Gladwell's Line: America's Cup Defender doomed on CHR question?

10:54 PM Wed 6 May 2009 GMT

'BMW ORACLE Racing - 90 ft trimaran testing on 21 February 2009. No 'USA' name is visible on the transom. Even the national designator is missing after her home port.' Paul Todd &copy Click Here to view large photo

The Defender of the America's Cup, Societe Nautique de Geneve, has released the motion it has filed with the New York Supreme Court to require Challenger to file the required Customs House Registry documents. Click hereto read.

At first glance, the action would seem to be doomed to failure.

As discussed in an earlier commentary, the exercise seems to be a fishing expedition, not unknown in the America's Cup, designed to corner the Challenger, or extract some small advantage, from the Golden Gate Yacht Club.

SNG calls for GGYC to be either disqualified from the event for not complying with the requirement of the Deed of Gift that the 'customs-house registry must also be sent as as possible'.

SNG's view is that as GGYC has had a 90ft trimaran with 90ft beam (as described in their Notice of Challenge) sailing for several months. Therefore the Customs House Registry document should have been furnished by now.

However their argument fails, in our view, on one important point.

The Notice of Challenge for the 33rd America's Cup lodge on 11 July states that the GGYC boat will be named 'USA'. The correct name of the trimaran being sailed by GGYC, and their team BMW Oracle Racing, is 'BOR90' or as in their standard photo caption 'San Diego (USA, CA) - BMW ORACLE Racing - 90 ft trimaran testing'.

Indeed, this publication was picked up early in the piece, by BMW Oracle Racing, that the correct name of the yacht was in fact, 'BOR90'.

Further as can be seen from the stern shot (where a yacht's name would normally be), there is no name, just the US flag, and on the crossbeam the words/name of 'BMW Oracle Racing' is written. There is not even the letters 'USA' alongside her port of origin.

Clearly one option is for GGYC and BMW Oracle Racing are to continue to trial the current boat, and when they are happy that it will be the entry, then rename 'BOR90' as 'USA'. However this may have some issues, later.

The other option is to build a new hull(s) or other major component of the 'platform' (as multihullers refer to the combination of hulls and beams on which they put a mast and sails).

Given the time that has elapsed since the launch of BOR90, it would be a little surprising if GGYC did indeed challenge with the original platform and configuration.

BOR90 was launched on 25 August 2008, and if the Match dates stated by Alinghi were confirmed, she would have been sailing for 20 months and would be a very well run-in craft at that point, if not old. She would probably be about twice the age of Alinghi, said to be launched 'this summer'.

On this basis there are strong pointers to a major platform component change, and a renaming of BOR90 as USA after that point. Once the final configuration was locked and loaded, one would expect that the CHR documents would be issued by the USCG and filed with Societe Nautique de Geneve.

As previously noted, the CHR for KZ-1 was forwarded to San Diego Yacht Club just three months before the 27th America's Cup in the previous Deed of Gift match that was sailed.

Of course, if GGYC did rename BOR90 as USA race her in the 33rd Match, substantially unchanged, then Societe Nautique de Geneve could have contestable point. Similarly, if GGYC furnished a US Coastguard Customs House Register certificate that was several months or over a year old, then SNG would have a point.

And, maybe that is the point of exercise.

Even if SNG are thrown out of Court on this motion, they will have have picked a small concession on GGYC which will build into something bigger as time progresses, and the burden of proof shifts progressively to Golden Gate Yacht Club.

by Richard Gladwell

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