Burnham has plan to calm America's Cup chop
by Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune on 6 Feb 2008
Valencia - venue for the 2007 America’s Cup. Burnham would have all future venues bid for the event. ACM2006/Paisajes Españoles
Few men in the world have as much knowledge or concern about the America's Cup as San Diego business and civic leader Malin Burnham.
In addition to putting together the organization that conducted San Diego Yacht Club's three defenses from 1988 through 1995, Burnham managed Dennis Conner's successful challenge in Australia in 1986-87 and sailed in the 1977 defense trials.
Burnham hates what he is seeing in the America's Cup these days.
“It does pain me,” said Burnham, who knows the pain of these things given the fact that he helped chart SDYC's successful court response to New Zealand's Michael Fay that led to the infamous “catamaran defense” of 1988.
“We went through this before. We learned from that lesson. Now we're right back in that position.”
Actually, a worse position.
The next true America's Cup won't be sailed until 2011 at the earliest because Ernesto Bertarelli – rather than settle with the Oracle-BMW challenger after losing a case in the New York Supreme Court – has decided to appeal.
Bertarelli is the leader of the Swiss Alinghi powerhouse that successfully defended the America's Cup off Valencia, Spain, last spring – then tried to strong-arm the terms for the next defense through a Spanish club basically created to be the Challenger of Record.
When Golden Gate YC argued that was a violation of the Deed of Gift, the New York Supreme Court agreed. If Bertarelli and GGYC's Larry Ellison can't negotiate and the appeal is denied – both being probable – the next America's Cup will be sailed in catamarans next summer or in 2010.
By that time, many of the sport's existing challengers will have closed shop – several already have shut down operations – and we'll be back to square one.
“It will survive,” Burnham says of the America's Cup. “But we're wasting a lot of time. And it's all very unnecessary. If this type of thing perpetuates, it will hurt the America's Cup.”
Which is why Burnham recently proposed a five-point plan that would put the America's Cup on a modern sports footing while preserving the tradition.
For the rest of this story including Burnham's five point plan http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/page2/20080204-9999-1s4boatcol.html!click_here
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