Soon after the end of the AC 2007 Alinghi -
as winner and therefore Cup defender -
presented the newly founded Club Nautico
Español de Vela (CNEV) as the first
challenger and at the same time as the
Challenger of Record. CNEV had no
clubhouse, 4 Vice-Presidents of the Spanish
Sailing Federation as the sole members, no
boats and had held no races.
Then the harshly criticized protocol was
published. This showed that Alinghi would
pull important legal and economic agendas
in itself.
This called Oracle on the plan and ended in
lengthy and costly disputes in the form of
correspondence and actions at the New
York Court. Although Ernesto Bertarelli
(Alinghi) and Larry Ellison (Oracle) were
highlighted in the media as litigants ,
actually 2 yacht club, the Société Nautique
de Genève (SNG) and the Golden Gate
Yacht Club (GGYC) could be the official
adversaries only.
The court decided in 3 instances that were, if possible, fully utilized: The New York Supreme Court
(first instance), the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court (the second instance) and
the New York Court of Appeals (the last resort). Little known in the German-speaking world is the
"amicus curiae) -a legal letter (but no intervention) to the court, by someone who supports a party by an
advice, recommendations, etc..
The Golden Gate YC filed its own challenge for the Cup and than filed its first court case.
The parties argued by 4 subjects, some of which
results are summarized below:
•
Regarding the Challenger of Record
CNEV did not meet the rules of the Deed of Gift (DoG) was therefore annulled as Challenger of Record
and replaced by the Golden Gate YC.
•
Regarding the dates and the venue
It was about when the preparation periods prescribed by the DoG begin to run. With the apeal at the
court or the date of its final decision (last instance)
Then there was the rule when races may be sailed (winter / summer, Northern or Southern Hemisphere)
All proposed dates and venues have been discarded.
At the last has been agreed February 2010, again in Valencia.
•
Regarding the rules of the match.
The stern rudders of BOR90 are not a part of the length measurement, so the max LWL does not exceed
90 feet. Auxiliary engines and movable ballast do not contradict the DoG.
•
Regarding the construction of the boats
The design and some key components of BOR90 come from France. Alinghi's sails are manufactured in
the USA. Both contradicts the DoG. On these points, the court would have decided after the races.
But all disputes were settled before by a joint written statement of both YCs
A detailed summary of the AC 2010 and its court actions are described in Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_America%27s_Cup
BOR90 “USA 17”
the only challenger and winner of the America’s Cup 2010
Yacht / Country : BOR 90
Sail Number : USA-17
Syndicate : BMW Oracle Racing
CEO : Larry Ellison
Yacht Club: Golden Gate YC, San Francisco
Designer : Van Peteghem, Lauriot Prévost (VPLP)
and design team of Mike Drummond
Boat Builder : Core Builders, Anacortes, WA, USA
Skipper: James Spithill
BMW Oracle Racing won 2 : 0.
After numerous extensive court actions and
litigations the 33rd AC ended up in one
challenger and one defender. As a contract
between both parties could not be agreed, the
race was reduced to the rules of the Deed of
Gift – which is called a one-on-one DoG
match – over 3 rounds only. BMW Oracle
Racing won in February 2 : 0. After Alinghi
decided to defend the Cup with a catamaran,
BOR answered with a trimaran. The yacht with
an overall length of 34 m carried a rigid wing
mast of 68 m height, with an about 50 %
bigger area than a wing of the giant Airbus
380. The “coffee-mills” and their grinders have
been replaced on both boats by a small Diesel
- hydraulic engine, with less weight and more
power than grinders. Why both yachts could
sail faster than the true wind is explained with
a lot of contributions in the Internet. The costs
of the trimaran campaign are reported in a
range of 300 mio €
After numerous extensive court actions and
litigations the 33rd AC ended up in one
ALINGHI 5 “SUI” defender of the AC 2010 which lost it to BOR90 / USA 17
Alinghi 5
Looking back, the AC 2007 was a great success. Alinghi was
the Defender and BMW Oracle the "Challenger of Record",
which is the challenger who concludes general contracts with
the Defender
Both agreed the professional XXXII protocol, introduced the
"Acts" and organized impressive precursor regattas before
the Louis Vuitton Cup.
New participants, such as Germany, China and South Africa
(the first country on the African continent) decided to
challenge the Cup.
But when Alinghi tried to get the 33rd AC, which is not called
Swiss Cup-under full control, it came to the above-described
serious conflicts.
These conflicts were partly so bizarre that such during the court actions Alinghi stiffened up to chose as
the venue the village of Al Hamra in Ras Al Khaimah, an Emirate of the United Arab Emirates. The hull
of Alinghi 5 was flown, hanging on a Russian transport helicopter, from Lake Geneva to Genoa and
shipped to the UAE. But this place has been rejected by the court, and all costs were in vain.
Alinghi 5 was also 34 m long, but had soft sails. Its first mast of 45 -52? m was replaced in October
2009 by a 62 m high one.
Experts say that even these change did not achieve the benefits of a rigid wing sail.
But when Alinghi tried to get the 33rd AC, which is not called
Swiss Cup-under full control, i
AMERICA’S CUP HISTORY 1983 - 2013
