So nil points for my efforts at multi-tasking, I can sail or blog, but apparently not both…
There have been a couple of America’s Cup headlines in the past ten days, most notably the graceful retirement of Prada boss Patrizio Bertelli and his Luna Rossa team from the field of battle. After three Cup campaigns - which included winning the Louis Vuitton in 2000, making the semi-final in 2003 and the final in 2007 - Bertelli has decided he’s had enough. He stated simply that, ‘Participation in the next America's Cup was carefully analyzed, and while significant human and financial resources are already available, it was decided that, after three campaigns, a cycle had come to an end.’
Not particularly surprising, given the uncertainty levels surrounding the Cup – rather like world stock markets. Up or down? You pays your money and you makes your choice…
The times they are a changing - with Louis Vuitton and Prada gone, dominant brands from the last decade or two of the Cup, the next event is going to be different, however it plays out. The Swedish Victory Challenge seems equally underwhelmed by the current stand-off. They have sided with Vincenzo Onorato’s proposals (mentioned in the last blog - Russell Coutts subsequently commented that Oracle would withdraw their court action if Onorato's suggestions were followed). While Victory's Bert Willborg said, ‘We applaud Vincenzo Onorato’s initiative. Not only do we applaud his initiative, but we whole heartedly endorse what he has said in his statement.’
So in the blue corner, we have Victory and Mascalzone lined up loosely with Oracle in an effort to change the Alinghi Protocol. And in the red corner we have Desafio Espanol, Team Shosholoza, Team Origin and Team New Zealand lined up with Alinghi, having entered under the aforementioned, disputed Protocol. Leaning towards the red corner are United Internet Team Germany, who reconfirmed their intention to be there in 2009 - or whenever it might be – although they don’t appear to have gone so far as actually entering. They are also making noises about trying to hire Alinghi’s Olympic gold-medalist Jochen Schuemann. But there wasn’t any word on the fate of the Version 5 yacht that they’ve started to build…
Downer…
ACM/Alinghi have already crushed any notion of taking Vincenzo Onorato’s proposals seriously, ‘We have no intention of going back (on decisions that have been taken),’ Michel Hodara (the chief operating officer of ACM) told AFP.
Upper…
I can find one slim sign of hope… the much-trailed injunction that the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) and Oracle were supposed to be filing with the New York State Supreme Court (to prevent Alinghi from continuing to organize the 33rd America’s Cup while the GGYC court challenge was undecided) appears to be on hold. Is this a sign that there is finally some negotiating going on in the background?
Keeping Up…
If you’re struggling to keep up with the moves to date, those nice Scuttlebutt people have posted a PDF that you can download with a schedule of events so far, and an analysis of the way the legal moves might play out. It seems like a pretty solid review to me – the central point being that if it goes to court, it will come down to whether or not the Challenger of Record, Club Nautico Espanol de Vela (CNEV), is a yacht club under the Deed of Gift. There're also some thoughts on how the teams might react strategically (along with some dodgy history and semantics), from another anonymous contributor to an earlier blog. Come on dudes, I stick my name on it...
And Finally…
Then there was the Valencia Sailing blog sponsored rumour that Dean Barker was talking to Russell Coutts, Oracle’s CEO, about a job on the wheel with the US team. Given Barker and Coutts long association, stretching back through their time at TNZ, it’s not hard to see that Russell might talk to Dean about it. But the Kiwis stomped on the idea quicker than a fox going for the throat in a chicken coop. Although, since Jimmy Spithill was out of a job as of a week ago (when Luna Rossa pulled the plug), I guess we don’t have to look too far to see where Oracle might go for helming talent if they can’t get Barker…
Fastnet Race
The Fastnet started a day late this morning, and as I type this, it’s still forecast to be blowing dogs off chains in the Irish Sea come Tuesday/Wednesday. It seemed like a sound call to me, keeping the bulk of the fleet and the smaller boats the safe side of Land’s End until the forecast has a chance to harden into reality, or not…
As for the Open 60s, racing in the official Prologue for the Barcelona World Race, they’ve got a bit on. But according to the race tracker on the official website, Jonathan McKee and Guillermo Altadill in Estrella Damm had turned back just after clearing the Solent. I guess the reason why will become apparent in due course, but added to the dismasting of Pindar during Cowes Week’s Round the Island race, it doesn’t bode well for this new generation of 60s…
www.markchisnell.com
Mark Chisnell ©
There have been a couple of America’s Cup headlines in the past ten days, most notably the graceful retirement of Prada boss Patrizio Bertelli and his Luna Rossa team from the field of battle. After three Cup campaigns - which included winning the Louis Vuitton in 2000, making the semi-final in 2003 and the final in 2007 - Bertelli has decided he’s had enough. He stated simply that, ‘Participation in the next America's Cup was carefully analyzed, and while significant human and financial resources are already available, it was decided that, after three campaigns, a cycle had come to an end.’
Not particularly surprising, given the uncertainty levels surrounding the Cup – rather like world stock markets. Up or down? You pays your money and you makes your choice…
The times they are a changing - with Louis Vuitton and Prada gone, dominant brands from the last decade or two of the Cup, the next event is going to be different, however it plays out. The Swedish Victory Challenge seems equally underwhelmed by the current stand-off. They have sided with Vincenzo Onorato’s proposals (mentioned in the last blog - Russell Coutts subsequently commented that Oracle would withdraw their court action if Onorato's suggestions were followed). While Victory's Bert Willborg said, ‘We applaud Vincenzo Onorato’s initiative. Not only do we applaud his initiative, but we whole heartedly endorse what he has said in his statement.’
So in the blue corner, we have Victory and Mascalzone lined up loosely with Oracle in an effort to change the Alinghi Protocol. And in the red corner we have Desafio Espanol, Team Shosholoza, Team Origin and Team New Zealand lined up with Alinghi, having entered under the aforementioned, disputed Protocol. Leaning towards the red corner are United Internet Team Germany, who reconfirmed their intention to be there in 2009 - or whenever it might be – although they don’t appear to have gone so far as actually entering. They are also making noises about trying to hire Alinghi’s Olympic gold-medalist Jochen Schuemann. But there wasn’t any word on the fate of the Version 5 yacht that they’ve started to build…
Downer…
ACM/Alinghi have already crushed any notion of taking Vincenzo Onorato’s proposals seriously, ‘We have no intention of going back (on decisions that have been taken),’ Michel Hodara (the chief operating officer of ACM) told AFP.
Upper…
I can find one slim sign of hope… the much-trailed injunction that the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) and Oracle were supposed to be filing with the New York State Supreme Court (to prevent Alinghi from continuing to organize the 33rd America’s Cup while the GGYC court challenge was undecided) appears to be on hold. Is this a sign that there is finally some negotiating going on in the background?
Keeping Up…
If you’re struggling to keep up with the moves to date, those nice Scuttlebutt people have posted a PDF that you can download with a schedule of events so far, and an analysis of the way the legal moves might play out. It seems like a pretty solid review to me – the central point being that if it goes to court, it will come down to whether or not the Challenger of Record, Club Nautico Espanol de Vela (CNEV), is a yacht club under the Deed of Gift. There're also some thoughts on how the teams might react strategically (along with some dodgy history and semantics), from another anonymous contributor to an earlier blog. Come on dudes, I stick my name on it...
And Finally…
Then there was the Valencia Sailing blog sponsored rumour that Dean Barker was talking to Russell Coutts, Oracle’s CEO, about a job on the wheel with the US team. Given Barker and Coutts long association, stretching back through their time at TNZ, it’s not hard to see that Russell might talk to Dean about it. But the Kiwis stomped on the idea quicker than a fox going for the throat in a chicken coop. Although, since Jimmy Spithill was out of a job as of a week ago (when Luna Rossa pulled the plug), I guess we don’t have to look too far to see where Oracle might go for helming talent if they can’t get Barker…
Fastnet Race
The Fastnet started a day late this morning, and as I type this, it’s still forecast to be blowing dogs off chains in the Irish Sea come Tuesday/Wednesday. It seemed like a sound call to me, keeping the bulk of the fleet and the smaller boats the safe side of Land’s End until the forecast has a chance to harden into reality, or not…
As for the Open 60s, racing in the official Prologue for the Barcelona World Race, they’ve got a bit on. But according to the race tracker on the official website, Jonathan McKee and Guillermo Altadill in Estrella Damm had turned back just after clearing the Solent. I guess the reason why will become apparent in due course, but added to the dismasting of Pindar during Cowes Week’s Round the Island race, it doesn’t bode well for this new generation of 60s…
www.markchisnell.com
Mark Chisnell ©