TeamOrigin update

We speak to CEO Mike Sanderson about what the Ellison v Bertarelli stand off means to Sir Keith Mills' Cup team

While the heavyweight inter-billionaire bout between Ernesto Bertarelli and Larry Ellison and their respective teams and yacht clubs continues (or perhaps 'bout' is the wrong term - more Ellison is patiently examining his nails in the ring, while Bertarelli scampers around outside the ropes avoiding his gaze) so an unprecidented amount of devastation is being caused within the America's Cup community.

We will know some more on 14 January when the New York Supreme Court's Justice Cahn expands on his ruling, fleshing out the terms of a Deed of Gift 33rd America's Cup, although it is unclear how the latest spate of lawyer action from both the Societe Nautique de Geneve and the Golden Gate YC's subsequent response will affect this. Unless reason prevails, and to date there has been no indication it is likely to, we suspect the 33rd America's Cup will be a two team affair in multihulls at the end of this year if the GGYC have their way. We suspect that BMW Oracle, with Coutts on board and being so much earlier out of the blocks than Alinghi in their R&D for a Deed of Gift event, will win this and who knows what will happen then? Ellison has said he would hold the 34th AC in Valencia if he won - but who knows? Will the 33rd AC even be held in Valencia?

With this ridiculous situation in mind, imagine what it means for potential challengers. Typical of the bigger challengers such as Team New Zealand and United Internet Team Germany, Sir Keith Mills' TeamOrigin were keen to be competitive in the 33rd America's Cup and so launched early with Mike Sanderson being brought on board as Team Director a year ago and a full roster of almost 100 people from sailors, to designers, sail makers, boat builders, shore team, marketing team, etc employed and announced in September at Southampton Boat Show. For Sir Keith this on the one hand has meant a humungous monthly wage bill, plus office costs, the acquisition of one of Alinghi's V5 boats, etc while on the opposite side of the balence sheet, with no event to compete in, there has been zero prospect of being able to raise sponsorship to offset these costs. It is no understatement to say that the billionaire bickering will have cost the likes of Sir Keith Mills millions and millions of pounds.


Sir Keith Mills

"We’re are pretty beaten up by it to be honest," says Mike Sanderson. "It is very unfortunate for someone like Keith that made the incredible leap of faith into the world of America’s Cup sailing. People could have stopped this from happening and I’m very disappointed that they haven’t. It is just not right. I just never believed that these guys would be prepared to really drive this thing all the way to destruction - but that’s what they’ve done. Frankly, I am blown away by it. I thought some middle ground would be reached and some settlement and sanity would prevail. I can’t get my head around that the guys had such an amazing 32nd America’s Cup and have now let it be driven into the ground."

According to Sanderson, TeamOrigin and Team New Zealand were among the challengers working hardest to find some resolution between the waring factions, but it came to no avail. "A couple of very reasonable settlement offers were tabled and it is not like the negotiations broke down. There were no negotiations. There was nothing. We are arguing against ourselves. Some higher power has to get involved and hopefully the judge will be the man."

While the hiatus is causing Team Principals like Sir Keith Mills to lose huge amounts of money, it has also placed an entire industry on standby. Literally 1000s of people earn all or a significant part of their income from the America's Cup - from team members, sailors, designer, shore crew, to suppliers, organisation staff, race administrators, etc - all of whom are suffering at present.

"No one has gained from this," continues Sanderson. "The whole thing is an absolute tragedy. I can’t understand it. It is SO disappointing. It is affecting thousands of peoples’ lives. Probably the people’s livelihoods who it is affecting least are the ones who had the opportunity to do something about it."

As to a solution to prevent this happening in the future Sanderson is undecided. "Half the reason this has happened is also half the reason the America’s Cup has the history and the success it has had. People are saying let’s get central management or a governing body - well, you’ve seen the different response. So I don’t know how to stop it. I think what stopped it happening in the past was an undying responsibility to all the people involved. Currently now we’ve come up against a brick wall… The sailors and the designers are fine. But what about the chase boat drivers and the travel lift drivers and the boat builders and sail makers supposed to do? Since the late 1980s it has been there to rely on. You’ve got professional chase boat drivers and guys who are very good at it and the America’s Cup now calls for them to be that good at it.

"Anyway we just have to hope that a bit of Christmas cheer has got into the system and we can start digging our way out of it."

Given the present state of affairs, it came as little suprise when in mid-December TeamOrigin announced it was scaling down. This will begin from 14 January. "We are retaining guys and obviously we have to do everything possible to keep the team alive while there is such little certainty," says Sanderson. "We have three different levels - full time, part time and retained. We are keeping a fair few heads of department still full time. We have a lot of people part time."

While making educated guesses at what might happen is highly dangerous when it is based on Swiss billionaire whim - who knows, maybe Bertarelli and Ellison will reach agreement next week? - the view being held by TeamOrigin is that while the 33rd America's Cup may exclude them, it will be back to normal with the 34th AC, held in AC90s most probably in 2011. Given that BMW Oracle is already favourite to win a Deed of Gift AC it would surely make sense that the GGYC and a Challenger of Record for the 34th America's Cup to reach agreement as soon as possible over the details of this contest.

"What they need to do to keep teams like Origin and the Germans and Team NZ and the Swedes in is to give us some certainty for the AC that follows," expands Sanderson. "We’ve seen Oracle talk about it already. Surely that is not a very big ask to be honest. If we can get a venue and a class and a restriction where you can’t launch your first AC90 until the middle of 2009..."

In the meantime this small straw of guesswork is what TeamOrigin and the other challengers are having to base their multi-million Euro plans upon.

While there is nothing to say its parameters won't change, Andy Claughton, Juan K and his team are busy at work on their design for an AC90-type boat, while other generic projects are underway. "We are pretty sure that the next America’s Cup we’ll get to sail in will be in a 90 odd ft monohull," says Sanderson. "We are pretty sure we are going to need SailVision systems and good electronic systems and we know we can always work on the development of the design tools and VPP analysis and routing. We can use the time. It’s very hard to justify the expense because we are obviously unable to raise any money, but we can do bits and pieces.

"Basically we have to do everything we can to keep the team alive, to keep food on everyone’s table and to literally do as much as we can do. We have all bought into the team emotionally and are very committed to it across the board, which has come from Sir Keith being so committed to it. But it is going to cost all the team members some money and no one is it going to cost more than Sir Keith. We have had some great team meetings and have had some great feedback from all the guys and we are just going to do everything possible to make this time as productive as possible."

Sanderson says we can expect to see TeamOrigin personnel getting involved with other sailing campaigns during 2008, although it is undecided what this might be. A delay in the Cup is good news for Olympic sailors such as Iain Percy, Andrew Simpson and Ben Ainslie who will now be able to fully focus on Beijing rather than having to shoehorn their training in between TeamOrigin commitments. For Volvo teams, none more so than Ian Walker's Irish team, the delay has also freed up some talent for their campaigns.

Given Sanderson and Juan K's background a TeamOrigin Volvo Ocean Race campaign might seem obvious, but Sanderson says this would require too much focus. "Volvo is too big - the Cup could spring into gear at any time. But if some of the guys wanted to go off and do the Volvo, or certainly some legs, that could well be an option."

There was a rumour that Charles Dunstone was going to get involved with the MedCup TP52 circuit with a TeamOrigin crew, but this seems not to be the case, prefering to keep his race boat sailing in the UK.

"Basically I have a group of people who I’ve kept on a full time basis who I will be working with to try and get the earning potential to make up for the salary they are missing out on. So RC44s or VX 40s or whatever - we are keen to get the guys out there," says Sanderson.

A boat also likely to be manned by many of Sir Keith's troupe is the new Juan K-designed 100 footer nearing completion at Cooksons. Since his involvement with Robert Miller's Mari Chas, so Sanderson has had a hand in the development of Mike Slade's latest maxi Leopard of London and most recently from the outset this new boat for an American owner who is keen go more oceanic than the present crop of 100 footers. The first race for this new weapon will be this year's Newport-Bermuda race but also on the agenda is a crack at the transat and 24 hour records.

In the immediate future Sanderson is shortly to return from holiday with his young family in New Zealand's Bay of Islands to set up shop in Valencia, where the sailing team will base themselves rather than out of the TeamOrigin office in Portsmouth, where the commercial side of their operation will remain.

"I think everyone has to wait and see what Justice Cahn comes out with," he concludes. "We’ve got to try and get this thing resolved. It’s just crazy. In the meantime everyone is just working on plan B. We are setting up in Valencia. We’ve decided that if that’s where the politics will come out of that’s where we should be. From Sunday Valencia is home sweet home."