America's Cup update

In the first of his regular weekly columns, Nigel Cherrie reports on the latest goings-on on Syndicate Alley

Above: Sweden's Victory Challenge

While hospitality is a trademark of the open New Zealand culture, down at Halsey Street (syndicate row) the compounds are so heavily concealed and guarded that even fresh air has trouble making it past the security gates.

So it is with some surprise that Larry Ellison's Oracle team, one of the four major players, have opened their doors, or one gate at least and invited some of their fellow challengers to some out of hours drinks and nibbles at the team compound. Popularity points or perhaps it is time to meet the neighbours?

The latter now seems to a regular theme out on the Hauraki Gulf with GBR Challenge squaring up their next door neighbours, Sweden's Victory Challenge in some pre-start practice recently. The British lads convincingly won the first start before gear failure on both teams curtailed the session.

On Friday GBR Challenge were playing with the mighty Prada. Otherwise Peter Harrison's team are racking up long hours (10-7 in one instance) on the water, testing all the possible go faster variables and adding in some match race practice to spice up sessions.

The shattered looks ashore proves they are giving it their all before the America's Cup International Regatta (formerly the Road to America's Cup Regatta) in just over a weeks time where they will face Sweden again, plus OneWorld and the America's Cup defenders Team New Zealand in 2000 generation yachts. The format will be virtually identical to that staged between ACC boats during the successful America's Cup Jubilee in Cowes, England, last August with two days of fleet racing followed by two days of match racing.

TNZ remain tight-lipped about their progress, especially their training programme, although the first of their two new boats is expected to emerge from the building shed in August or September.

As the defenders, they obviously have the inherited benefit of designing a yacht specifically for a predicted two week weather window early next March, while the Challengers have to add in up to five months of Louis Vuitton Cup racing into their calculations.

While Team New Zealand are charged with the actual sailing, there is still an America's Cup final to host and yesterday Prime Minister Helen Clark and America's Cup Minister Trevor Mallard pledged $3 million in additional funding. The cash is for New Zealand business promotion, to emulate $640 million of economic activity generated by the 2000 defence. As the late, great Sir Peter Blake once said "the America's Cup is much more than just a yacht race". Add in overseas spending and it becomes a billion dollar global sporting extravaganza.

On that note, consider the irony of this. If Russell Coutts and the Alinghi Swiss Challenge were to win the Louis Vuitton Cup (and most Kiwi's view them as the likely suspects to whip the Team New Zealand defence) one of the key figures in bringing that additional wealth to the New Zealand economy will be the very man to snatch it away again.

That leads to the next puzzle of where the defence would be held, as Switzerland is obviously a land locked nation. One line of thought is that Alinghi wish to have a free hand on location and that is the reason why the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, who run the America's Cup, took so long to consider their entry.

Their host yacht club, the Societe Nautique de Geneve on the shores of Lake Geneve is where Ernesto Bertarelli (President of the Swiss challenge) lives, but there is speculation among teams that the French Mediterranean coast where the team have spent time training could be a possibility.

But, for the real French team, much has been said recently about the Le Defi syndicate due to their controversial nuclear sponsor, Areva. Greenpeace claim that Areva has strong links with the French Atomic Energy Commission, who in turn developed France's nuclear arsenal and are now trying to clean up their image through the environmentally friendly sport of sailing.

But Le Defi's problems do not end there. An International America's Cup class yacht requires 3-4 meters of water everywhere they go and there is now no room for them on syndicate row and in the dredged American Express Viaduct. The only two remaining options are a site a few blocks away or at the Naval dockyard at Devonport on the opposite side of the harbour to the city. Perhaps the latter is a wise choice all things considered?