The contest is not over yet
but it was apparent the next Cup will most likely
be in Europe as Swiss challenger Alinghi held a commanding
lead in the 31st Cup over defender Team New Zealand.
But the prospect of Alinghi as defender raises as
many questions as it answers. If the Swiss challengers
win, it will be one of the biggest upsets ever in
this historic event and will have huge implications
for the sport.
From what salt water port would this first Cup winner
from a landlocked country elect to race, for example?
(Under the 126-year-old Cup Deed of Gift, racing must
by rule be on an arm of the sea.)
Ernesto Bertarelli, Alinghi's backer, has made it
clear it would be somewhere in Europe, either on the
Mediterranean or Atlantic coasts, in a place where
winds are strong and predictable.
The rumour mill currently favors the little Portuguese
port of Cascais, located on the Lisbon coast as the
number one choice.
Portugal is considered less expensive to host an event
than other parts of Europe, particularly when one
considers the cost of living in high profile places
such as Palma, Barcelona and Marseille, other leading
contenders. Portugal is favored because it’s considered
neutral, unlikely to host a challenger.
Patrick Monteiro de Barros, commodore of the Cascais
Yacht Club, said that he and Bertarelli had discussed
Cascais for a Swiss America's Cup defence more than
two years ago.
Cascais, with reliable northwesterly trade winds from
April to September, has hosted scores of world and
European sailing championships over the past 60 years.
With the soccer World Cup to be held in Germany in
2006, a cup defence is likely in the European summer
of 2007. "I am ready,'' de Barros said. "I
have the power of attorney from my club. I have the
backing of the Portuguese Government. It will do whatever
is necessary.''
It's all part of Bertarelli's strategy to professionalize
the Cup should he win, making it better organized
and more appealing to commercial sponsors, TV and
the general public.
Bertarelli and his aides are too superstitious to
talk in detail about the next event before winning
this one, but sources say Alinghi would change the
rules on a grand scale.
Bertarelli wants to shorten the regatta from the current
4½ months to two or three, eliminate noncompetitive
teams early or before they even get to the venue,
and put challengers' racing and the Cup final under
the same umbrella of rules, oversight panels and sponsorship,
all of which the defender would control.
Among other likely changes is an end to nationality
rules, opening the way for anyone to sail or work
on the design or building team for any challenger
or defender without establishing residency in the
nation represented, as is currently required.
Because all Cup rules other than the basics covered
in the Deed of Gift are arrived at by mutual consent
between defender and a challenger of record, Alinghi
could get away with these changes only if it finds
a willing partner.
The Swiss have prepared a protocol for the next Cup
and shopped it around to various potential challengers,
sources say.
No deal has yet been signed, but the leading candidate
for challenger of record if Alinghi wins is said to
be San Francisco's Golden Gate Yacht Club, which sponsored
software billionaire Larry Ellison's Oracle challenge.
Ellison plans to come back and he and Bertarelli became
friendly here.
One thing that seems certain to change if the Cup
goes to Europe is the number of challengers. If New
Zealand were to rally and successfully defend for
a second time, observers reckon as few as six challengers
might make the long trek to the Southern Hemisphere
for the next Cup.
But a shift to the Mediterranean or Atlantic Coast
of Europe, bringing in major population areas for
commercial sponsors, could raise the number as high
as 16, sources say.
That's why Bertarelli is considering elimination challenger
rounds as early as a year before the Cup to arrive
at a more manageable number of competitors for a shortened
Cup season.
For decades, Cup followers have complained about the
antiquated format of the regatta and the problems
it creates. Bertarelli and the highly professional
aides he brought from his business to run Alinghi
reckon they have the expertise to help the event into
the modern world.
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