|
|
OneWorld.
OneTry? (03/04/03)
(source
: Seattletimes)
|
With the Swiss boat Alinghi putting the final
coat of shellac on an unexpectedly hapless New Zealand
Cup defense effort yesterday, the America's Cup is on
its way to Europe — the very place OneWorld syndicate
head Craig McCaw said he would prefer to re-wet his
feet in pursuit of sailing's greatest prize.
The next Cup competition, in summer 2007, likely will
be modernized and revamped in many of the ways McCaw
said he would require before deciding on a second run.
And there's this: The newfound knowledge that OneWorld's
USA-67, one of only two boats to beat the juggernaut
Alinghi squad in the regatta, may well have given the
claptrap Kiwi boats a run for the money, if not beaten
them outright.
But unless another Uncle Paul Allen benefactor comes
along, don't expect to see the blue boats flying the
Seattle Yacht Club burgee in '07.
"I'd give it a very slim chance that we'll be a sponsor
again, as OneWorld — under the same ownership," OneWorld
spokesman Bob Ratliffe says. "I don't think it was a
bad experience for Craig or Paul. Of course, winning
would have made it a lot better."
It's not like the Cup's new power brokers don't want
the Seattle group back. Larry Ellison's Bay-Area Oracle
camp has made great show of the fact that it's been
selected by Alinghi as the "challenger of record" for
the next Cup — the syndicate representing all challengers
in negotiations over rules and formats for the next
contest.
But it apparently wasn't Alinghi's first choice. The
role also was offered up to OneWorld's McCaw, who was
in Auckland last week for the Cup finals. He said no
thanks, Ratliffe reports — because he has yet to commit
to a second attempt.
"Craig is weighing all the options," but a carbon-copy
OneWorld Challenge isn't likely without the addition
of another major sponsor, Ratliffe suggested.
Allen, McCaw's 50-50 partner this time out, isn't expected
to be interested in a second try.
Hard to blame him. He never got fully engaged in the
campaign. And when he did set foot in Auckland, he saw
his boys spanked 4-0 by the USA-76 boat owned by Ellison,
a man who Allen, by all accounts, considers to be about
as much fun as flesh-eating bacteria.
There's a sense that if OneWorld can't continue, its
owners would love to give a head start to another U.S.-based
effort capable of scuttling the good ship Larry.
"Craig feels very strongly that he wants there to be
a strong American team in the next Cup — hopefully in
addition to Larry Ellison," Ratliffe said. "He would
like to be part of that, or at least have the (OneWorld)
assets be part of that."
One option would be to sell the syndicate to another
challenger, but maintain a partial ownership role. Another
would be to sell the whole thing and say, "Well, that
was an experience," Ratliffe said.
Either way, McCaw is likely to weigh the options a bit
longer. The large number of challengers expected for
the next Cup will put training boats such as OneWorld's
USA-65 and USA-67 at a high premium.
Their value is only likely to increase as time goes
on. On the other hand, OneWorld's crew, including skipper
Peter Gilmour and highly touted helmsman James Spithill,
both of Australia, is under contract only until the
end of March.
So there's some pressure for McCaw to make a decision
one way or the other by then. |
| |
Return
of OneWorld may hinge on Alinghi (01/15/03)
(source
: Seattletimes)
|
A great cheer goes up among more than a dozen OneWorld
crew members watching America's Cup sailing on the big
screen at their team base. Larry Ellison's Oracle has
just broken a spinnaker pole in an error that eventually
will cost it the second race against the Swiss Alinghi
team in the Louis Vuitton challenger series final.
Although Seattle's OneWorld already has been knocked
out of the America's Cup, the team is carefully watching
the remaining races. Aside from a dislike of the Ellison
campaign — apparently a common sentiment among sailors
in Auckland — OneWorld team members know the results
could determine whether they, along with backers Craig
McCaw and Paul Allen, will be competing in the next
America's Cup regatta.
A victory by San Francisco-based Oracle or defender
New Zealand would make a second Seattle campaign unlikely.
McCaw has said he will not compete again in New Zealand.
The best chance for OneWorld to sail again would be
for the Swiss to win and for the cup to move to Europe
for the first time. Promises of rule reforms that would
reduce costs and increase the number of competitors
make Europe the most appealing scenario to McCaw and
Allen, who are waiting until racing is over before announcing
a decision.
One idea under consideration to keep the talent and
technology developed over the past two years would be
to launch campaigns for the Olympics and other large
regattas under the OneWorld banner, spokesman Bob Ratliffe
said.
For now, OneWorld is packing up and the boats are being
dismantled. By next month, most of the 105-member crew
will be gone and the boats put in storage — either to
be sold or used for practice in a future campaign.
In the end, it was simple speed that let them down,
Seattle sailor Jonathan McKee said.
"We were close, very close," he said. "Our speed was
OK, but was not quite with the very top teams. I don't
know exactly where the deficiencies were. It is a combination
of so many technical issues."
Financial hiccups and protracted off-the-water disputes
also sucked time and resources away from sailing, said
Bellevue's Brian Ledbetter, who, like McKee, is an Olympic
sailing veteran but an America's Cup novice. Getting
penalized twice by race officials for rule breaches
was "crushing," he said.
The overall effort has been satisfying in that it has
people back home excited about the America's Cup, Ledbetter
said.
"Sailing has never had much of a media profile in Seattle
before this," McKee said. "It has put sailing on the
map. People are following it — it is amazing." |
|
