Well, everything is happening, as planned. Good old Tom Schnackenberg (NZL) has been appointed by America's Cup Management (ACM) to liase with all challengers (except Oracle) to discuss design rules for the new 90-foot boat. Once he does that, then (wham!) he transfers to the Alinghi design team. Some people say this great New Zealander is the canary in the coal mine.
If he hesitates, they say, leave the room. You can be sure that the next big wind will be Ernesto Bertarelli (SUI), the Prince of Alinghi, and his legions of lawyers, dissemblers and aribitration panelists.
Elsewhere, the Prince's arbitration committee (ACAP), headed by his pal, Prof. Henry Peter (SUI), has declared the candidacy and stature of Club Náutico Español de Vela (CNEV) to be beyond reproach. Absolutely spotless. Just the perfect challenger. Nobody better, and they were first to challenge so we can't refuse them, despite the fact we cooked this before anyone else challenged and nobody else was invited.
This is the big lie at work.
Elsewhere, the New York Supreme Court has refused to grant Golden Gate Yacht Club's injunction, but has asked for written and verbal proposals from both parties to the lawsuit, and soon.
And still, challengers roll up and knock on Alinghi's door.
There are demonstrations, also, of the pathetic.
Notably Hamish Ross (NZL), General Counsel for Alinghi, and his assertion that the venerable Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (RNZYS) was not incorporated during recent America's Cup events. This required Commodore John Crawford, a major decision maker in America's Cup, representing one of the oldest yacht clubs on the planet, to vigorously defend the Club, sharing the truth about the Squadron's status.
What makes Ross's assertion absurd is that everyone knows RNZYS is inviolate as an institution; it's part of the global sailing establishment. Which is something that every legal hack, Hamish Ross chief among them, knows assuredly.
Anyway, it's the silly season.
One good thing is that Brad (Butterworth, NZL, Alinghi) and Russell (Coutts, NZL, Oracle) are talking to each other.
They are the world's best friends.
Despite the Prince of Alinghi and the Chief of Oracle, who are their esteemed employers, these two pals are deep friends. They maintain a deep and personal relationship.
And they golf together ...
Overheard
Our fictitious caddy followed the pals as they meandered over the course at Club Scorpion, not far from Port America's Cup:
BRAD: You whacked that bugger into the trees.
RUSSELL: No, I was laying up for my second.
BRAD: I've done that before, it didn't work.
RUSSELL: Brad, what are we going to do about Ernesto? We're hanging out there. Larry's doing the legal thing. I need to build a team. You need us or it's going to be c**p for American viewership. You've got to do something.
BRAD: I've been doing everything I can, mate. You don't know how hard this is.
RUSSELL: Maybe I do.
BRAD: Ernesto's got the bit between his teeth. The tougher it gets, the tougher he gets. He's really proud of this thing. He really thinks he owns the America's Cup. He's not gonna give an inch on anything.
RUSSELL: He doesn't own it.
BRAD: Ask Kristy that.
RUSSELL: Well, she did look happy coming down the steps from that Swiss plane.
BRAD: She's hot for the America's Cup.
RUSSELL: The world thinks Larry is the evil player. You know Ernesto is a maniac. What are we going to do?
BRAD: Buggered if I know.
RUSSELL: No, you're in there. You've got to make a decision.
BRAD: Look, if I knew what to do, we'd be doing it. It's all about Ernesto. He makes all the calls. I don't like it, but I've gotta do it. If there's a way to get around this, Ernesto doesn't want to know about it. He thinks we've won.
RUSSELL: Look, just change the challenger series. That's all anybody wants. Change that, and everything happens.
BRAD: Mate, Ernesto doesn't want a challenger's series he doesn't sail in. He doesn't want teams building two boats or thinking about more than one boat. He doesn't want anyone doing anything that gives them an advantage. He hates that. Not too crazy about it myself.
RUSSELL: Does he want us in the Cup?
BRAD: You'd better use a five-iron from here.
RUSSELL: No, I'll use a six.
BRAD: The wind's from the east.
RUSSELL: Where's my seven?
BRAD: Well, if you're gonna use your seven, hit towards that tree. Hit it hard and let's see what happens.
RUSSELL: What are you going to hit?
BRAD: I'll follow you.
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