Friday, January 22, 2010

BMW Oracle is a French design... Alinghi to forfeit

BMW ORACLE Post:

Valencia (January 22, 2010) - The Deed of Gift requires the competing
yachts to be "Constructed in Country." In the court papers filed last night by
Société Nautique de Genève, they admit they are using 3DL sails. Racing
sailors the world over know that 3DL sails are American, not Swiss, made.
Instead of demonstrating that their sails have been constructed in Switzerland
as required by the Deed of Gift, their court papers attempt to duck the issue
with a long list of excuses, and shift the focus away from their own problems
with bizarre attacks on our yacht.

In recent months, their excuses have been, literally, all over the map. First, it
was, "Sails aren't part of a sailboat." Then, "It's not an issue until we race."
Next, "Our sails were built in the USA but assembled in Switzerland."

Yesterday it was, "If we can't use our 3DL sails we'll forfeit." Now, in their
latest court papers, "GGYC's boat is a French design."

This is untrue, and there is nothing whatsoever in the Deed of Gift that says
where, or by whom, a yacht must be designed -- only that it must be
constructed in the country of the yacht club it represents.

After claiming repeatedly, and erroneously, that GGYC is trying to win the Cup
in court, SNG's latest filing seeks to disqualify GGYC's yacht. Moreover, SNG
threatens to bring further litigation after the Match if they lose to GGYC on the
water.

Making a modern sail is like baking a cake. You gather the ingredients, put it
in a mold of a shape and size designated by your design team, and literally
cook it. That's what takes place at the 3DL plant in Minden, Nevada, where
Alinghi's sails were constructed. Shipping that cake to Switzerland and adding
some candles does not make it "Swiss-made." -

Alinghi's Post:

‘Constructed in country’ counter motion
In parallel to the opposition papers, SNG has presented a counter motion stating that, should GGYC’s interpretation of the CIC in the Deed of Gift be validated by the Court, then its own boat would be illegal. Affidavits from a number of leading experts in the field of yacht design, such as Duncan MacLane and Nigel Irens, support the fact that GGYC’s trimaran is in fact a French-designed boat and not American, as supported by photographic exhibits the boat also includes a number of non-American constructed elements. In addition, BMW Oracle's yacht is not even a sloop, propelled by sails, with a main and a jib, as declared in the American club’s certificate of challenge, but a wing-mast rig.

SNG’s set of documents showcases how this latest motion by GGYC is in contravention of the spirit of the Deed of Gift and how Larry Ellison’s yacht club has forgotten the call for friendly competition between nations.