Certainly, they have a boat under construction.
Certainly, it has been designed, laid up, formed, constructed, laminated, shaped, smoothed, set, sealed, layered, painted, sealed, polished, and ...
Yet where is Alinghi's (SUI) vessel?
When will we see the Alinghi trident making its delicate, testing sailing ventures on Lake Geneva, where, assuredly, it was built.
We are all watching and waiting.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
This is a boat (AC 33)
It looks like a bird of prey.
It's BMW Oracle Racing (USA)'s new trimaran, 90 ft. x 90 ft., in a picture from their website.
It will prey upon Alinghi (SUI)'s trimaran, which none of us have ever seen.
We suppose the Prince of Alinghi (SUI) and his naval architects are designing and building -- or have designed and built -- a competitor that can match this condor-like vessel.
But we have heard nothing, not even from Alinghi voices. And we have seen nothing, not even fron Alinghi spies.
Strung out under the lines of the crane, this amazing raptor looks ready to soar and steal victories capturing meaty morsels for the Golden Gate Yacht Club (USA).
Perhaps Prince Ernesto has a vessel like this, hidden away in the yards of Lake Geneva, just as beautiful as this, and as beautifully built. Or perhaps he has one half the size, gathering moss, on a lake berth somewhere.
Soon, we shall hear.
It's BMW Oracle Racing (USA)'s new trimaran, 90 ft. x 90 ft., in a picture from their website.
It will prey upon Alinghi (SUI)'s trimaran, which none of us have ever seen.
We suppose the Prince of Alinghi (SUI) and his naval architects are designing and building -- or have designed and built -- a competitor that can match this condor-like vessel.
But we have heard nothing, not even from Alinghi voices. And we have seen nothing, not even fron Alinghi spies.
Strung out under the lines of the crane, this amazing raptor looks ready to soar and steal victories capturing meaty morsels for the Golden Gate Yacht Club (USA).
Perhaps Prince Ernesto has a vessel like this, hidden away in the yards of Lake Geneva, just as beautiful as this, and as beautifully built. Or perhaps he has one half the size, gathering moss, on a lake berth somewhere.
Soon, we shall hear.
Monday, August 4, 2008
It depends on what the meaning of "its" is
The reversal of Justice Herman Cahn's ruling in the New York Supreme Court in favor of Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) over the acceptance of Club Náutico Español de Vela (CNEV) as Challenger of Record for America's Cup 33 is extraordinary.
The opinion authored by Justice Leland DeGrasse of the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division is a healthy reminder that lawyers, judges and law clerks are the last people on earth to consult about the English language.
Asserting that the reversal turns on the meaning of the accursed language "having for its annual regatta", Justice DeGrasse and his clerks drew some very strange conclusions and cited bizarre examples from literature. Bizarre is the word for it.
GGYC argued that "having" means "possesses"; the idea of having is possessive. Fine. But it can't be possessive, says DeGrasse. You can't possess a regatta. Are we serious?
The opinion then quotes disturbing literary examples to discuss the participle "having" and a participle's inherent lack of tense, which derives from its verb, not itself.
Bizarre, and meaningless, and irrelevant.
Writers know that if you encounter a writing challenge, throw Strunk at it. That's William Strunk, Jr.'s guide to plain writing, The Elements of Style (1918), edited and revised in the 1960s by E.B. White, a sailor, father of Joel White, naval architect.
So what did George Schuyler (author of the Deed of Gift) actually mean?
This is what he wrote -- and what everybody is debating -- "Any organized Yacht Club of a foreign country, incorporated, patented, or licensed by the legislature, admiralty, or other executive department, having for its annual regatta an ocean water course on the sea, or on an arm of the sea, or one which combines both, shall always be entitled to the right of sailing a match of this Cup, with a yacht or vessel propelled by sails only and constructed in the country to which the Challenging Club belongs, against any one yacht or vessel constructed in the country of the Club holding the Cup."
Apply Strunk's common sense. Eliminate extraneous data. This is what Schuyler meant:
Any organized Yacht Club having an ocean water course on the sea for its annual regatta shall always be entitled to the right of sailing a match of this Cup.
It's not about "having". That refers to the ocean water course.
The meat is "its annual regatta".
Apply Strunk again. Ask CNEV the simple question: Do you have an annual regatta?
The answer is no. Resoundingly, no.
It's that simple.
"Having" is a big, fat, red herring.
On the day it mattered, CNEV did not have an annual regatta, and had never had an annual regatta. And only considered organizing an annual regatta when the storm signals were hoisted.
GGYC needs Strunk.
The opinion authored by Justice Leland DeGrasse of the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division is a healthy reminder that lawyers, judges and law clerks are the last people on earth to consult about the English language.
Asserting that the reversal turns on the meaning of the accursed language "having for its annual regatta", Justice DeGrasse and his clerks drew some very strange conclusions and cited bizarre examples from literature. Bizarre is the word for it.
GGYC argued that "having" means "possesses"; the idea of having is possessive. Fine. But it can't be possessive, says DeGrasse. You can't possess a regatta. Are we serious?
The opinion then quotes disturbing literary examples to discuss the participle "having" and a participle's inherent lack of tense, which derives from its verb, not itself.
Bizarre, and meaningless, and irrelevant.
Writers know that if you encounter a writing challenge, throw Strunk at it. That's William Strunk, Jr.'s guide to plain writing, The Elements of Style (1918), edited and revised in the 1960s by E.B. White, a sailor, father of Joel White, naval architect.
So what did George Schuyler (author of the Deed of Gift) actually mean?
This is what he wrote -- and what everybody is debating -- "Any organized Yacht Club of a foreign country, incorporated, patented, or licensed by the legislature, admiralty, or other executive department, having for its annual regatta an ocean water course on the sea, or on an arm of the sea, or one which combines both, shall always be entitled to the right of sailing a match of this Cup, with a yacht or vessel propelled by sails only and constructed in the country to which the Challenging Club belongs, against any one yacht or vessel constructed in the country of the Club holding the Cup."
Apply Strunk's common sense. Eliminate extraneous data. This is what Schuyler meant:
Any organized Yacht Club having an ocean water course on the sea for its annual regatta shall always be entitled to the right of sailing a match of this Cup.
It's not about "having". That refers to the ocean water course.
The meat is "its annual regatta".
Apply Strunk again. Ask CNEV the simple question: Do you have an annual regatta?
The answer is no. Resoundingly, no.
It's that simple.
"Having" is a big, fat, red herring.
On the day it mattered, CNEV did not have an annual regatta, and had never had an annual regatta. And only considered organizing an annual regatta when the storm signals were hoisted.
GGYC needs Strunk.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Grant Dalton speaks truth to Bloomberg
Interviewed yesterday by Bloomberg's Mike Schneider, Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) chief Grant Dalton (NZL) told it the way it is:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=amof5eS3fIt0
Summarizing major events in words everyone can understand, Grant spoke plainly about America's Cup. It's not about us (and all the other global teams) said Grant. It's about BMW Oracle (USA) and Alinghi (SUI). The rest of us, he said, aren't involved. And frankly, teams like mine (ETNZ), said Grant, are stuggling to keep things together.
Isn't that the truth about all this?
Somehow, BMW Oracle is trying to dispose of AC33 in the most expeditious way. Almost everyone in sailing wants that to happen, and fast.
But aren't all of us also majorly interested in how humongous 90-foot multihulls will actually square off in competition and race against each other?
Don't all of us want to watch this gross-out event?
Aren't we all excited about these big, huge, lumbering, but ultimately breathtakingly rapid, dangerous, and bizarre craft?
Of course we are.
Right now, everyone is working out in multihulls. Boats are capsizing. Skippers like Spithill and Coutts are competing against each other, everywhere.
All of them are preparing for what is, in fact, an incredible, futile and absurd waste of resources, manpower, energy, intelligence, sanity and common sense, all of it in pursuit of an ancient trophy in dispute.
And all of us will be there on the magical day, regardless, focused on the event, downloading images live-in-real-time, plundering online data, and calling friends to proclaim one victory or another.
We hate this and love this.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=amof5eS3fIt0
Summarizing major events in words everyone can understand, Grant spoke plainly about America's Cup. It's not about us (and all the other global teams) said Grant. It's about BMW Oracle (USA) and Alinghi (SUI). The rest of us, he said, aren't involved. And frankly, teams like mine (ETNZ), said Grant, are stuggling to keep things together.
Isn't that the truth about all this?
Somehow, BMW Oracle is trying to dispose of AC33 in the most expeditious way. Almost everyone in sailing wants that to happen, and fast.
But aren't all of us also majorly interested in how humongous 90-foot multihulls will actually square off in competition and race against each other?
Don't all of us want to watch this gross-out event?
Aren't we all excited about these big, huge, lumbering, but ultimately breathtakingly rapid, dangerous, and bizarre craft?
Of course we are.
Right now, everyone is working out in multihulls. Boats are capsizing. Skippers like Spithill and Coutts are competing against each other, everywhere.
All of them are preparing for what is, in fact, an incredible, futile and absurd waste of resources, manpower, energy, intelligence, sanity and common sense, all of it in pursuit of an ancient trophy in dispute.
And all of us will be there on the magical day, regardless, focused on the event, downloading images live-in-real-time, plundering online data, and calling friends to proclaim one victory or another.
We hate this and love this.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
The Banana Boat!
While it's just a few minutes after noon U.S. Eastern Standard Time, the pumpkin hour for April Fools jokes, kudos must be given to Pierre Orphanidis of Valencia Sailing for his brilliant report on the change of allegiance of BMW Oracle Racing (here).
A truly amusing diversion amid continuing disintegration of the America's Cup 32 fleet with Germany's take down of its AC33 program.
Well done, Pierre!
A truly amusing diversion amid continuing disintegration of the America's Cup 32 fleet with Germany's take down of its AC33 program.
Well done, Pierre!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Suddenly, it's noisy again in Switzerland
Over the past few days, there's been a lot of noise from the alpine nation.
Setting the stage, Justice Herman Cahn in New York hummed, or gently limned his decision into the ethos. Thank you, Justice Cahn.
And for a day or two, all was silent. Even Cory Freidman, Esq. (USA), that exceptional legal commentator, was silent.
But it was not to last.
Soon, the faxes and emails started flying.
And notably among the faxers and the statement-makers, Vice Commodore Fred Meyer (SUI) of Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), an otherwise highly partisan member of the Alinghi clan, wrote a surprisingly reasoned and sensible letter to the Commodore of the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC), in the manner of good and reasonable yacht club officials, inviting GGYC to participate in discussions to resolve the date of the Deed of Gift challenge between Alinghi and BMW Oracle. Very nice.
But it was not to last.
In his next breath, the Vice Commodore fired off an extraordinarily intemperate, vituperative letter to Russell Coutts (NZL), Oracle CEO and skipper, declaiming Oracle's inability to compete on the water and protesting their penchant for action in the courts.
The Vice Commodore may seem like a major player in America's Cup, and maybe he is, but in his printed communications he sounds like just another Alinghi noisemaker. A lot like the Prince of Alinghi himself, but without the clout. A lot like the flacks at America's Cup Management -- but with more clout? It's hard to tell.
The sad fact is, he demonstrates an extraordinarily cheezy, mean-spirited ability to make the worst kinds of comments, for all the wrong reasons, at a time when he should be conciliatory and constructive.
After all, SNG was creamed in the Court of the Deed of Gift.
And let me point out, just for the record, that the people Commodore Meyer declaims, directly and indirectly, including Larry Ellison (USA), chief of Oracle, Russell Coutts, CEO, and the good people of GGYC have never, ever, ever uttered such childish, defensive thoughts as his.
So who are the sportsmen here?
Vice Commodore Meyer evidently has forgotten or conveniently overlooked the fact that the New York Court that protects the Deed of Gift said, in effect, to the Principality of Alinghi, "You are out of line. You are wrong. We listened to you. We waited upon you. But you are wrong. You are totally wrong. Drop it. Forget it. Move on."
Meyer inevitably must face that fact.
He must also face the fact that his posture, tone of voice and language are unseemly, unwelcome, undignified and unsportsmanlike.
We pray he behaves like the gentleman he is in his meeting with Russell Coutts and Tom Ehman (USA), head of external affairs for Oracle, tomorrow.
Setting the stage, Justice Herman Cahn in New York hummed, or gently limned his decision into the ethos. Thank you, Justice Cahn.
And for a day or two, all was silent. Even Cory Freidman, Esq. (USA), that exceptional legal commentator, was silent.
But it was not to last.
Soon, the faxes and emails started flying.
And notably among the faxers and the statement-makers, Vice Commodore Fred Meyer (SUI) of Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), an otherwise highly partisan member of the Alinghi clan, wrote a surprisingly reasoned and sensible letter to the Commodore of the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC), in the manner of good and reasonable yacht club officials, inviting GGYC to participate in discussions to resolve the date of the Deed of Gift challenge between Alinghi and BMW Oracle. Very nice.
But it was not to last.
In his next breath, the Vice Commodore fired off an extraordinarily intemperate, vituperative letter to Russell Coutts (NZL), Oracle CEO and skipper, declaiming Oracle's inability to compete on the water and protesting their penchant for action in the courts.
The Vice Commodore may seem like a major player in America's Cup, and maybe he is, but in his printed communications he sounds like just another Alinghi noisemaker. A lot like the Prince of Alinghi himself, but without the clout. A lot like the flacks at America's Cup Management -- but with more clout? It's hard to tell.
The sad fact is, he demonstrates an extraordinarily cheezy, mean-spirited ability to make the worst kinds of comments, for all the wrong reasons, at a time when he should be conciliatory and constructive.
After all, SNG was creamed in the Court of the Deed of Gift.
And let me point out, just for the record, that the people Commodore Meyer declaims, directly and indirectly, including Larry Ellison (USA), chief of Oracle, Russell Coutts, CEO, and the good people of GGYC have never, ever, ever uttered such childish, defensive thoughts as his.
So who are the sportsmen here?
Vice Commodore Meyer evidently has forgotten or conveniently overlooked the fact that the New York Court that protects the Deed of Gift said, in effect, to the Principality of Alinghi, "You are out of line. You are wrong. We listened to you. We waited upon you. But you are wrong. You are totally wrong. Drop it. Forget it. Move on."
Meyer inevitably must face that fact.
He must also face the fact that his posture, tone of voice and language are unseemly, unwelcome, undignified and unsportsmanlike.
We pray he behaves like the gentleman he is in his meeting with Russell Coutts and Tom Ehman (USA), head of external affairs for Oracle, tomorrow.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Huge, challenging issues for Grant Dalton, Team New Zealand
Grant Dalton (NZL) is a major player. He's a sailor (above, seen here, before sailing, during the Louis Vuitton semi-finals in Valencia in 2007). He has won and weathered round-the-world races. He resuscitated Team New Zealand from the ruptures, punctures and poor team management of his predecessors, including Kiwis who designed, built and launched the NZL boats that failed in 2003.He has fronted up (a Kiwi term, meaning approached directly and spoke with honesty, openness and candor) to sponsors who had no previous connection with America's Cup sailing. And he successfully converted them to AC racing.
In his own, blunt, determined Kiwi way, he built a system, a philosophy, and a marvellous on board management style that puts function, energy, application, team work, performance and passion above emotion. Some say he even puts these values above enthusiasm.
But he has been successful in America's Cup, and he has built a leviathan.
Just what every Kiwi on the planet (sailor, fan, critic, journalist, sponsor, booster, blogger) could ever want from an America's Cup team. In some ways, Grant has reasserted New Zealand into the America's Cup.
But while Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) and Ernesto Bertarelli (SUI) and his entities, Team Alinghi and Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), are doing what they have to do, and while BMW Oracle Racing (BOR), presumably the official challenger for America's Cup 33, are doing what they have to do, other America's Cup teams are in major disarray.
Grant Dalton himself has had to let 30% of New Zealand team members seek alternative opportunities.
On the legal front, Grant is now dealing with efforts in Justice Cahn's New York Supreme Court (about breach of contract by Alinghi) and about anti-trust issues in America's Cup 33 in New York District Court (before a jury).
Grant and the New Zealand team attorney, Jim Farmer (NZL), are managing the two new lawsuits.
Grant will be knowledgeable about all issues, but above all, he will be determined to succeed.
He has to seek compensation for his perception of breach of contract by Bertarelli which his lawyers (lead by a Kiwi lawyer) entered into with Alinghi lawyers (lead by a Kiwi lawyer).
Then, he has to manage the humongous, new legal event from the amazing David Boise (of Boise, Schiller and Flexner of New York) in which Mr. Hammer (David Boise) has decidedly seen a Nail (Alinghi's possessive interest in possessing every aspect of the America's Cup), which he believes needs hammering.
Apparently, this new legal effort is funded by passionate, loyal Kiwis who are focused on Team New Zealand's freedom to compete, with honor and goodwill, in the greatest sailing event on the planet, and who believe that New Zealand should take a second seat to no-one as complicated decisions are posited, assessed, adjudicated and decided.
Grant Dalton is a great man in a difficult position.
According to many observers, his team is right in its assertions. Yet he must do very unpopular things (like pursuing lawsuits) to ensure that New Zealand's best interests are protected.
As he himself admits, he is a sailor. Not a lawyer.
And we are humongously glad of that. In fact, our heart goes out to him and his team as he protects them, protects New Zealand's involvement in America's Cup, and pursues what he and his colleagues believe is the right course for Team New Zealand.
There is nothing perfect, or ideal, here.
We give our support to Grant.
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