America's Cup venue spat sails into court

Reuters

TWO AGAINST THREE: Alinghi's catamaran (left) and Oracle's trimaran are set to sail for the America's Cup in February if the event ever clears the courts.

This isn't your great-grandfather's America's Cup.

What used to be an insulated sport for fabulously wealthy men named Lipton and Vanderbilt has morphed into something out of a James Bond movie or a Tom Clancy novel, all wrapped up in two of the fastest, most-extreme boats ever to cut through - or in this case, literally fly above - the sea spray.

When two-time defending champion Alinghi of landlocked Switzerland picked little-known Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, to host its nautical grudge match beginning February 8 against an American crew led by Silicon Valley maverick Larry Ellison of Oracle Corp, it did more than make people click on Google Maps.

The stodgy sport suddenly sailed into a maelstrom involving bickering billionaires Ellison and biotech mogul Ernesto Bertarelli of Alinghi, who once were pals but are now bitter rivals; Ras al-Khaimah's proximity and suspected ties to Iran; a concerned congressman; and a lawyer who couldn't win for Al Gore but beat Microsoft.

Court filings that had argued arcane rules spanning the 158-year history of the America's Cup now raise fears of terrorists in speedboats attacking a 30m by 30m trimaran named USA as it sails some 80 miles off Iran's coastline.

All the while, Ellison, who owns BMW Oracle Racing, and Bertarelli continue to spend tens of millions of dollars on their mind-boggling, multihulled boats, which dwarf their crews. BMW Oracle Racing's trimaran and Alinghi's 30 metre catamaran can sail at 2 to 2 1/2 times the speed of the wind, their windward hulls lifting 5-6 metres in the air.

Whether the sails of those immense boats fill with wind off the Persian Gulf or if the racing is moved to Valencia, Spain, will be decided by Justice Shirley Kornreich of the New York State Supreme Court, who will hear arguments tonight (NZ time).

It's the latest hearing in a twisting, two-year court fight between the Americans and Swiss that has scuttled a traditional, multichallenger regatta in monohulls and set forth a rare head-to-head showdown as spelled out in the 1887 Deed of Gift.

"This has been such a weird America's Cup," BMW Oracle Racing skipper and chief executive Russell Coutts mused dockside last week after giving The Associated Press a sneak peek at further major changes to the US trimaran, which has been undergoing testing off San Diego for more than a year.

Coutts sailed unbeaten through three straight America's Cup matches, but he won't sail aboard USA in the best-of-three series because he's too busy running the campaign. He won twice with his native New Zealand and again with Alinghi in 2003, before he had a falling out with Bertarelli and was fired. Although Coutts was barred from sailing for anyone else in the 2007 America's Cup, Ellison hired him as soon as he could, perhaps adding an extra layer of bitterness to the feud.

San Francisco's Golden Gate Yacht Club, which sponsors BMW Oracle Racing, and Societe Nautique de Geneve, which backs Alinghi, haven't agreed on anything during the buildup to racing, answering each other tit-for-tat in court and with public relations broadsides.

As defender, the Swiss got to pick the venue. Ras al-Khaimah, which literally means "Top of the Tent," was the surprise choice.

The Swiss were excited about RAK's light wind and flat seas.

The Americans were mortified. Ellison questioned his crew's safety due to RAK's proximity to Iran, and wondered if RAK had the security and infrastructure needed to pull off a showdown between the powerhouse sailing teams.

In August, GGYC hired noted trial lawyer David Boies to help with this fight and perhaps a complaint of breach of fiduciary duty against SNG. Boies lost in the Supreme Court on behalf of Gore in the Florida recount case following the 2000 presidential election, but helped the government win an antitrust case against Microsoft.

Safety concerns aside, GGYC argues that RAK doesn't comply with the stipulations of Deed of Gift. The Swiss counter that an April court order gave them the right to stage the racing anywhere they chose.

Observers well beyond sailing circles have taken notice.

US Republican politician Edward Royce sent a letter recently to Daniel Benjamin, the State Department's co-ordinator for counterterrorism, asking for an assessment of security in Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. He also asked what US government resources, if any, will be committed to the event.

Royce is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade.

"For sailing, it is a perfect storm on the Strait of Hormuz where an international sports tempest is colliding with a brewing US national security storm in the middle of one the most geopolitically sensitive hot spots in the world," said Chris Lehane, a Democratic consultant and former Clinton White House adviser.

Lehane represents Sheikh Khalid bin Saqr Al Qasimi, a UAE royal crown prince who was removed from office in 2003 and replaced with RAK's current regime.

"You have a small emirate whose leadership is under scrutiny for their close ties to Iran hosting a race called the 'America's' Cup where a boat controlled by a high-profile US businessman will be sailing within pea-shooting distance of the Iranian Republican Guard," Lehane said.

Coutts said he's offended when he hears Alinghi say Ellison is afraid or not ready to race.

"We're certainly not afraid to race. We're ready to race," he said. "We want to race."

And if Kornreich rules the racing will go on in RAK?

"If you read the Deed, we're confident that won't happen," Coutts said.

Alinghi has been sailing in RAK for a little more than a week.

"We will do what the court wants and I think the congressman should come sailing with us before shooting off," Alinghi skipper and chief executive Brad Butterworth - a countryman and former crewmate of Coutts' - said via e-mail.

By the time the sails are doused and the oldest trophy in international sports is awarded, Ellison's tab for boatbuilders, designers, sailors and lawyers is expected to hit at least US$150 million. That's not enough to keep the New York Yankees' paychecks flowing for one season, but it's still a staggering amount for a boat that will sail a mere 119 nautical miles if the series goes to the three-race limit.

- AP