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July 2: Alinghi to launch spider-like
catamaran on July 8? Speculation on America's Cup Deed of Gift
multi-hulls from Richard Gladwell:
Jun 23: New America's Cup-related race
series may be announced soon, similar to Louis Vuitton Pacific Series,
according to Richard Gladwell: Jun 17: Alinghi reveals little about giant new race yacht for the America's Cup defense: "It's quite unusual and we are trying to keep it a secret as long as we can. We are hoping to stop our opponents from seeing it and reacting to it". July is still the expected date for a launch: Story at CNN.com plus link to short video
May 31: Layoffs at BMW Oracle Racing: May 29: Spanish America's Cup team Desafío Español is reported to be breaking up, according to a report at Agence France-Presse May 27: Interview with veteran America's Cup photographer Carlo Borlenghi: Offshorerules.com May 27: Cameron Appleton leads Cup skippers Paul Cayard, Dean Barker, Karol Jablonski, and Rod Davis at RC44 Austria Cup
May 19: Transcript of May 14 court hearing
provides guide to what happened and road ahead for the next defense of the
America's Cup. SNG's attorney says
that they are committed to a northern hemisphere race:
May 18: Meteorologist Chris Bedford takes a
look at what conditions might prevail for a February America's Cup
defense in Valencia, if it came to be:
May 17: With the next America's Cup
opportunity years away, Team New Zealand's efforts may turn back to
Volvo Ocean Race:
May 15: Britain's Team Origin
scales back operations with 33rd Defense pending. "There is no
point burning through cash and just hanging around."
May 14: Alinghi promises new boat "three
times as big and four times as fast" as their 2007 mono-hull, launching
this July:
May 11: Italian YC Circolo
Vela Gargnano Notice of Challenge names 90'x90' yacht.
Under terms of the Deed of Gift, Alinghi may not accept a second challenge:
May 7: Russell Coutts says he's unlikely to
skipper Golden Gate's giant multi-hull in the upcoming America's Cup
match (1:47 video):
May 7: More letters exchanged between
SNG and GGYC at
GGYC website.
May 6: In a follow-on to discussions
of Custom-House Registry and the Deed of Gift, Richard Gladwell at
Sail-World has posted a selection of writings by George Schuyler
illustrating his interpretation of fairness between challenger and defender
when it comes to information exchange:
May 6:
Alinghi asks GGYC to meet again before court date.
Also, see new SNG legal documents:
May 5: Make a gift to
Mystic Seaport in memory of Olin Stephens II: May 5: Cat season: Décision 35: Alinghi launches training on Lake Geneva. See video at Alinghi site. Extreme 40's on the River Seine: BMW Oracle joins iShares Cup launch at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
May 4: For review in light of recent events,
read for yourself Mercury Bay Boating Club's Custom-House Registry and Notice of
Challenge from 1988: May 3: John Burnham reports on the America's Cup Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at boats.com: “Don’t worry. The spirit of George Schuyler will prevail, and the Cup will be alright”
May 1: Photos of the America's Cup
Hall of
Fame Induction Ceremony:
May 1:
Correction:
Valencia Sailing initially reported that Alinghi filed a motion
Friday to
disqualify Golden Gate YC's legal counsel. The story has been updated,
and according to Alinghi the motion is actually intended to disqualify
GGYC:
April 30: America's Cup Hall of Fame
Dinner coming Thursday at New York YC.
John Longley (Australia II), filmmaker
John Biddle, and sailmaker
Thomas Ratsey are this year's inductees: Shosholoza team member Mike Coburn fights against Leukemia, and fights to help others. Read the Story |
America's Cup Hall of Fame honoree Jack Sutphen, who competed throughout the 12-meter era from 1958 to 1987, is still winning races these days at the age of 91, more than 80 years after he first learned to sail. Sutphen raced against and helped train Cup winners like Bob Bavier and Dennis Conner, and has written a book recounting his yacht racing experiences, Messing About in Boats for 80 Years.
Read more at Sailing World Magazine Meetings Afoot to Put Boats Back on Water Discussions that include ETNZ, BMW Oracle, Alinghi, and ... Bruno Troublé have been taking place recently, according to Stuart Alexander. Also included are representatives of British, French, and Italian teams. The goal? Resurrect racing for would-be America's Cup teams, possibly along the lines of last February's well-received Louis Vuitton Pacific Series.
Read more from the Independent Teammates, Friends, Saddened by Loss Paul Wellbank, a 37-year old trainer who had just recently been laid off by the BMW Oracle Racing team, died suddenly last week in Valencia. Police are said to have ruled out either foul-play or suicide as factors in his death. Read stories at stuff.co.nz and New Zealand Herald BMW Oracle Press Conference Outlines Challenger's Status Representatives of America's Cup Challenger Golden Gate YC and BMW Oracle made presentations and spoke with the media Thursday, May 21, in Valencia. Tom Ehman and Russell Coutts outlined their understanding of the terms of the defense and the obligations and restrictions placed on both teams. Also mentioned was that construction on BMW Oracle's challenging yacht started this March, with the team making the distinction that the giant multi-hull that has been built and tested on the west coast of the US is BOR90, not the USA as named in their challenge. GGYC has also proposed that the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) mediate further negotiations between the parties. And, if GGYC were to win in 2010, they expect to defend in Valencia, looking at 2011 or 2012 depending on input from potential challengers. Valencia Sailing's Pierre Orphanidis covered the press conference, including audio of the presentation:
See plenty more about the GGYC/BMW Oracle press conference at Valencia
Sailing
America’s Cup Deed of Gift Match: From
World Yacht Racing Forum Newsletter: WYRF: Will the Deed of Gift (DoG) match be an exceptional moment in the history of yacht racing or a boring, one-sided regatta? Tim Jeffery: Both! There will be a ghoulish fascination in marveling at two fabulous, fascinating, fast and frightening yachts trying to knock each other out. But unless something goes "twang!", a small speed advantage will be amplified into a big gap. And big gaps don’t make exciting contests. The DoG courses (a long windward/leeward or a triangle) will discourage too much cornering.
Read more questions, answers, and opinions in an
excerpt from the WYRF Newsletter Judge Confirms February Defense
May 14:
"As to Golden Gate’s request for sanctions, I am directing SNG to hold
the race as per the order of the Court of Appeals and Judge Cahn, in
February, in the Northern Hemisphere as the order required." Additionally, SNG remains free to choose the actual location, naming it before August 8, six months before the first race. And Golden Gate YC needs to submit its yacht documentation for a racing vessel that complies with the Deed of Gift and GGYC's own Notice of Challenge dimensions.
Selected Stories at: Defender and Challenger ordered to select third-party mediator within week: Reuters story at Guardian.co.uk
"Justice Kornreich provided a list of mediators headed by former Justice
Cahn. Although Justice Cahn was once voted Seahorse Magazine
Sailor of the Month, the all lawyer, mostly former judge list does not
include any obvious sailors." Read more on the mediation aspect
and other analysis of Thursdays court hearing: Alinghi attorney Barry Ostrager on the February date in Valencia: "If they want to expose their sailors to dangerous conditions, we'll deal with that. We've seen what kind of sportsmen they are": AP story at Silicon Valley Mercury News Also from Barry Ostrager quoted by Reuters: It's definitely possible, but race would "not be in Valencia": Reuters story at ESPN.com Statements After Court Hearing
Golden Gate YC Press Release: "Today’s hearing should end any further delay to the 33rd America’s Cup and we can now look forward to some exciting racing in state-of-the-art boats early next year," Tom Ehman, GGYC spokesman, said following the hearing. On April 7, 2009, the New York State Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that GGYC is the rightful Challenger of Record and that the next match would be in ten months - early February 2010. However, in an April 23 letter to GGYC, Société Nautique de Genéve (SNG) sought to unilaterally dictate that the match date be delayed to May 2010 in defiance of the Court, which triggered a motion to hold SNG in contempt of court.
Alinghi Press Release: We now know that the America's Cup Match can take place in the Northern Hemisphere regardless of the date, which Justice Kornreich said can be agreed through mediation. In the event of no agreement being reached, Alinghi, representing the SNG, will race BMW Oracle, representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club, in February 2010.
In another important decision, Justice Kornreich ordered the GGYC to
stick to the specifications of their Notice of Challenge and instructed
the Challenger of Record to provide the Custom-House Registry as soon as
possible.” Allegations and Accusations Fly
Well, the gloves have come off in the Alinghi-BMW Oracle battle.
Alinghi's' latest court filings makes issue of information gathering by
BMW Oracle ("spying"). Arrests was made of a member of what
Alinghi paints in court documents as a "recon cell".
Golden Gate YC replies that Alinghi themselves had "spies" following BMW Oracle's giant new multi-hull operations on land and at sea in both San Diego and Anacortes. "Alinghi/SNG take the view that they can observe others but others cannot observer them." Read GGYC statement from Tom Ehman
Separately, GGYC calls Alinghi attempt to have GGYC disqualified is a
frivolous act of retaliation. All of this is sparked by allegations made in court documents filed May 11 (links to pdf formats) in preparation for the May 14 hearing in the New York State Supreme Court:
Alinghi's filings at
Alinghi Team Site:
GGYC's Filings in Response from
GGYC site: Club Wants to Create Multi-Challenger Multi-Hull America's Cup 33 A letter from Italian yacht club Circolo Vela Gargnano (+39 Challenge, 2007) to both SNG and GGYC asks for the club to be permitted to challenge for the America's Cup, turning the 33rd Defense from a strict Deed of Gift one-on-one match into a multiple challenger event. The letter, which states that CVG will participate "provided enough time is given to challengers to prepare," asks that the defender and challenger open a challenger selection process and agree on dates, courses, trials and other conditions to make this possible. Read the letter from CVG (pdf)
Golden Gate YC responds that with pending litigation it would be
inappropriate to comment at this time: Mutual Contempt Returns, Alinghi Files to Disqualify Golden Gate
Contempt? D-Q? Prison? Fines? Forfeits? Legal analyst Cory E. Friedman offers his learned (and sober) analysis: "There is a lot less here than meets the eye. Nobody will be held in contempt and nobody will be disqualified. The Court will likely rule that, barring agreement (and world peace), the date set in the Judgment (February 2010) really, really, really is the date and GGYC will have to provide a Custom House registry within some reasonable time period. BFD -- and I do not mean Black Flag Disqualification. Justice Cahn was presented with all of the arguments regarding the dates and the hemispheres and obviously concluded that his Order (now a Judgment) complied with the Deed. Figure it out." Read the rest at Scuttlebutt News
Alinghi's motion regarding the challenger's Custom-House Registry will
be heard in court on May 14 along with the Contempt of Court charges
that Golden Gate YC filed against the defender in regard to honoring the
race dates designated in the NY Supreme Court's recent decision.
Mutual Consent Folds: April 28: Disagreement on dates for the next defense of the America's Cup prompts the Challenger, Golden Gate YC, to file contempt of court charges against the Defender, Société Nautique de Genève. Golden Gate cites the New York Court of Appeals April 7 final order, which on its face proscribes a date 10 months from the filing of the court's decision, meaning February 8, 2010. SNG has made public and private statements that they will defend in May, 2010. Justice Shirley Kornreich has set a Supreme Court hearing in Manhattan, May 14 at 9:30 am, per court order issued today, and SNG's reply to the contempt filing is due by May 11. Read GGYC Press Release and see additional legal statements, affidavits, exhibits, and the Court's order at ggyc.com.
Update April 29:
Alinghi disputes dates, calls for Deed of Gift to be respected: "BMW Oracle Racing (BOR) and
its club Golden Gate (GGYC) have again chosen the New York law courts,
instead of accepting an invitation to another meeting to discuss the terms
of the 33rd America's Cup. They have ignored both our proposal to
open the competition to other challengers and our invitation to agree to
mutual consent terms." See also discussion from Cory E. Friedman at Scuttlebutt News: "Of course the monetary penalty for a contempt is meaningless with these folks, so the real object is to get an order reinforcing the February 2010 dates. GGYC hints that if SNG keeps it up, GGYC will ask for an order forfeiting the Cup."
And: Richard Gladwell at
Sail-World.com: "While the papers
raise the question of Forfeiture of the America's Cup, the reality is
that SNG are a single, long step, maybe two, away from this situation." |
Emirates Team New Zealand Wins the Louis Vuitton Pacific Cup
Louis Vuitton Pacific Series Brave, Big, and Famous In the midst of the ongoing hijinks that bring little pleasure to America's Cup fans, it is encouraging to have a reminder of what make this sport fun, and to poke a little bit of fun at the rest of it, too. John Rousmaniere's great speech accomplished both these goals at the America's Cup Hall of Fame induction dinner held recently in the New York YC's most hallowed room. We hope you will enjoy it.
Read John Rousmaniere's speech Open Letter from the 5 Previous America's Cup YC's to the Current Defender and Challenger Previous trustees seek multi-challenger regatta We write to encourage you to negotiate together for a fair and equitable multi-challenger competition for the thirty-third defense of the America’s Cup. We believe that such an event, as opposed to a “Deed of Gift” defense, is in the greater interest of the sport of sailing in general and of members of the broad America’s Cup community, who have invested their time and resources to make the event a true international competition of the highest order. We hope that the current challenger and defender will work together to find a way through their differences to bring about such an event for the good of yachting and the America’s Cup.
The Lord Iliffe, Commodore Royal Yacht
Squadron Stuart Alexander story at The Independent
Decision in NY Court of Appeals:
Golden Gate Yacht Club re-instated Quoting from the Court's 6-0 Decision: "Today, we are called upon to reexamine the Deed of Gift to determine the eligibility criteria for a Challenger of Record -- specifically whether the phrase "having for its annual regatta" requires a yacht club to hold an annual regatta on the sea prior to issuing its challenge (Deed of Gift, October 24, 1887, ¶ 4). We conclude that it does." "Since CNEV has failed to show that at the time it submitted its Notice of Challenge it was a "[c]lub fulfilling all the conditions required by" the Deed of Gift, it does not qualify as the Challenger of Record for the 33rd America's Cup competition and Supreme Court was correct in declaring GGYC to be the valid Challenger of Record." "It has been posited that the right to act as trustee of the America's Cup should be decided on the water and not in a courtroom. We wholeheartedly agree. It falls now to SNG and GGYC to work together to maintain this noble sailing tradition as "a perpetual Challenge Cup for friendly competition between foreign countries" (Deed of Gift, October 24, 1887, ¶ 3). Accordingly, the order of the Appellate Division should be reversed, with costs, and the orders of Supreme Court reinstated." Read the complete decision (pdf) The Court of Appeals is New York State's highest venue, and no further appeals are possible. In theory the lower court orders which are re-instated in this ruling lay out the basis for the when and where portions of the equation, the Challenger's Notice of Challenge starts a 10-month clock for the defense while the Defender decides the location of the races, though the selected location must conform with the seasonal requirements of the Deed as to northern or southern hemisphere. The specifics of when the match must be sailed by are somewhat murkier. A 10-month clock appears to have been running previously, though the participants may differ in when it began and when, if ever, it might have tolled (stopped). Olin J. Stephens II One of yacht design's greatest minds, a man who brought innovation and integrity to the sailing world for over eight decades, passed away September 13 at the age of 100. Most famous were his efforts in the defense of the America's Cup, where his boats won sailing's most famous and hard-fought trophy an incredible eight times between 1937 and 1980. Stephens himself sailed on Ranger in 1937 as well as later 12-Meter defender Columbia, and along with his late brother Rod, Olin Stephens played a vital role in many subsequent defenses well beyond being the winning designer. His more than 2000 designs found enduring success on virtually every stage in sailing, with Stephens' boats winning the Fastnet Race seven times, the Bermuda race eleven times, and even the Whitbread Round the World race twice, just to name a few major races. A list that begins with the famous trans-Atlantic winner Dorade, Bolero, Stormy Weather, Carleton Mitchell's Finisterre, the influential 6-Meter Goose, and Mike Vanderbilt's pre-war 12-Meter Vim only hints at the scope of Stephens' work. One-design classes, luxury and cruising yachts, and a progression of yacht racing measurement systems also fill his resume. Olin Stephens' company, Sparkman & Stephens, was the towering naval architecture firm of the 20th century, and leaves a legacy not simply of a fleet of yachts with impressive sailing performance, but of memorable beauty as well. Admired as much for his personal character as for his design genius, Stephens was also a generous mentor to generations of yacht designers, and anybody who has even read slightly of him will not forget the modesty, fairness, and kindness that those who knew him often remarked upon. Essentially self-educated, despite a half-year's study at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stephens brought a careful and critical eye to his work. While Stephens received much-deserved credit for the scientific and intellectual dimensions he contributed to yachting, those who worked with him recognized that just as important, if not more so, was an intuitive sense that came from attentive observation and a life-long determined curiosity. One S&S designer, Jay Paris, commented "He's designed more 12-Meters than anyone ever has or will, yet I've seen him stare at the wake of a 12-Meter for hours." Olin Stephens made the following comments at the conclusion of his autobiography All This and Sailing, Too. He was referring to a confusion he felt, among other things, about the nature of sailing as a pleasure and, for some, as a business, but perhaps here Stephens also communicates a small part of the wisdom that he leaves us on broader topics: "I come back to the confusion, the contrast, and in the end I feel doubt whether our technological and scientific learning has given us a better sport or a happier world. I fear we have lost, if I am a pessimist on the big issues of our life today, yet I have to reflect on the goodness I have seen in individuals. I see great goodwill every day and kindness beyond description. And I have recalled, in my reviewing my own story, the many friends who have helped me on my way. I have lived well with the hope that it is the activity that must count, the process, the doing. The result is only what happens. We press on but we can't control the end. The poet Rilke speaks of 'the many-digited sum that sorts into zero.' Enough said." Read Stories: Excerpt from John Rousmaniere's entry in the Encyclopedia of Yacht Designers: New York YC Thoughts from Dave Pedrick, Steve Van Dyck, T.J. Perotti, and others: Scuttlebutt Blog Short Interviews with
close friends: Obituary from:
New York Times Comment from Rolf Vrolijk at: Alinghi.com Olin Stephens Tribute:
Sparkman and Stephens |
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CupInfo's Main Coverage:
2007 America's Cup The 32nd Defense 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup -- Challenger Selection Louis Vuitton Acts 2004 to 2007 Online video highlights are available at Versus Network and sail.tv and America's Cup Anywhere 2007 Teams:
Defender of the America's Cup:
Challengers: |
Ben Ainslie, Terry Hutchinson, Rod Davis and others were in Long Beach last weekend for some hard fought match racing in the Congressional Cup. How are top America's Cup sailors (and some who aspire to be) dealing professionally and personally with the uncertainty and conflict surrounding the Auld Mug?
Read Diane Swintal's report at CupInfo Results: Comparing the Best Boats
ETNZ's Kevin Hall:
Dinghies and Cup Yachts
Talking with Peter Isler
Teams, Gallery, Stories, RR1 and 2, More: From Mothballs to Match Racing
Providing two race-ready Cup yachts on short notice on the far side of the world wasn’t smooth sailing, so to speak. "It was a bit of an epic," admits Grant Davidson, of BMW Oracle. Mothballed yachts had to be shipped round the globe, set up to be nearly identical, and now need to be maintained that way day after day of close quarters match racing under ten different teams. Captain Sarno Returns
The leader of South Africa's America's Cup challenger brings his team back home to his own birthplace, a small Italian town in the hills above Pompeii. NYYC Annual Regatta The New York Yacht Club's annual regatta will sail with a sprinkling of history in the fleet, including 12-meter America's Cup defenders Columbia, Intrepid, and Courageous along with other famous yachts such as the newly restored Dorade. Read more: NYYC Press Release and Regatta Site Italian Style
South Africa's Shosholoza and their ACC RSA-83 stood out among the assembled 200-boat fleet. The team's strong ties to the Italian city were in evidence in the warm welcome they generated at this exhibition event. 2007: Alinghi Defender Trials
CupInfo Visits the Defender Alinghi recently wrapped up their second round of trials in the Gulf, pitting SUI-91 against SUI-64, Ed Baird versus Peter Holmberg as skippers, to hone their preparations for the upcoming defense. Our man in Oman (or is that our guy in Dubai?) was there, talked with the top sailors, and brings you the story. Are there A and B teams? What's going on with the bowsprits? And what's it like when they are all out to beat you? Read Vaughn Woodfield's Alinghi Report More CupInfo Articles: Geordie Shaver's perspective on the America's Cup Talking with Mascalzone's Cameron Dunn Also: CupInfo's Allianz Cup Page And be sure to see the Features Page for many more articles, interviews, history, and fun stuff for Cup Fans
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Visiting Dogzilla
Our West Coast correspondent dropped by the BMW Oracle base in San Diego to check up on giant multi-hull progress and provides this report: Naturally the "dognormous" boat, using nearly every square inch of something that can't really be called a slip, is the focus of the morning's activity. Sails are loaded onto the boat with halyards and pulleys and cables -- cables of a size that get everyone's attention and mean no one has to be told to get out of the way. Even with the sails and sailors onboard, the boat sits elegantly on the water, with very little wetted surface.
Photo Galleries and more
below:
BMW Oracle Multi-hull on TV: Also, unrelated to BMW Oracle, enjoy this vintage Walter Cronkite interview with Ted Turner, circa 1977: CBS News Video
Oct 20: Two weeks of San Diego testing complete: BMW Oracle web site Inside the BMW Oracle compound:
It's interesting to note some comparisons between BMW Oracle's boat and the giant new 131-foot ocean racing trimaran Banque Populaire V. See Banque story and photos by Lyn Hines at Sailing World See more photos at the BMW Oracle Racing photo bank. First Flight
9/15 Why San Diego? "Warm weather, the right wind, sea conditions that will give us a good picture and a lot of room." : SignOnSanDiego.com 9/10 Monster Watching: "While sailing upwind in no more than 9 knots of breeze, they heeled the boat enough to sail on only the leeward float, making even speed with our media boat at roughly 26 knots": Scuttlebutt News 9/10 James Spithill: "We're not even at 50 percent yet and it's already pretty impressive.": Seattle Times 9/10 Training moving to San Diego: IHT 9/8 Sailing World podcast with James Spithill 9/3 John Kostecki: "...There isn't anything like this, a multi-hull like this..." Read more at NZ Herald
9/1
First Sail Press Release 8/30 Bob Fisher: 5300 sf mainsail, 3700 sf foresail, and 7500 sf spinnaker to be raised Saturday 8/29 Testing Begins 8/28 First sail Labor Day weekend?
James Spithill: "It's awesome, mate. The first time you see it in real life it's a shock factor, to be real honest." Read more at International Herald Tribune
Step-by-step coverage of launch and rigging nearly live Monday afternoon: Dogzillabuzz Blog Read Unveiling Press Release at BMW Oracle Site CupTracker 2007 CupInfo CupTracker™ is a powerful tool to analyze team results in the Louis Vuitton Acts, follow changes in the Louis Vuitton Rankings, check head-to-head results between teams at a glance, and track scoring through the Louis Vuitton Cup finals and the Big Match itself ! |
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Inquires please contact: Last update: Thursday July 02, 2009 |
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Some of the features on CupInfo : |
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Recent America's Cup Class Racing: Information about the UBS Trophy, the Moet Cup, the ACC worlds, plus other recent vintage and exhibition events that took place between America's Cup Defenses. UBS Trophy Racing: Photo Gallery and Racing Recap. CupLog, our chronology of news stories about America's Cup topics since racing ended in Auckland, with links where possible, through 2005. Valencia: Correspondent Félix García, covered some America's Cup related stories from the regatta's new Mediterranean home, providing a perspective on the event and the city that only a Valenciano can.
Shosholoza
Interview
Peter Holmberg Interview
J-Class Revisited
Storm Damages AC Yachts Coutts/Alinghi Our earlier content remains on line for your reference, too, including the 2007 Challenger Details Page: All the specifics we knew about the various teams and hopefuls (and some of the guesses) in one place; "Make Your Point" (a look at ACC bow design in the 2003 AC); and our Guide to the Host City Finalists Cheers! |
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Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), represented by Alinghi Challenge, defeated the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's Emirates Team New Zealand (5-2) in June and July 2007, successfully defending the America's Cup. SNG retains the Cup and will defend it in a location to be determined. Spain's Club Náutico Español de Vela (CNEV), represented by Desafío Español, was accepted immediately following Race 7 as the Challenger for the America's Cup, commonly referred to as the "Challenger of Record". Further negotiation took place between the Challenger and the Defender and/or candidates for challenger to finalize aspects of the competition in more detail. America's Cup Management (ACM), a separate authority formed for AC32 by SNG, was expected to again administrate the event itself. The rules the defender selected met with objection from several former challenger candidates, as did the selection of CNEV. Issues regarding the balance of power in the event were raised, and the eligibility of CNEV to even participate in the America's Cup was called into question. A contentious court case ensued, as documented in stories listed above, particularly in the news archives from the 3rd quarter of 2007 forward. The New York State Court of Appeals issued their ruling in early April, 2009, that Golden Gate Yacht Club was the rightful and legal challenger under the Deed of Gift. What's Next for the America's Cup? The Thirty-Third Defense of the America's Cup When? February 8th, 10th, and 12th, 2010. This date was determined by the Deed of Gift's 10-month notice period as applied by the Supreme Court of the State of New York. The 10-month notice period should have normally begun when the Notice of Challenge was submitted by the Challenger, but the intervening court activities lead the court to define the notice period as running from the date that their decision had become final and taken legal effect. When the New York State Court of Appeals settled the issue, the order was entered April 7th, 2009, and ten calendar months leads the next possible race date (Sundays and legal-holidays excepted) to being February, 2010. Where? Venue: The Defender is to select a location conforming to the Deed of Gift and the Orders of the New York Supreme Court. According to the court, this location can be in the Northern Hemisphere in this instance, despite the Deed of Gift. If the parties come to mutual agreement, however, they can choose any suitable location they both prefer. How? Best of Three Races. To quote the Deed of Gift: All such races shall be on ocean courses, free from headlands, as follows: the first race, twenty nautical miles to windward and return; the second race an equilateral triangular race of thirty-nine nautical miles, the first side of which shall be a beat to windward; the third race (if necessary) twenty nautical miles to windward and return. Who? Société Nautique de Genève is the Defender and Golden Gate Yacht Club is the Challenger. Alinghi represents SNG, and BMW Oracle Racing represents GGYC. What yachts? BMW Oracle has been testing a giant multi-hull yacht, conforming to their Notice of Challenge, which first sailed in September, 2008. Alinghi is reportedly building a boat in Switzerland, with their public statements declaring that it will be launched in July, 2009. The Deed of Gift requires that both boats must be constructed in the competitors' home countries. The Deed was modified in 1956 to no longer require a challenging yacht to sail to the site of the match on her own bottom, so the challenger can be transported by cargo ship or ocean-going barge. |
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