GGYC America's Cup Challenger details released

by Gerald New/Sail-world.com/uk on 13 Jul 2007
Following the formal challenge by the Golden Gate Yacht Club of San Francisco - represented by Larry Ellison's BMW Oracle Racing - which they issued to the Societe Nautique Geneve (SNG) on Wednesday, the defending yacht club of the Cup winner, Team Alinghi.

The GGYC Challenge is of a similar type, to that issued by Mercury Bay Boating Club in 1987, which complies with the minimum requirements for a Match if 'the parties cannot mutually agree on the terms for a match' which are for the event to take place within ten months between 1st November and 1st May and for the yachts to be of 90ft on the load waterline if 'of one mast'.

However as is clear in the GGYC stsatement below the club wishes to establish mutual consent for the 33rd America's Cup, which would see the event revert to a Challenger's trophy, rather than have complete control over the event, including the Challenger Selection Series, placed in the hands of the Defender.

The challenging club accepted by SNG/Team Alinghi, Club Nautico Espanol de Vela (CNEV), has today (Thursday) issued a reply.

The Golden Gate YC (GGYC) claimed in their formal challenge to be the Challenger of Record, that the earlier acceptance of the Spanish as the official Challenger of Record by the SNG was invalid as the Spanish club did not meet the requirements of the 1857 Deed of Gift.

Specifically that the challenging yacht club had never conducted an annual regatta on an arm of the sea as required by the Deed of Gift - the CNEV is a recently formed club, apparently for the purpose of challenging for the Cup.

They further claimed that the race Protocol for the next America's Cup challenge agreed to by CNEV (challenger) and SNG (Defender) was invalid because it failed to specify the regatta date, location and class of boat. And, that it was also invalid because the challenger had not performed any of the duties of the challenger contemplated by the Deed of Gift, but had simply delegated to the Defender the authority to determine all the conditions governing the match.

This situation, it claimed, removed the opportunity for a fair and equitable competition and gave an unfair advantage to the defender. GGYC also claimed to have spoken with most of the other America’s Cup 32 challengers and that they shared this view.

The Golden Gate YC then attached a 'bona fide' challenge and demanded recognition as the legitimate Challenger of Record for the 33rd America's Cup. To comply with the Deed of Gift they set 4 July 2008 as the date of the first race, and they also attached as required the name, rig and specified dimensions of the challenging vessel.

Name - USA

Owner - Oracle Racing Inc

Rig - Single-masted, sloop rigged

Length on load waterline - 90ft; Beam - 90ft; Hull Draught - 3ft; Keel Draught - 20ft

In their response Thursday, Club Nautico Espanol de Vela pointed out that with regard to the obligation to hold a regatta in open waters, they have several regattas in preparation to take place in September and that the Deed of Gift does not mention when such events must take place - before or after acceptance of a challenge.

Further CNEV claim that with regards to the date and venue of the next event, this is nothing to do with them and they are in the same position as the other potential competitors and that this was the situation for the last challenge.

They then finish with a general statement that their negotiations with the defender had been designed to achieve a fair and open competition for all participants.

No response has been made to date by Team Alinghi or the Societe Nautique Geneve.

The Press Release issued by the Golden Gate YC, July 11 2007

San Francisco's Golden Gate Yacht Club Challenges for 33rd America's Cup

The Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) of San Francisco today presented a formal challenge for the 33rd America's Cup to the Société Nautique Genève (SNG), defending yacht club of Cup winner Team Alinghi. The challenge was delivered in person on July 11th by representatives of GGYC to an officer of the Swiss club in Geneva. The GGYC challenge follows the SNG's acceptance of what appears to be an invalid challenge that unfairly advantages the defender, Team Alinghi.

After Alinghi won the 32nd America’s Cup on July 3rd, SNG accepted a challenge from the Spanish Club Nautico Espanol de Vela (CNEV). It appears that CNEV is a brand new yacht club specifically created for this challenge and as such fails to meet the requirements for a challenging yacht club as defined by the Deed of Gift. The Deed of Gift, a document written in 1857, defines the rules for the America's Cup to this day. The Deed of Gift requires that the Challenging yacht club conduct an annual regatta on an arm of the sea. CNEV has never conducted a regatta of any kind and thus cannot be a legitimate Cup challenger.

Furthermore, the race Protocol for the 33rd America’s Cup agreed to by the challenging yacht club CNEV and the defending SNG are invalid because they fail to specify the rules for the next competition by omitting a specific regatta date, location and class of boat. The Protocol is also invalid because virtually all Challenger rights are eliminated and total control of the event and its rules are granted to the Defender, Team Alinghi. The Alinghi Protocol for the 33rd Americas Cup alters the very nature of the competition giving unprecedented and unfair advantages to the Defender.

Without the basic elements of regatta venue, date and boat design rules as required by the Deed of Gift, the Alinghi Protocol provides no opportunity for a fair and equitable competition. Only the Defender can begin to plan their campaign and design their yachts while all the other competitors must sit and wait for further information. We have spoken with most of our fellow AC 32 Challengers and we believe that they share our view. We seek to continue to expand and build upon the successes of the 32nd America's Cup which was exciting and rewarding for competitors, sponsors, media and fans by returning to an environment where mutual consent in forming the rules provided a fair and close competition for all.

We will endeavor to work with SNG to mutually agree to appropriate terms for the 33rd America's Cup to keep the event exciting and fair for all. Under SNG's stewardship, the 32nd America's Cup delivered some of the most hotly-contested racing in recent Cup history and brought Cup sailing to more people worldwide than ever before. We hope we can build on this for the future and continue the momentum we started here together in Valencia.

The Deed of Gift requires the Defender to accept a valid challenge, and together the Defender and Challenger can mutually agree on the rules for the competition. Failing such agreement, then the original rules in the Deed will dictate the terms, defaulting to a challenge to take place in ten months with a boat defined by the challenger.

http://www.sail-world.com/files/GGYCChallenge.pdf