Last Monday BMW Oracle Racing relaunched their trimaran, BOR90 after a period of substantial modification following several session sailing trials off Anacortes and San Diego.

Like Alinghi 5 revealed the day before in Villeneuve, Switzerland, BOR90 featured the wave piercer bow - one of several modifications from her previous mode.

Sail-World asked multihull and high performance sailing guru, Steve Clark: Click here for his article in Sail-World how these bows work and that the designers are trying to achieve with this style

July 4, 2009 -- Alinghi, the Defender of the 33rd America's Cup, unveiled its 90ft catamaran this weekend in Villeneuve, Switzerland. This multihull represents a culmination of Swiss multihull heritage and is the first step in Alinghi's development process towards the 33rd America's Cup in February 2010. The boat will be launched by helicopter next week on Lake Geneva before the process of 'debugging' begins and the boat goes sailing for the first time.

Grant Simmer, design team coordinator, comments on the achievement: "Firstly this boat only exists because of Ernesto Bertarelli's 100% commitment to the team and his support and enthusiasm for this project. The boat demonstrates the talent and creativity of the designers and the skill and dedication of the boatbuilding and technical teams in building a boat of this complexity, facing many different challenges along the way and solving them to pull the project together. Finally, and more recently, the sailing team has defined many of the systems; they have worked with the designers to define the simplest possible solutions for what is already a very complex boat."

Rolf Vrolijk, chief designer: "People who see the boat for the first time seem surprised at how light and fragile it looks, that is really their first impression. Creating it has been a huge team effort, both in the design and the build groups; it has been a phenomenal team effort to come up with the concept and it really represents the depth of our group. For the moment we have pushed the envelope as much as we would like, this boat is really a base for further development and over the coming weeks we will collect as much information as we can and cross check it with the predictions, this will help us assess what level we are at and then to optimise from there. We have several opportunities and possibilities to change the concept but first we need a solid base to do our studies from."

Murray Jones, strategist and design team responsible for mast and rig programme: "This multihull is nothing like you've ever seen before in a big boat. It's like a small boat but scaled up. It's a highly finely tuned and engineered boat that's light. It's a piece of art. Alinghi 5 has evolved from the Swiss sailing boats, like the 41ft 'Le Black'. The basic engineering concept has come from 'Le Black' but everything else has come from the Alinghi design team, starting from a completely blank sheet of paper, with no preconceived multihull ideas. We started designing it and building it and we've done a lot of sailing and testing on 'Le Black' and the Décision 35s so we've incorporated some of the ideas we've picked up sailing these boats.

The focus of the concept and the design and build of the boat has been on what we need to sail a Deed of Gift Match: up/down racing of 20miles. We haven't focused on the other team at all, only concentrating on what makes our boat go the fastest. It's been a big job for quite a small design team and we'll see the results soon."

Information about the boat:
Boat type: Catamaran of carbon composite construction
Where built: Alinghi Villeneuve + Décision Corsier, Switzerland
Length waterline: 90ft
Hours to build: 100,000 manhours
Square metres of carbon fibre used: 30,000m2

Click here for Scuttlebutt (October 2008), Report on the BMW/Oracle Trimaran

May 19, 2009: America's Cup Deed of Gift match: What are the consequences for the sport of sailing?

Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget / BMW ORACLE Racing

From World Yacht Racing Forum: If all goes according to the current plans, the next America's Cup will take place on giant multihulls on February 2010. We ask America's Cup veterans Sébastien Col (FRA, K-Challenge) and Paolo Cian (ITA, Shosholoza), multihull pro sailor Cam Lewis (USA), and yachting journalists Tim Jeffery (UK) and Loic Le Bras (FRA) what effect they think this will have on the yacht racing industry as a whole.

WYRF: Will the DoG [Deed of Gift] 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 marvelling 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.

Cam Lewis: "I am an enthusiastic multihull racer and fan; also I was the grinder in 1988 on the Stars and Stripes catamaran. Was this 2 out of 3 series boring? Well, after 5 minutes sure it was to those watching, yet we onboard had tuned up one of the coolest sailboats to ever race in any event. So now you have a challenging team that has shown most of its cards, a wicked big and fast trimaran. The Swiss catamaran (my best guess) will look something like a scaled up D35ish sort of machine, with the 3rd hull for rig loads, headsail trim etc. So back to the question, it will be an exceptional match and an incredible moment in the history of yacht racing. It could end with a spectacular T bone in the 1st dial up with lots of blood and injuries or it could be a real thriller. Of course it might be a parade too! The good news is that the best of the best will be seen and there will be no LEAD involved, the heavy metal kind!

Loic Le Bras: "For sure it will be an exceptional event, and it will make history - no matter what people may think about the interest of such a match. There has never been a multihulls dual in the 150 years history of the America's Cup. It will be historical for the America's Cup and for the sport of sailing as a whole."

Paolo Cian: "The regatta will probably be boring; one monster will be faster than the other. But on the other hand this is a very special project, and the technology involved is fantastic. The interest will not be in the regatta itself, but in all the rest."

Sébastien Col: "The regatta might be boring, but it will attract a lot of attention. The technology involved is extraordinary, and I believe that we will see new things that will perhaps be adapted to everyone's sailing boat in the future. This is a positive point, and it was not the case anymore with the ACC rule."

WYRF: Is the match between two giant multihulls a good or a bad thing for the sport of sailing? Will it change the face of sailing forever?

Tim Jeffery: "Point One. The America's Cup is only the Everest of Sailing because you need oxygen to survive. It sits so far above the rest of the sport to be as good as separate from it. Point Two, Alinghi was greedy in victory and the only one with the resolve and resources to say 'hold on, your proposals for the next Cup go too far', Larry Ellison, did so. Result? Acute short term pain. The long term judgement will depend on Alinghi's or BMW Oracle's action after their triumph.

Cam Lewis: 'It is the best thing that can happen for our sport right now. Two super rich guys playing at the highest level! Who wants to be the richest guy in the graveyard? It certainly will change the face of sailing for the near future and what happens in a hundred years is too difficult to predict. Will we see cats back in the Olympics someday? For sure. Will catamarans and / or trimarans be used in future America's Cups? I have no idea, yet it would make sense, as the new silly AC33 boats they proposed would try to emulate multihull speeds and angles downwind, but be boring slow upwind. Take a look at the iShares Cup and Swiss lakes, cats rule!

Loic Le Bras: "How could it be bad? Seeing two giant multihulls sailing at 40 knots + can only be spectacular. It will hit the mainstream public, and the context and the juridical past will be forgotten. I don't think that it will change the sport of sailing, unless the VOR takes place on multihulls after this. Then yes, it would have changed the sport of sailing."

Paolo Cian: "I don't think this match will change the face of sailing; the America's Cup has survived other stupid situations in the past. The current situation is very bad for the sport of sailing. The long time effort and commitment from the teams and many individuals is simply lost."

Sébastien Col: "This match is a good thing for the sport of sailing; it will help the evolution of the technology. I am not convinced about the sporting aspects of the event, but the AC has always been a technological challenge. Now will it change the face of sailing? I don't think so. It is giving too much importance to the America's Cup. Sailing offers other disciplines that are great; it is a very rich sport."

Tim Jeffery: This will be sailing's 15 minutes of fame. The Battling Billionaire story line will muscle its way into mainstream news. Briefly. And only as a novelty.

Cam Lewis: "I hope so, do not BLINK! The rich guys in the USA and UK dominate the sports biggest races, most of them have come from a conservative Yacht Club background and most of their sailing/project managers do too. Multihulls have not had much acceptance at these types of clubs, similar to windsurfing and now kite surfing. Just last week on an old movie prop fashioned from some old Orma 60 trimaran molds for the movie Waterworld, we beat the fastest boat on the west coast of the USA by almost 2 hours in a 125 mile race - do the math!

These rich guys need exposure to multihulls! That's what theirs kids will be racing as long as they pay attention in school! So yes it will be an eye-opener.

Loic Le Bras: "Absolutely ! Even if the DoG match doesn't take place, the American trimaran has already opened up some minds to another way of sailing. The match will reinforce this interest, particularly within the Anglo-Saxon community. They will realise that we can go very fast on the water. I am proud of this as a French man: this dual has already highlighted the French "savoir-faire" amongst the architects and skippers.

Paolo Cian: "It's difficult to predict what effect it will have on the future of yacht racing. For sure it will open people's minds. There will be two monsters racing, and it is the first time such a regatta will take place; it will definitely be something to see! But a good match race takes place only with boats that tack and jibe well and it's not the case with multihull."

Sébastien Col: "It is difficult for a French person to answer this question. For us, multihull racing is something normal and I just can't understand why there is no multihull racing in the Olympic Games; it's absurd. Having said this, I wouldn't say multihull are the future of sailing. It's just one part of it."

Will it be difficult to revert to a conventional America's Cup, on "slow" boats?

Tim Jeffery: No. A successful Cup needs a reasonable number of competitors. The bar will be re-set accordingly.

Cam Lewis: "No, see reasons above, most of the money and most of the sailors have most of their experience in these types of boats ­ slow - read job security!"

Loic Le Bras: "I don't think so. This dual must remain exceptional, as was the 1988 miss-match. I hope it will allow a new start for the next twenty years, as was the case with the Class Americas. The America's Cup is a match race contest and multihulls are not a good support for this type of racing. They are too slow on tacks and the differences in speed are too big. Match racing is fascinating when the boats sail in contact, which is not possible with multihulls."

Paolo Cian: "I wouldn't say the Cup boats are slow. I think we will easily get back to monohull after the DoG match, but for sure the rule needs to change."

Sébastien Col: "I hope that the Cup will take place on fast boats and will be sailed with a conventional format. The problem is that we can't plan anything. Whoever wins, we don't know what they are going to do and I am not sure we can trust what they say. On top of this, the legal conflict could very well carry on after the Deed of Gift match. The spirit is currently very bad."

Any other comments about this match?

Tim Jeffery: Think of this DoG match as further embellishment of the Cup's illustrious history. A Civil War, two World Wars, several depressions have failed to strangle it. A court case certainly won't.

Cam Lewis: "Reiterate- DO NOT BLINK it will be a wild day when these two groups line up and race! WOW - Racing fast boats fast is what it is all about. Get out of the courts, get out on the water and duke it out!

Plus: I am ready to sail on either team, would prefer to sail with the USA team, but will consider working with either team. Got to love it!

Loic Le Bras: "May the best team win."

Paolo Cian: "I think it is more interesting to have an America's Cup in Europe than in the States. Whatever happens, I personally hope that the event will stay in Europe after the DoG match."

Sébastien Col: "I would like this match to take place rapidly and then to turn the page. This is surely an important moment in the history of the America's Cup. I really look forward to seeing those boats racing. There will surely be a lot to learn from this."

Send your comments to media@maxcomm.ch or join the discussion at the World Yacht Racing Forum Group on www.LinkedIn.com

Read the full interviews on www.worldyachtracingforum.com

May 15. The New York Supreme Court has ruled that the Match for the 33rd America's Cup must take place in February 2010, in accordance with the decision handed down by Justice Herman Cahn, in the same Court.

In the second decision, on the point of BMW Oracle Racing having to provide a Customs House Registry document of their 90ft multihull, currently sea trialling, the Court did not uphold the complaint raised by Alinghi/Societe Nautique de Geneve. There is no requirement BMW Oracle to provide the CHR dopcument now, or within 30 days as requested by the Alinghi parties.

Both rulings were made from the Bench by Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich. She further ruled that Alinghi/Societe Nautique de Geneve had to announce the venue by 8 August 2009 or face further Court attention.

The decisions were described by one source close to BMW Oracle Racing as 'a very, very good day for us'.

Click here for full May 14, Sail-World article by Richard Gladwell

May 14, Court Affirms February 2010 for 33rd America's Cup. New York, NY, USA: Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich in the Supreme Court of the State of New York today upheld an earlier decision of the NY Court of Appeals to stage the America's Cup in February 2010.

"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, Societe Nautique de Geneve (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.

Statement from the America's Cup defending yacht club, Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), after the court hearing today regarding the date of the 33rd America's Cup Match and the pending Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) Custom-House Registry:

"Société Nautique de Genève and Alinghi welcome Justice Shirley Kornreich's decision and confirm that it will be adhered to. The Defender of the 33rd America's Cup also welcomes the clarity that it brings. 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." [end of statement]

Note: The choice of venue is decided by the Defender of the America's Cup and will be announced six months before the America's Cup Match.

In the second decision, on the point of BMW Oracle Racing having to provide a Customs House Registry document of their 90ft multihull, currently sea trialling, the Court did not uphold the complaint raised by Alinghi/Societe Nautique de Geneve. There is no requirement BMW Oracle to provide the CHR document now, or within 30 days as requested by the Alinghi parties.

May 12. America's Cup espionage reported in Alinghi affidavit: An extract from the affidavit filed by Mesmejan is as follows: On April 29, Team Alinghi SA a criminal complaint against Antoine Jean Bonnaveau, a French resident who is an employee of GGYC¹s racing team, BMW Oracle Racing, in Lausanne, Switzerland, for violation of secrecy or privacy with the use of a photo camera device.

Following the posting of the Affidavit, Tom Ehman, Head of External Affairs for BMW Oracle Racing commented: 'Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) is once again trying to avoid the Court's clear Judgment by making trumped-up allegations that have nothing to do with the matter at hand. Legal observation of competitors is common practice in the America's Cup and other major sporting events. 'In fact, Alinghi 'spies' were photographed several times by our team near the base and on the water in both Anacortes and San Diego. Alinghi/SNG take the view that they can observe others but others can not observe them.

'We believe that SNG's attempted delaying tactics will not stop the 33rd America's Cup from proceeding in February 2010 as ordered by the Court last month,' Ehman added.

As the 33rd America's Cup is a Deed of Gift Match, there is no Protocol in place and therefore no restrictions on counter-espionage between competing teams. Therefore provided the teams operate in compliance with the laws of the country in which the espionage is taking place, then this form of information gathering is quite legitimate activity.

In the last page of the affidavit, Bonnaveau comments that it is common practice amongst the teams to observe each other activities, and that this has taken place against BMW Oracle on several occasions by members of Alinghi (who were subsequently taken out to dinner by their 'victims'.

Click here for full Sail-World article by Richard Gladwell

May 11. The Defender of the 33rd America's Cup, the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), today received an official Notice of Challenge from the Circolo di Vela Gargnano (CVG) with a certificate for a 90x90foot vessel as per the Golden Gate / BMW Oracle challenge for the 33rd America's Cup.

SNG welcomes the Italian entry; CVG was a challenger in the 32nd America's Cup and is world renowned for its prestigious Centomiglia regatta. It has now challenged with a multihull as per the Golden Gate challenge.

SNG and Alinghi have always supported a multi-challenger event and continue to do so. At a meeting on 23 April, the Swiss Defender asked the American Challenger of Record to open the challenger selection series. SNG continues to encourage a 33rd America's Cup with multiple teams from different nations; however the decision to accept the Italian challenge in a multihull lies with the Golden Gate Yacht Club and BMW Oracle Racing.

Sailtexas Comment: The circus continues - Alinghi/SNG cannot accept a second challenge without the agreement of the Challenger of Record, BMW Oracle Racing/GGYC.

May 7, 2009. The new Challenger of Record, has told the Defender of the America's Cup to stick the second Mutual Consent proposed for 11 May in Switzerland.

In a tersely wordly letter, Golden Gate Yacht Club, represented on the water by BMW Oracle Racing has declined the invitation to attend a second Mutual Consent meeting proposed by the Defender, Societe Nautique de Geneve, for 11 May, just three days before the parties are due to make yet another appearace in the New York Supreme Court Click here for May 7, Sail-World article by Richard Gladwell

Geneva, Switzerland (2009-05-07): The 33rd America's Cup defending yacht club, Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), regrets that the Challenger of Record, the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC), rejected an invitation to resume talks on terms for the 33rd America's Cup. It also appears to have closed the door to other teams using its latest legal action to disregard Italian team Green Comm's challenge.

In a letter sent on 5 May, the SNG invited the GGYC to meet to continue discussions, including such areas as the date, the venue, the race format, the participation of other challengers and the presentation of the Custom-House Registry of vessel. To the SNG's disappointment, the GGYC responded simply by reminding the defending yacht club of the court hearing scheduled for the 14 May in New York.

The SNG plans to persevere with its appeal to GGYC to join its representatives around a table to discuss these matters face to face. The invitation to negotiate remains open.

April 30. A leading legal source believes that the New York Supreme Court will get 'very stroppy' with Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), Defender of the America's Cup when the Contempt of Court matter is heard on 14 May . . .
Click here for Sail-World article by Richard Gladwell

April 29, 2009. Statement from the Société Nautique de Genève. "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.

As Defender of the America's Cup, Alinghi and the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) are duty bound to fulfill the Deed of Gift that governs the event. The document clearly states that May is the earliest possible date for a race in the Northern Hemisphere, where both clubs are located. The New York Supreme Court Order does not instruct us to breach our duties as trustee.

The Deed of Gift also states that the Challenger of Record should provide the Defender with a Custom-House Registry of the vessel Œas soon as possible'. This they also ignore. The Deed of Gift is not a document to be cast aside at convenience: the wording is clear on the matter of the dates and cannot be dismissed because it does not suit GGYC and BMW Oracle Racing's current wishes.

The Société Nautique de Genève is prepared to defend its position, which fully respects the Deed of Gift as the governing document of the America's Cup, before the New York Supreme Court and will require BOR and the GGYC to do the same."

Sailtexas editoral comment: The same old circus continues, however it will continue to bring Swiss dollars into the New York Economy, and that can be good!

April 28, 2009 As noted by Sail-World late late week, the America's Cup has indeed returned to the halls of the New York Supreme Court, with the filing of a Contempt of Court papers on Monday.

The legal move from Golden Gate Yacht Club follows the announcement at the Challenger/Defender Meeting on 23 April, later confirmed in writing, by Societe Nautique de Geneve that they would defend the America's Cup in early May 2010 in apparent contravention of a New York Supreme Court Order Click here for full Sail-World article by Richard Gladwell

April 23, 2009. Société Nautique de Genève statement Geneva, Switzerland: At a meeting today in Geneva, the America's Cup defending yacht club, Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), confirmed that it accepts the Golden Gate Yacht Club's (GGYC) challenge for the 33rd America's Cup and informed representatives of the American yacht club that its team, Alinghi, will be ready to race their 90x90ft boat (as stated in the GGYC Notice of Challenge) in 2010.

SNG expressed its willingness for the challenger selection to be open to other teams and has encouraged GGYC to do so by offering them more time for teams to prepare if necessary. It was also stated that the SNG would be flexible and ready to discuss other terms of the 33rd America's Cup such as race format, venue or calendar.

However: The America's Cup seems to be destined to return to Court - as a result of the action of Defender, Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) rejecting the offer of a Multi Challenger event sailed in yachts to the AC33 rule, made by the Challenger of Record, Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC).

At a meeting in Geneva, on Thursday, SNG/Alinghi did not accept the Multi Challenger proposal, instead they opted for a Match in 90ft or 115ft LWL multihulls, the maximum sized yacht allowed in the Deed of Gift.

SNG/Alinghi also announced that they would Defend in May 2010, and apparent contravention of a New York Supreme Court order requiring a match to be sailed on 8 February 2010.

Click here for full Sail-World article by Richard Gladwell, 3:49 PM Thursday 23 Apr 2009

April 21. Golden Gate Yacht Club, the new Challenger of Record has put its cards, two of them, on the America's Cup negotiating table ahead of the first meeting between the Defender (Societe Nautique de Geneve) and the newly installed Challenger of Record . . . Click here for Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.Com 7:20 PM Tuesday 21 Apr 2009

April 17. International and local, close to the America's Cup action, who won't be quoted but are reasonably happy to talk off the record, on a 'not to be attributed' basis.

Click here for Richard Gladwell's April 17, Sail-World report

April 15. America's Cup - Off the Record: Much of what has been written since the Appeal Court Decision of 2 April has come from various sources, international and local, close to the America's Cup action, who won't be quoted but are reasonably happy to talk off the record, on a 'not to be attributed' basis. The situation says Richard Gladwell of Sail-World.Com runs something like this: : Click here for Richard Gladwell's April 15, Sail-World report

April 13. Richard Gladwell - Sail-World.Com: "Much of what we have written since the Appeal Court Decision of 2 April has come from various sources close to the America's Cup action, who won't be quoted but are reasonably happy to talk off the record, on a 'not to be attributed' basis. The situation as we hear it today runs something like this..." Click here for Richard Gladwell's full Sail-World report

April 9 An open letter to the Société Nautique de Genève and the Golden Gate Yacht Club from the commodores of the five yacht clubs that either set the America's Cup competition in motion, or have been a former trustee of the Cup:

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
David K. Elwell Jr., Commodore New York Yacht Club
Mark Fitzhardinge, Commodore Royal Perth Yacht Club
R. Andrew La Dow, Commodore San Diego Yacht Club
Scott Colebrook, Commodore Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron

April 8 from Sail-World USA: We all know that still rivers run deep, and so it is with the silence on the America's Cup scene, after the Appeal Court announcement last Friday. No-one has been saying too much, and today in an interview with Louis Vuitton Pacific Series Event Director, Bruno Trouble, Sail-World USA can reveal why: The ball is firmly in Alinghi's and Ernest Bertarelli's court over the shape of the 33rd America's Cup. If this double act elects to run with a Multihull Match, then there will be some good outcomes for the other 'America's Cup' teams, who will be free agents.

And, if they decide to accept the offer from BMW Oracle Racing for a Multi-Challenger event, then another set of opportunities go on the table. These could see the America's Cup into even more of a sporting spectacle than it is already.

Sail-World USA also have the doyen of sailing journalists, Bob Fisher Click here, to give his views on what should happen for the next America's Cup.

April 2, 2009 The New York State Court of Appeals, in the case between Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) and Societe Nautique De Geneve (SNG), regarding the validity of Club Nautico Espanol De Vela (CNEV) as the Challenger of Record, has found in favor of GGYC, reversing the Appellate Division and reinstating Justice Cahn's orders. In its unanimous opinion, the Court held:

"Since CNEV has failed to show that at the time it submitted its Notice of Challenge it was a 'club' 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.'"

Court decision: Click for full Court decision:

Statement from Société Nautique de Genève
April 2, 2009. Valencia, Spain.

"It has consistently been our view that the America's Cup should be fought on the water. Today through the American courts the Golden Gate Yacht Club has won the right to challenge the Société Nautique de Genève. We will now discuss the terms for the regatta with them and will prepare our defence of the 33rd America's Cup."

www.alinghi.com

Sailtexas.com editorial comment: If that has always been the Alinghi view, why have they spent millions of dollars in fighting in Court to avoid it . . .

April 2, 2009. Vincenzo Onorato (Team Mascalzone Latino): I am happy for Oracle's victory.I would like to remind everyone that Mr. Bertarelli was the one who excluded Russel Coutts from the last edition of the America's Cup: the greatest race in the world without the greatest yachtsman of all time!

Get lost Alinghi and the same goes to all those teams of cunning professionals who hypocritically supported him until now.

The boat race returns to the water, as the judges of the Supreme Court of New York have written and sanctioned. We will live the super match of the third millennium among the two "trima-monsters" of Oracle and Alinghi in a showdown at the OK Corral.

Click for more at www.mascalzonelatino.it

January 1, 2009: Letter To Ernesto Bertarelli from: Vincenzo Onorato www.mascalzonelatino.it

Dear Ernesto,

I have read the list of the last - minute registered teams to Your America's Cup.

You would forgive my insolence, but in such a very short time a number of teams without history or "art" have been promptly and immediately accredited to the highest world sailing competition.

These teams "by chance" have filed an Amicus brief against GGYC - BMW Oracle Racing team. The above would be nearly - and I repeat nearly - marginal if you would have not taken more then an year to issue a confirmation letter of acceptance of our Club and Mascalzone Latino!

You asked for the proof of the existence of Reale Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia which has more then a century of history and participations into two America's Cup.

The matter raises existential questions: which rooms near the sea I have visited in the last decades in Naples? Where I have had dinners hundreds of times thinking to be my yacht club? Should I now question whether my club exists?

I' m proud of my Neapolitan origins . You Mr Bertarelli , you should be ashamed to offend my club and the city it represents only because we have supported Oracle arguments.

You could make other amicus brief being signed by teams which from the America's Cup expect anything but a loyal competition; the so called "professional" of sailing which means those who wish to make money from sailing, have not always honoured our sport, too eager for money and not for the competition.

Congratulation to Russell who has the courage to give up with you, and to Ellison to defend our sport.

A pray: for once please reply to me, and do not hide you behind your "rubber wall" which does not honour you.

Vincenzo Onorato

P.S.: I kindly ask you to provide me with the proof that all the other teams registered have paid the registration fee as we have done!

Click here for the web page of: Mascalzone Latino

------

November 11, 2008. AMERICA'S CUP - "Discussion Should Be OPen To All", says Vincenzo Onorato:

Reale Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia (R.Y.C.C.S.) and Mascalzone Latino accepted the invitation by America's Cup Management to participate to the November 11th 2008 meeting at Société Nautique de Genève (S.N.G.) in Geneva.

At the meeting the team representatives were requested to sign a non-disclosure agreement in order to keep the discussion strictly confidential among only the participants.

Mascalzone Latino's representative to the meeting, Alessandra Pandarese, expressed the team's firm view that in the current circumstances discussion should be open to all interested parties, including Golden Gate Yacht Club (G.G.Y.C.), as one of the disputing parties.

Therefore, Mascalzone Latino choose not to sign the non-disclosure agreement. In response, the Mascalzone representative was not admitted to the meeting room, nor was she permitted to explain her team's position to those in attendance.

"We regret for not having been admitted to the today's meeting. Besides we don't understand the reasons of all this secrecy, nor the reasons of G.G.Y.C.'s exclusion" - said Vincenzo Onorato. "Another opportunity to discuss in an open forum has been lost, but I wish that all challengers, including G.G.Y.C., and the Defender would gather in another meeting soon."

For more information, visit: www.mascalzonelatino.it

November 16 - Click here for November 16 'Heads-Up' by Sail-World

November 11, 2008: Alinghi says; 33rd America's Cup teams reach consensus on rules governing the event at a Competitor Meeting in Geneva:

A large majority of the teams entered in the 33rd America's Cup today achieved another milestone in the process of getting the event back on the water during a second Competitor Meeting at the Société Nautique de Genève in Switzerland. Ten of the 12 entered challengers present at the meeting, along with the Defender Alinghi, expressed a unanimous will to work together constructively towards a class rule and regulations that satisfy all entered competitors. Amongst other topics, it was agreed that:

The Arbitration Panel be expanded to five members, with the two additional members being appointed by all the entered competitors through a democratic process The Race Committee has been agreed by all the entered competitors Other America's Cup Race Officials, the Technical Director and Umpires will be selected following a similar process amongst ISAF officials Two pre-regattas will be organised in 2009 before the 33rd America's Cup in 2010.

All participants at today's meeting expressed their satisfaction with the process and their confidence in ongoing plans progressing towards a 33rd America's Cup. They also urged BMW Oracle Racing once again to drop their lawsuit and enter this process. The next Competitor Meeting is scheduled for December.

The entered teams present at today's Competitor Meeting were:
Alinghi, Société Nautique de Genève, Switzerland - Defender of the 33rd America's Cup
Desafìo Español, Club Náutico Español de Vela, Spain - Challenger of Record
Shosholoza, Royal Cape Yacht Club, South Africa
TeamOrigin, Royal Thames Yacht Club, United Kingdom
Emirates Team New Zealand, Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, New Zealand
Green Comm, Challenge Circolo di Vela Gargano, Italy
Ayre, Real Club Náutico de Dénia, Spain
Victory Challenge, Gamla Stans Yacht Sällskap, Sweden
Argo Challenge, Club Náutico di Gaeta, Italy
French Spirit, Yacht Club de St Tropez, France
Carbon Challenge

Back in August 2008:

THE AMERICA'S CUP OR "THE ALINGHI'S CUP"

August 6, 2008. Now that there is only one last chance left for an appeal, last week's decision by a New York court to re-instate CNEV as Challenger of Record puts the whole future of the America's Cup at risk. For if their decision stands, our sport's premier match will come to an end as a genuine sailing competition. What we will have instead will be a regatta that just pretends to be the Cup.

Predictably, we have heard panicky cries for a multi-challenger event at all costs. It is almost as if the rules don't matter. But what sort of event will it be when a sham COR has already connived at ensuring the defender can't lose?

In case you've forgotten, let's recall the protocol Alinghi now brazenly promotes as its "vision."

Alinghi claims the right to choose, at its sole discretion, the regatta judges, the committee, the umpires and the measurers, even going so far as to state that they must be its employees. Alinghi, again at its sole discretion, claims the right to accept a challenge or to penalize a rival and to change the rules at any time. Little wonder this protocol was immediately opposed by seven syndicates.

Faced with a stacked deck, top-level syndicates will stay away. You can argue it is still better to join and hope for change. But that's how a lamb thinks before it gets into bed with a wolf. We might as well rename it the Alinghi Cup now.

The three judges may have swallowed the bait that any multi-challenger event is better than a Deed of Gift match. But if so why even have rules? For a defender can now collude with anyone to fix the game. Incredibly, this ruling says the America's Cup Challenger of Record doesn't even need to own a boat!

Sure, we will still have an event called the America's Cup. But top sailors will know it's a sham. And it won't take sponsors and fans long to catch on either. Already we have seen Louis Vuitton, who have been a key part of the Cup's whole identity, go. What looks like a race will in fact be a procession. Ernesto Bertarelli's vision turns out to be a cynical marketing ploy that gives his commercial subsidiary, ACM, total control.

Oracle have courageously tried to stop an Alinghi take-over. There is only one round left in the court process. We have to hope Oracle will win. Because if they don't the modern Cup will have just come to a shameful end.

Vincenzo Onorato
www.mascalzonelatino.it

Artist's impression of an ACC V 5.0 yacht (left) compared to an AC33 yacht at similar scale.

January 30. AC33: The new America's Cup yacht design rule goes live The AC33 has been designed through consultation between the Defender, the Challenger of Record and the 17 other entered teams and the process was headed by Tom Schnackenberg as the class rule and competition regulations consultant for AC Management. Designers and team managers from the 19 America's Cup syndicates met regularly in Geneva, Switzerland, and Valencia, Spain, since the design process began in early November 2008.

This group agreed to develop a boat similar in cost to the America's Cup Class Version 5.0 boat, but with a more exciting performance. The AC33 Rule evolved to a race yacht of 26m maximum length overall, with 5m of draft and a displacement of 17.5tonnes.

The sail plan area is greater than with the ACC Version 5.0 but without overlapping headsails, and as with the AC90 Rule contemplated in 2007, the boat has a bowsprit and the spinnaker area is limited only by sheeting constraints, not by measurement of dimensions.

Given the lighter displacement, the AC33 will be more demanding to sail upwind, and will provide sparkling performance on the runs. Maximum beam is 4.8m, which will seem wide to people used to the appearance of the Version 5.0 yachts, where the last generation of yachts had a beam not much more than 3m in many cases.

Key dimension differences between an ACC Version 5.0 and the new 33rd America's Cup Class Rule, the AC33:

                   ACC Version 5.0    33rd America's Cup Class AC33                          
Length overall:         24.5 Typical         26m maximum
Length waterline:       18-20m               26m maximum
Beam:                   3.3m typical        4.8m maximum
Draft:                  4.1m                5.0m
Weight in Measurement  
condition:              24T                 17.5T
Mast height
from sheerline:         32.5m               33.6m     
Spinnaker:             512sqm              unlimited   
Mainsail area:         214sqm typical      225sqm maximum           
I from sheerline:       26.1m               28.5m       
J:                       8.3m                 10m    
Spinnaker tack from
mast:                   11.6m (pole)       13.65m (to end of bowsprit)

"The boat was originally suggested as one with overhangs, and girth restrictions, (a sort of mini J-class) but as different designers got into the act, it quickly evolved into a boat defined only by the length overall, weight, max beam and draft. This allows simple measurement processes for the hull itself, and each change seemed to make the boat go faster!

"As it turned out, the boat is slightly longer than the ACC Version 5.0 boats and several tonnes lighter, with similar sail area and righting moment. It promises to have similar upwind speed and to have sparkling downwind performance.

"We think it will be a boat which the America's Cup community will really enjoy; a worthy successor to all the wonderful boats that have gone before."

America's Cup Defender Alinghi's principal designer Rolf Vrolijk on the new class: "For designers it is always more exciting to be involved in a new class or with a new type of boat than the highly evolved existing class where we can only focus on very detailed optimisation . It is quite challenging because it means starting from zero and this is a class like nothing we have seen before so if you do your homework right, you would be competitive. Some teams might be very competitive in some corners of the rule, so that will be very interesting."

John Cutler, technical director for the Challenger of Record, Desafío Español, on how the new class can level the playing field: "It is a clean sheet of paper and therefore everybody has a good opportunity to come up with and design a fast boat or possibly the fastest boat, so we think that this is a good opportunity for all challengers and it will work well for Desafío Español."

Andy Claughton, design team coordinator for TeamOrigin, the British challenger, says: "Creating the new AC33 Class Rule has been a terrific combined effort from Alinghi and the challengers. The vision of the boat was clearly established; it had to be fast, up to date and challenging to sail, whilst not being prohibitively expensive to build and campaign. The rule development was done at a series of round the table meetings chaired by Tom Schnackenberg who brought all his experience to bear in guiding the writing of the rule text. All the challengers were able to make their voice heard, and the experienced members of the group have worked towards a rule that has many fewer constraints than the old Version 5.0 boats."

January 17. Two time America's Cup competitor and winner, Bill Koch, has been successful in a bid to have an amicus curiae letter accepted by the the Court of Appeals in the State of New York.

At the same time the Court rejected letters from two other parties who had supported the position adopted by the current Defender, Societe Nautique de Geneve (SNG). The two teams - Team French Spirit (FRA)and Team Shosholoza (RSA) had their motion to file additional amicus curiae briefs denied. Koch was a former winner and Defender of the America's Cup in 1992 for he San Diego YC. In 1995 he opted to promote the Mighty Mary, all womens team. He is a member of the America's Cup Hall of Fame.

Koch's letter gave tangential support to the submission put forward by Golden Gate Yacht Club. It underlines the practical reasoning for requiring a Club to have already held an annual regatta, and for that club, if it wishes to be Challenger of Record, to be organised as a yacht club. It does not just echo the submission of others, but provides very practical reasons, from a sailor's perspective, as to the way the wording must applied as he suggest and not in a futuristic sense.

Koch also explores the practical effect of the future tense interpretation, and how this could be used by the Defender to very real advantage.

The cut-off date for the lodging of amicus curiae letters was early January 2009, and Koch, through his attorneys has scored something of a breakthrough in having this letter accepted for consideration by the Court.

Two other teams tried to have second submissions accepted by the Court, but these were rejected.

Another letter lodged by Royal Thame yacht Club, after the 2 January deadline has yet to be ruled on by the Court as to whether they will accept its submission - and by definition whether it will be considered by the Court when it considers the final Appeal. Koch's letter was accepted by the Court at face value, meaning that it will be taken into account by the Court, but the two time America's Cup competitor will not be able to make submissions in person.

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