Constructed in Country

Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), the 33rd America's Cup defending yacht club, today presented its opposition arguments to the New York Supreme Court in response to Golden Gate Yacht Club's (GGYC) ninth lawsuit; a misguided interpretation of the ‘constructed in country' (CIC) requirement of the Deed of Gift, the event's governing document. SNG's comprehensive set of papers reaffirms its interpretation that only the ‘yacht or vessel' has to be constructed in the country of the club holding the Cup, and that sails do not.

SNG's affirmations are supported by historical precedent, as reflected in the expert declaration of John Rousmaniere, a leading America's Cup historian, ‘the donors of the original Deed of Gift never contemplated limits on foreign sails or foreign sail technology. Those donors, in fact, hoisted British sails in first winning the Cup with the schooner America. In fact, in adding the CIC clause to the Deed in 1882, George Schuyler, the last surviving donor, sought to ensure that the Cup remained a genuinely competitive event, while preserving the Cup's international character. He thus struck that balance by limiting the CIC requirement only to a competing vessel's hull, but not its sails.'

Additional documents presented to the court confirm that GGYC's CIC claim is factually wrong: SNG's sails were constructed in Switzerland and this fact is supported by an affidavit from Tom Whidden, president of North Sails, and an official certificate of Swiss origin from the Swiss Chamber of Commerce.

“SNG is certain of our yacht's Deed compliance, including the ‘constructed in country' provision and our interpretation is supported by the language of the Deed, historical precedent, and by the Cup donor's intentions,” said Fred Meyer, vice-commodore of SNG. “In any event, GGYC's CIC claim is factually wrong and we have submitted to the court substantial evidence proving that our sails are Swiss made. It is our view that we should go racing on 8 February. GGYC should end their legal strategy to try to delay the Cup and to try to gain competitive advantage over the Defender and should proceed with the competition on the water. If they wish, however, to pursue their latest lawsuit, then the judge should have a close look at BMW Oracle's yacht, which does not comply with GGYC's own interpretation of the Deed,” he concluded.

‘Constructed in country' counter motion

In parallel to the opposition papers, SNG has presented a counter motion stating that, should GGYC's interpretation of the CIC in the Deed of Gift be validated by the Court, then its own boat would be illegal. Affidavits from a number of leading experts in the field of yacht design, such as Duncan MacLane and Nigel Irens, support the fact that GGYC's trimaran is in fact a French-designed boat and not American, as supported by photographic exhibits the boat also includes a number of non-American constructed elements. In addition, BMW Oracle's yacht is not even a sloop, propelled by sails, with a main and a jib, as declared in the American club's certificate of challenge, but a wing-mast rig.

SNG's set of documents showcases how this latest motion by GGYC is in contravention of the spirit of the Deed of Gift and how Larry Ellison's yacht club has forgotten the call for friendly competition between nations.

The Nineth Lawsuit!

While Brad Butterworth, Alinghi skipper and Société Nautique de Genève representative, was in Singapore engaged in good faith discussions to resolve remaining issues ahead of the 8 February America's Cup Deed of Gift Match in the presence of David Tillett, the chairman of the ISAF America's Cup Jury, and David Kellett, the ISAF representative, BMW Oracle unilaterally aborted talks by filing their ninth lawsuit against the Société Nautique de Genève at the New York Supreme Court seeking to disqualify the Defender from the upcoming Match.

“BMW Oracle has already successfully disqualified 18 teams through the US courts to gain access to the Match, now they are seeking to win the Cup without ever racing for it,” said Brad Butterworth. “This latest lawsuit has come as a shock given we were planning a further meeting to finalise discussions today, it demonstrates extreme bad faith. Clearly they are not ready to race. They have completely disregarded the jurisdiction of the ISAF America's Cup Jury, which they sought so hard to have instated, and have instead reverted to the New York courts where they clearly feel they have a greater chance of success,” he added.

SNG's defending yacht has been constructed in Switzerland in compliance with the provision of the Deed of Gift. SNG disagrees with GGYC's interpretation.

BMW Oracle's statement that Alinghi will be using USA-made sails is wrong. The sails for the Match have been constructed in a sail loft in Villeneuve, Switzerland. Furthermore, the 3DL process of making sails is subject to Swiss intellectual property rights. The inventors of the process, Jean-Pierre Baudet and Luc Dubois, are two Swiss engineers. Every challenger and defender for the America's Cup since 1995 has used 3DL Swiss technology based sails.
“BMW Oracle's attempt to derail the America's Cup, and disregard ISAF's jurisdiction, and their continued unsportsmanlike behaviour is unacceptable,” said Fred Meyer, SNG vice-commodore. “Alinghi is ready to race on the 8 February as mandated by the 7 April 2009 court order,” he added. “We won the right to defend the America's Cup on the water by winning the 31st and 32nd editions, we want to go racing, we do not want the outcome of the America's Cup determined in court,” he concluded.

Sailing Instructions - Notice of Race

The Société Nautique de Genève, the 33rd America's Cup defending yacht club, today published a draft version of the Sailing Instructions for the 33rd America's Cup Deed of Gift Match due to start on the 8 February. This draft document has been sent to the challenger and may be discussed at the meeting between the two teams in the presence of the ISAF AC Jury Chairman, David Tillett, in Singapore on 12 January.

Please click here to read the draft Sailing Instructions for the 33rd America's Cup Match.

Also published, draft amended 33rd America's Cup Notice of Race

SNG also published a draft of the amended 33rd America's Cup Notice of Race incorporating the New York Supreme Court's recent decisions and following discussions with GGYC/BMW Oracle Racing representatives in Sydney on 15 December 2009.

Please click here to read the draft amended 33rd America's Cup Notice of Race.

Giants Arrive in Valencia

In the early hours of Monday, BMW Oracle Racing's race boat arrived in Spain as the team completes its move from San Diego back to Valencia for the 33rd America's Cup next month.
The "Oceanlady" cargo ship arrived in the commercial port of Valencia after 20 days at sea, carrying the BOR 90, the trimaran the team has built to challenge for the Cup.

The "Oceanlady" transported approximately 200 tonnes of equipment from the team's training and development base in San Diego, including the BOR 90 trimaran, the main element of the wing sail, four custom made boxes containing the wing flaps, spare masts, 19 shipping containers, and 10 other boats (RIBs etc.).
The ship was unloaded over the course of the day. With the BOR 90 trimaran, the wing sail and the other cargo now safe on shore, the trimaran and all of its components will undergo a thorough work-up by the shore team to ensure the boat is match fit before the Valencia training session begins.

The 33rd America's Cup defending team, Alinghi, arrived in Valencia, Spain the next day and will transfer to its existing base in the Darsena (the inner harbour of Valencia) over the next couple of days to begin its final preparations towards the Deed of Gift Match that starts on 8 February. The team's catamaran Alinghi 5, the masts and 20 support containers reached their final destination aboard the Cassandra B container ship on Monday afternoon after a 14 day voyage from the team's previous base in Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates.

Statement from GGYC

America's Cup defender Societe Nautique de Geneve has been asked if Alinghi 5 will meet the event's nationality rules. In a letter today to SNG, GGYC Commodore Marcus Young wrote, "We find the Deed to be clear and unambiguous. It requires that the yacht, including its hull, appendages, mast and sails, be constructed in the country of the club it represents. We have gone to great lengths to comply with the Deed in all respects, including 'constructed-in-country,' and expect that your Club will do so as well."

Alinghi 5 has been sailing continually with sails made at Minden, Nevada in the USA.

Absent agreement on the constructed-in-country interpretation, the five-member International Jury recently appointed by the International Sailing Federation would be asked to rule on the matter.

Both yachts should come to the start "street-legal." The sailing world expects this, and wants to know before the Match is sailed, not after. Having the Jury in place allows sailing matters to be dealt with by sailing experts.

GGYC's objective is that the on-the-water result of the 33rd Match be conclusive. Any remaining contentious issues should be dealt with properly before the Match is sailed. No one wants the outcome of the Match to have a question mark hanging over it.

Court Stands for Americans

New York Appellate Division court ruled unanimously against an appeal from Societe Nautique de Geneve to reinstate Ras Al Kahimah as the venue for the upcoming America's Cup races, and again unanimously against SNG's position on BMW Oracle's rudders with regards to measurement. The BMW ORACLE Racing team has departed San Diego for Valencia in preparation for February's 33rd America's Cup Match.

Golden Gate Yacht Club: The focus for the 33rd America's Cup is now squarely on Valencia, Spain. Today, the Appellate Division rejected the defender's second attempt to have Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, host the February match.

"This is a big stride forward," commented Tom Ehman, Golden Gate Yacht Club spokesperson. "In place of doubt and delay, the sailing world wants certainty. It wants to see this contest to go-ahead soon and be contested under fair rules."

The New York Supreme Court ruled on October 30th that Ras al Khaimah did not comply with the Deed of Gift, a decision upheld by the Appellate Division in a unanimous verdict.

The Court also turned down SNG's second attempt to have rudders included in the crucial Load Water-Line measurement calculation. This has never occurred in the 32 previous America's Cup matches and won't happen in the 33rd.

"With the International Sailing Federation re-drafting the previously unbalanced and unfair agreement it struck with Societe Nautique de Geneve, and discussions continuing to normalize the Notice of Race, the common-sense approach to the remaining issues in this America's Cup is prevailing," added Ehman.

SNG: The Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court today upheld Justice Kornreich's decision of 30 October 2009 that disqualified the America's Cup Defender Societe Nautique de Geneve's choice of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates as venue for the 33rd America's Cup. The four-judge panel also upheld Kornreich's decision to exclude rudders from the measurement of the load waterline length of the race yacht.

"Once again BMW Oracle's strategy to try to win the America's Cup in court instead of on the water has been successful. For the first time in the history of the America's Cup the Defender has been stripped of its fundamental right to select the venue. Societe Nautique de Geneve accepts this decision and Alinghi is looking forward to racing for the America's Cup on the water in Valencia, Spain, in February 2010," said Fred Meyer, SNG vice-commodore.

SNG Offers Australia

Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), the 33rd America's Cup defending yacht club, has proposed an alternative venue to the American challenger in a bid to end their continued litigation and return the Cup to the water.

Ahead of tomorrow's hearing at the New York Supreme Court, the Swiss Defender has proposed a solution to the legal impasse brought about by the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC). While the Defender's first choice for the Deed of Gift Match is Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, in order to achieve a Match in February SNG proposes to stage the 33rd America's Cup on the east coast of Australia, in the Southern Hemisphere, in compliance with the Deed of Gift. This is a venue that should be acceptable to both teams if, as expressed publicly, the true intention of BMW Oracle is to race for the America's Cup on the water.

A specific race course in the Pacific Ocean off the east coast of Australia, with weather conditions suitable for racing in February, will be announced promptly should GGYC accept this offer and cease their legal strategy. The east coast of Australia offers several locations with ideal sailing conditions for the best-of-three match. A venue in this region would be approximately two and a half weeks away by ship from BMW Oracle's base in San Diego, while Alinghi's voyage from Ras Al Khaimah would take approximately three weeks.

SNG is hopeful that this offer will be accepted and that the competition will resume on the water rather than in court.

Alinghi's Request Rejected

The Appellate Division in New York has rejected the Swiss defender's request to freeze last week's Supreme Court decision that Ras Al Khaimah (UAE) did not comply with the Deed of Gift for the 33rd America's Cup. Golden Gate Yacht Club said Ras Al Khaimah was wrong all along. The Supreme Court said it was wrong last week. And the Appellate Division said no to a Stay today. The message is clear. SNG/Alinghi will try one more time to have Ras Al Khaimah re-installed in a fast-track expedited Appellate Division application due to be heard in the coming weeks.

The race dates for the 33rd America's Cup remain unchanged, commencing February 8th, 2010. Justice Kornreich ruled from the Supreme Court bench on Wednesday October 27 that Ras Al Khaimah was not Deed-compliant. There will be a further hearing before her this Friday. The Court will determine if Valencia (Spain) is confirmed as the venue - as both sides had previously agreed to this in Court - or if SNG/Alinghi can still choose a Deed-compliant location in the Southern Hemisphere despite the expired six month notice of the venue that the Defender is required to give the Challenger.

America's Cup to Court

The Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) has asked the New York Supreme Court to remove the Swiss yacht club from its position as Trustee in a Breach of Fiduciary Duty complaint filed today.
In its place, GGYC - the Challenger of Record the 33rd America's Cup - has requested the Court to appoint a faithful, fit and proper substitute to oversee the next Match to be sailed in 2010, starting 8 February.
Foremost among a catalogue of failures of SNG and listed in a Breach of Fiduciary Duty complaint are:
- Offering the America's Cup hosting rights in order to extract secret commercial deals
- Repeated attempts to seize control of the rules and officiating processes to ensure that Alinghi can not lose
- Moves to disqualify GGYC's yacht despite assurances to the New York Supreme Court that this would not happen
- Selecting Ras Al Khaimah for the 33rd Cup to further its own business interests whilst exposing GGYC to unnecessary danger

"Winning the Cup brings not just honor and pride, but responsibilities too. The honor may have gone, but the responsibilities remain," said Russell Coutts, Skipper and Chief Executive of GGYC's challenging team, BMW ORACLE Racing.

"The America's Cup is meant to be hard to win, not impossible to lose," added Coutts.

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“By filing their eighth legal action against the Defender of the America's Cup in two years, Larry Ellison and his Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) have demonstrated yet again that their true intention is to win sailing's most prestigious trophy in court instead of on the water. After failing in their attempts to circumvent the terms set in the governing Deed of Gift, Ellison is now seeking to snatch the Cup from Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) with a new round of baseless allegations,” said Fred Meyer, Société Nautique de Genève Vice-Commodore. “As two-time winner of the America's Cup and organiser of what was widely considered the most successful America's Cup event ever in Valencia, Spain, in 2007, SNG and Alinghi will continue to fight for their legitimate rights in order to promote the sport of sailing around the world. We hope that GGYC will abandon this unsportsmanlike conduct and either join the competition on the waters off Ras Al Khaimah this February or let other teams who want to participate challenge for the Cup,” he concluded.

Alinghi team skipper Brad Butterworth said: “BMW Oracle should clean up their unsportsmanlike behaviour with a dose of saltwater and sunshine and challenge for the Cup on the water. Otherwise they should stand aside and let other teams compete.” "The complaint is an affront to the America's Cup, to the UAE, to our country's relationship with an important ally, and to the judicial process. It is just a PR stunt. There is nothing in the complaint that hasn't been the subject of prior or pending legal proceedings. Basically, GGYC doesn't want to race SNG on the water after it disenfranchised 19 other clubs from competing in an elimination series and dislocated hundreds of sailors and participants in the sailing industry,” concluded lead counsel for the Société Nautique de Genève, Barry Ostrager of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.

SNG Statement

SNG statement following the New York Court order of 18 September: New York Court finds Golden Gate Yacht Club's behaviour "unsportsmanlike.

Geneva, Switzerland - (2009-09-22)

In her ruling relating to a hearing on 10 August, New York Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich highlights “…the unsportsmanlike behavior of Golden Gate that has resulted in substantially reducing SNG's (Société Nautique de Genève) advantage as originally contemplated by the Deed of Gift.” The 33rd America's Cup Defender, Société Nautique de Genève, had filed an Order to Show Cause in front of Justice Kornreich who, despite such an unprecedented statement describing the actions of GGYC, considers such “actions are not contrary to law” and is left with no option but to deny the motion. Justice Kornreich's order also reiterates that the race shall be sailed under the rules and sailing regulations of the SNG.
SNG and its representing team Alinghi remain committed to a 33rd America's Cup fought on the water in Ras al-Khaimah in February 2010.

Alinghi Cat Unveiled

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

Date of Next Match

After the court hearing yesterday, it was decided 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.

Notice of Challenge from Italy

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.

Alinghi/SNG cannot accept a second challenge without the agreement of the Challenger of Record, BMW Oracle Racing/GGYC.

BMW Oracle Closed Doors

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.

Alinghi Starts Multihull Training

Alinghi, 33rd America's Cup Defender, has started its 2009-2010 multihull campaign in Switzerland launching the two Décision 35 catamarans that will be used as training platforms towards a multihull America's Cup in May 2010. The sailing team will be dedicated to multihull training, racing the Challenge Julius Baer on Lake Geneva for the rest of the season and withdrawing from other monohull commitments.

In addition to Ernesto Bertarelli's original SUI1, the team has chartered a second Décision 35 (SUI6) for the season and the two grand prix multihulls will race the eight events that span the summer, starting on 8 May with the Grand Prix Corum. Ed Baird will helm Alinghi SUI6 with Brad Butterworth as tactician while Ernesto Bertarelli, Alinghi president, will helm Alinghi SUI1. “Ernesto and his team have been strong in this class for years, we look forward to learning from and with them throughout the season,” said Baird. “We realise we have a lot to learn, and there will be a number of great crews to race against, so we're excited to have the opportunity to get back on the water in a competitive environment.”

The Alinghi multihulls will face a strong 10-boat fleet that includes some of the best offshore multihull sailors in the world, and while an Alinghi team has won the last two championships on the Lake, the group is candid in its expectations: “We are here to try to win, just as we did last year, but this season is going to be tough: the circuit has two new boats (Veltigroup and Banque Populaire) manned by highly professional multihull sailors with lots of experience, so the starts of the races will be more challenging. We will definitely be trying to keep the trophy in our hands though!” said Yves Detrey, Alinghi bow/mastman.

The first event, the Grand Prix Corum is from 8-10 May at the Société Nautique de Genève, so the Alinghi teams will start training from next Monday, “the D-35's represent a more sophisticated racing multihull than we have experienced before, and we need all the training opportunities we can get as we prepare for an America's Cup in multihulls,” Ed Baird concluded.

Statement from SNG

“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 ‘as 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.”

GGYC Won Appeal

The Golden Gate Yacht Club has won their appeal in the New York Courts, reinstating them in place of the Club Nautico Espanol De Vela as Challenger of Record for the 33rd America's Cup. Following a long-running dispute between the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) and the Defender of the America's Cup, the Societe Nautique De Geneve (SNG), swung firmly in the favour of the GGYC today, with the New York State Court of Appeals ruling unanimously in their favour.

The case centred around the validity of Club Nautico Espanol De Vela (CNEV) as a challenger under the criteria contained in the Deed of Gift, the document which governs the America's Cup. Today's court ruling reserves the previous decision of the Appelate Division and reinstates the original ruling of Justice Cahn in the Supreme Court, that the CNEV is not a valid challenger as it does not meet the criteria for having an annual regatta.

In its ruling the court noted, "for a challenging yacht club to be within the eligibility requirements, it must have held at least one qualifying annual regatta before it submits its Notice of Challenge to a Defender".

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

If the GGYC and SNG are unable to agree upon a set of rules to govern the competition for the 33rd America's Cup, as currently appears likely, the racing will take place under the conditions outlined in the Deed of Gift. With the Challenge certificate submitted by GGYC, this is likely to take place in two giant multihulls, over a best-of-three race series. BMW ORACLE Racing, the team of the GGYC, launched their 90ft trimaran in August last year. Alinghi, the team of the SNG and the Defenders of the America's Cup, have yet to launch their multihull, although in an interview with the International Herald Tribune back in December, team President Ernesto Bertarelli said, "We have done enough to be ready within the time that we would have in case Larry was to win in court".

Valencia Hosts AC Pre-Regattas

The 33rd America's Cup event authority, AC Management, today signed a Host Venue agreement with the Valencian Municipality and Regional Government for the Spanish city of Valencia to hold two America's Cup pre-regattas, the first from the 10-19 July and the second in October.
Should the pending litigation concerning the future of the 33rd America's Cup be resolved in favour of the multi-challenger event as proposed by the Defender, Alinghi and the Challenger of Record, Club Náutico Español de Vela, these two regattas will be part of the 33rd America's Cup, with the Match scheduled for 2010.

The Defender and the Challengers will meet off Malvarrosa Beach with the ACC Version 5.0 yachts in just three months time for a combination of fleet and match racing much like the highly successful Acts held in the lead up to the 32nd America's Cup.

Alinghi and Club Náutico Español de Vela held the sixth Competitor Meeting yesterday in Valencia with the entered teams and discussions centered on base allocation and plans for Version 5.0 yacht allocation during the two 33rd America's Cup pre-regattas, the first of which begins on 10 July in Valencia. The group of teams, having worked on the document for the past months, decided to publish the Competition Regulations for the 33rd America's Cup this week.
The next 33rd America's Cup Competitor Meeting is on 28 April.

America's Cup Competitor Meeting

At a fifth 33rd America's Cup Competitor Meeting in Valencia, Alinghi, the Defender, the Spanish Challenger of Record and 16 of the 17 challengers (China absent) discussed amendments to the Competition Regulations, which are now in the final drafting stage. They also agreed a Protocol amendment which will loosen the restriction on designers moving between teams. The group appointed two additional members of the Arbitration Panel. The 19 competitors also named David Pedrick (USA) Technical Director for the 33rd America's Cup.

The Host City agreement was also discussed, along with plans to run the pre-regattas in 2009 and the Match in 2010 in Valencia. Negotiations are moving forward with the Spanish administrations and AC Management is confident of announcing a deal with Valencia in the near future. The competitors decided that participation in the 2009 pre-regattas on ACC Version 5.0 yachts is to be compulsory for all teams and it is intended that syndicates be allocated bases once they confirm their participation in these races.

ETNZ Winner of Pacific Series

The Race Committee delayed the next start while it waited for conditions to moderate. However, three hours later with the wind gusting over 30 knots, it abandoned racing for the day and said it would shorten the best-of-seven final to a best-of-five. Racing resumed the next day.

Alinghi, Defender of the 33rd America's Cup, congratulated Emirates Team New Zealand on winning the inaugural Louis Vuitton Pacific Series Cup in Auckland, New Zealand.

Alinghi won the first match of the best of five series, but ETNZ took the next three to claim the LVPS Cup. Next for these 33rd America's Cup teams are the pre-regattas scheduled for July and October this year, followed by the Spanish Challenger of Record's annual regatta in November.