The Prince of Alinghi, Ernesto Bertarelli,the Auld Mug, and Commodore Charles Townsend
in the Model Room of the New York Yacht Club,
October 3, 2007.
Listen to this.
It's Ernesto Bertarelli (SUI), Prince of Alinghi, quoted in interview conducted October 4, 2007, at the New York Yacht Club, by Aaron Kuriloff of Bloomberg News:
"Bertarelli, 42, who successfully defended the Cup for landlocked Switzerland in July in the waters off Valencia, Spain, sat by the limestone fireplace in the (New York Yacht) club's Model Room explaining why he'd like to change the rules for the world's oldest sporting championship and is willing to fight for those changes in an Oct. 22 court hearing.
"When we thought of the vision of the 33rd America's Cup, a very strong underlying theme -- that maybe is not shared with some disgruntled competitors -- was to reduce cost," Bertarelli said. 'I think a lot of people see what we're trying to do. We have five competitors entered and more that are coming. But we're not pleasing everyone and that's unfortunate."
Kuriloff's article continues, as per usual.
Accept what Bertarelli says. Slam billionaires and their toys. And in an inspired twist, quote an authority from the sidelines. In this case, Paul Henderson (CAN), a former President of the International Sailing Federation, the sport's governing body, which, as Kuriloff says, "has almost no control over the America's Cup".
"Such feuds diminish what should be sailing's equivalent of golf's Master's Tournament, or tennis's Wimbledon, Henderson said in a telephone interview", according to Kuriloff.
"Big boys and their big toys," (Henderson) says. "They bring it all down with these lawsuits and I think 'What in the hell is wrong with these people?'"
Well, Mr. Henderson, we wonder what in the hell is wrong with you.
Just in case you haven't been paying attention, everyone can live with 90-foot boats (people are very excited about 90-foot boats), the design rules, the two-year turnaround, and virtually everything else to do with the concept of America's Cup 33. Nobody is protesting that; not Russell Coutts (NZL), CEO and skipper of BMW Oracle; not Larry Ellison (USA), Oracle chief; not Tom Ehman (USA), head of external affairs for BMW Oracle.
The beef, as we all know, is (1) the legitimacy of the Challenger of Record, Club Náutico Español de Vela (CNEV), and (2) the lack of challenger involvement in the planning of the challenger event and the conduct of racing, a huge break with tradition.
If Mr. Henderson is, as he presents himself, a stickler for fair play, in the great tradition of the Masters and Wimbledon, he clearly has turned a blind eye to Bertarelli's plans for the management and conduct of AC33.
All in all, quite an amazing couple of days.
Ernesto dissembling in the Model Room at 37 West 44th Street in New York.
Blaming Ellison, yet again.
And a whining note from a former office holder of the International Sailing Federation.
Can you believe this?
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