Team New Zealand's big cheese butters up the Swiss
Two of the New Zealand Sunday papers carried stories covering the Louis Vuitton Pacific series announced just last Monday at Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. 
'Emirates Team New Zealand are generally reckoned to have pulled a good move with the announcement of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series'
MCC McCamp
Click Here to view large photo
Team New Zealand's big cheese butters up the Swiss- Greg Ford (Sunday Star Times)
You have to hand it to Grant Dalton. To borrow a phrase from our American friends, he sure has a big pair of cojones, and looks set to pull off one of the biggest coups in America's Cup history for decades.
Nine days ago he emailed arch-rival Brad Butterworth telling him to expect a call. Last Monday he punched Butterworth's number into his phone.
You'll realise there's no love lost between these sailing giants. Alinghi skipper Butterworth made the bad blood public earlier this year when launching a scathing critique of Dalton's performance as chief executive of Team New Zealand in Valencia.
But Dalton said the tone of the conversation last Monday was 'businesslike'.
'But as I said to him at the end of the conversation, at least we're talking for the first time in a year.' The upshot of the conversation was Dalton inviting Butterworth to sail on Team New Zealand-provided yachts in the Auckland regatta he's organising in the new year. Butterworth, having already spoken to his Swiss boss Ernesto Bertarelli, said he'd come on one condition: that Team New Zealand drops its lawsuit against Alinghi.
Only a few weeks ago hell would have frozen over before either side backed down. But that's exactly what Team New Zealand is now poised to do.
Not that all has been forgiven, but Dalton's now willing to forget, for a while at least, if it helps get the America's Cup back on track.
His actions will, for many keen cup observers, restore a good chunk of the faith lost when Team New Zealand sued Alinghi earlier this year.
For the rest of this story click here
Series captures imagination- Paul Lewis (Sunday Herald)
The new regatta being hosted by Team New Zealand and Louis Vuitton is proving so popular syndicate head Grant Dalton is already exploring ways to allow more contestants to take part.
The Louis Vuitton Pacific Series was originally aimed at six teams on a first-come, first-served basis but interest has been so high - with 16 strong expressions of interest - that Dalton is now looking at expanding the competition to eight.
'It'd get a little crazy if we went to more than eight under this format,' says Dalton, referring to the fact each team will sail Team New Zealand's America's Cup yachts in the match racing series next January-February.
'You'd have to say the reception has been far greater than we expected. We appear to be headed for something that will be successful.'
Emirates Team New Zealand has sent out official forms but five syndicates have already told Dalton they're coming: BMW Oracle, Shosholoza (South Africa), K-Yacht (France), Mascalzone Latino (Italy) and a new French team, led by renowned America's Cup skipper Marc Pajot, CEO of the French Spirit challenge.
In addition, Dalton has received a total of 16 expressions of interest - including TeamOrigin, Britain's new America's Cup syndicate, a team from Australia (thought to involve longtime Cup contestant John Bertrand) - and there are reports Louis Vuitton organiser Bruno Trouble is seeking the participation of Spanish syndicate Desafio Espanol. now skippered by another America's Cup supremo, Paul Cayard.
For the rest of this story click here
Vuitton Series smart play by Team NZ- Paul Lewis (Herald on Sunday)
There must have been a deathly silence in Alinghi's headquarters when Emirates Team New Zealand and Louis Vuitton announced last week the new match racing series to be held on the Waitemata Harbour early next year, involving America's Cup teams.
Alinghi has a court case, a yet-to-be-completed 90-foot trimaran likely to cost somewhere in the region of $15 million, and an ocean of bad will from America's Cup challengers.
Team New Zealand has a regatta involving many of the same players and which looks like it will achieve what Alinghi has not - racing and a regatta held in a carnival atmosphere rather than one of distrust, litigation and inactivity.
The most interesting factor now will be the reaction of Alinghi and its billionaire boss, Ernesto Bertarelli, to the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series.
Some conspiracy theorists have maybe gone a bridge too far - hinting that the series is an attempt to play 'the long game' and replace the America's Cup with a Louis Vuitton-backed regatta or series of regattas.
For the rest of this story click here
by .
