-sided set of rules.”
Oracle object to Alinghi wanting to appoint the match judges, set the schedule and exclude any challengers they wish, a charge supported by Vincenzo Onorato, the owner of the Mascalzone Latino team from Italy. “We have to hope Oracle will win because, if they don't, the modern cup will come to a shameful end,” he said.
Alinghi deny this, pointing out that all the officials would be approved by the International Sailing Federation, the world governing body. “I'm disappointed they appealed,” Brad Butterworth, the Alinghi skipper, said. “The protocol that we first put out was a bit aggressive, but we have made a lot of changes to it and 14 entries are signed up to it.”
Oracle's appeal is the final chance that either side have to go to the courts, but a resolution could be found, perhaps with Team Origin as compromise challengers. “That would be great if it would give us a multichallenger event,” Butterworth said. If Oracle win an appeal but fail to agree terms with Alinghi, the cup would be decided by a one-to-one match.
Coutts also backed Team Origin as peace-brokers, with caveats. “I've not spoken to Larry [Ellison] about this, but I'd support a negotiated fair set of rules,” he said. “I would have an issue if they accepted Alinghi's rules.”
(Source: Timesonline.co.uk)
