This is the biggest America's Cup event since July 2007.
That's when Alinghi successfully defended the cup against Emirates Team New Zealand, SNG accepted Club Náutico Español de Vela (CNEV) as challenger of record for AC33, and the leadership of GGYC and their sailing team BMW Oracle went ballistic.
Soon after, all legal hell broke loose.
Hopefully, sanity will prevail when club delegates meet tomorrow.
But this is America's Cup. Whether we like it or not, a multitude of issues surrounds the participants -- and all of these issues will be in the room tomorrow, some of them elephantine.
Taking a cruise through the oceans of stimulus:
(1) POWER PLAYERS
Ernesto Bertarelli (SUI), head of Alinghi, and Larry Ellison (USA), head of BMW Oracle, will not be attending in person. But their personal perspectives have defined America's Cup for two years and will strongly influence the proceedings tomorrow. Emotionally, they will be in the room.
Curiously, if we set aside an extraordinary assortment of trifling matters, one extraordinary issue separates these competitors.
Ernesto Bertarelli's leadership has demanded total, complete and absolute control over every aspect of AC33, including the right to banish any competitor for any reason, at any time. One hundred and eighty degrees in the other direction, Larry Ellison has consistently demanded an AC33 that is governed by mutual consent, just like AC32, the most successful America's Cup in history.
Ultimately, this is the divide that will control the event tomorrow.
(2) GGYC GOES PUBLIC
To clarify their position, GGYC took an unprecedented step yesterday to publicly announce their objectives for AC33. They will enter the room tomorrow en clair.
To no-one's surprise, GGYC re-affirmed their objective for a mutual consent, multi-challenger event involving clubs and teams from around the world.
Interestingly, GGYC proposed two formats -- (i) An AC event managed by a truly independent America's Cup Management (ACM) with board members of the organizational authority appointed by all participants, as well as the defender -- not a captive ACM board where absolute power and authority, in truth, is vested in Ernesto Bertarelli and SNG.
Alternatively, GGYC proposed: (ii) An organizational repeat of AC32 -- with long-time AC sponsor Louis Vuitton possibly returning to take a leadership role in the Challenger Selection Series -- ostensibly Louis Vuitton Cup redux -- with all challengers sharing financial and organizational responsibilities for the series.
This is a very significant development.
Not only does it consider Louis Vuitton's tentative, potential, and possible -- but welcome -- return to America's Cup (we can't imagine GGYC involving Louis Vuitton without their tacit approval); but it offers SNG and ACM the promise of much-needed financial relief at a time when classic AC sponsors have departed the stage and corporate replacements are thin on the ground.
(3) MONEY MATTERS
Sponsors make America's Cup happen. They provide cash. Which may be one reason why a Deed of Gift race is so attractive to a Swiss defender whose major sponsors have also moved on. Certainly, a costly multi-hull vessel must be built and assembled, which takes millions. But the Deed of Gift event is just three races that could actually be completed in two days.
For the defender, financing a three-day event is feasible. Self-financing a one-year or two-year multi-challenger event is a phenomenal challenge.
In today's economic climate, it may be virtually impossible.
Interestingly, sailors always define America's Cup as a battle of boats and teams. Which is true. But the battle doesn't happen without money and sponsors are the people who provide it.
Who will provide the money -- and for which event -- will be the biggest elephant in the room tomorrow.
(4) DOG RACES ARE FOR DOGS
America's Cup isn't about Deed of Gift races. Existing as a provision to resolve disputes, Deed of Gift (DOG) races are about competitors who cannot agree.
The real world wants the Real America's Cup to return.
And, frankly, there is more than enough negotiating room for the delegates from SNG and GGYC to forge a way forward to a true multi-challenger event, where absolute fairness -- instead of absolute power -- prevails.
If you want a DOG race in this environment, it's probably because you don't want a classic America's Cup.
You don't want an America's Cup organized by mutual consent.
You don't want to cede anything to any competitor, at any time, for any reason, not even a world of competitors.
What you do want -- it would seem -- is total power, total control, and total authority, regardless.
Which might be something, but it's not America's Cup.
(5) GOODWILL
GGYC has sent delegates who can complete an agreement for AC33. SNG is sending major players.
We know there is negotiating room for a return to a classic multi-challenger America's Cup. We know that workable financial solutions, including a significant potential sponsorship, have been proposed that could make a classic AC33 a reality. We know that everyone on the planet wants to return to the fabulous atmosphere that prevailed in AC32.
We don't know of a real, valid, genuine, authentic factor -- other than power -- or perceived power -- that could prevent this from happening.
Now, all we need is goodwill.
We hope that's what prevails tomorrow.
2 comments:
Ellison does not want a multi-challenger event. He just PRETENDS to (while making absurd demands to make negociations fail) so Bertarelli gets the blame. It makes him look good. But if (God forbid!) Ellison wins the DoG match, you'll suddenly see that he's really the same egomaniac that Bertarelli is.
Internally and externally Oracle and GGYC have consistently said they want a multi-challenger 'normal' event. Every sailor has an ego but Larry Ellison and his team have committed significant time, funding and energy to try and get a fair event. Now it seems that Alinghi has rejected this opportunity and we will see a DOG event. When, I am not sure because Alinghi's statement hints at more games.
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