Mike Daily Sail Interview - Teamorigin

Mike speaks to James Boyd from the daily sail about the America's cup latest and Teamorigin...

The America’s Cup world is waiting to see what colour the smoke is coming out of the meeting room at the Societe Nautique de Geneve as representatives of Alinghi and BMW Oracle Racing today investigate possible common ground over a mutual consent 33rd America’s Cup. Few are on tenterhooks over the outcome of this meeting more than TeamOrigin CEO Mike Sanderson as it will determine the whole future of his program, as well as all the programs for all the other potential challengers, along with their sailing crews, designers, builders, engineers, sail makers, shore crew, RIB drivers, suppliers, etc.

From the TeamOrigin office in Valencia, Sanderson says that since the New York State Court of Appeals ruled in the GGYC’s favour, it seems to have been all quiet on the western front from Alinghi and BMW Oracle Racing and they haven’t had a hand in oiling the wheels of negotiation as certainly Team Principle, Sir Keith Mills has in the past.

“Really we have got to wait in the hope that the two parties do what the court asked them to do and that was to act in good faith for the good of the sport, in the interests of everyone, to get on and create an event. So, all of the teams are in their hands.

“They have to reach an agreement. I realise a lot of money has been spent on building multihulls, but the multihull [BMW Oracle Racing’s trimaran] was built to prove that the threat wasn’t a hollow threat and a competitor for that boat had to be built to show that the threat was being taken seriously. So I can understand why they both forged ahead and built their boats. However surely now there is nowhere else for them to go other than to sit down and negotiate and discuss the way forward. The problem is that a Deed of Gift match is such a messy outcome for everyone, for the sport of sailing, for the America’s Cup, etc. I just believe it is not the end of it if we do get to a Deed of Gift match.”

With BMW Oracle Racing building their black 90ft trimaran but saying all along that they would prefer a conventional multi-challenger America’s Cup and with Alinghi having spent the last months working with the challengers under the old Protocol also on a multi-challenger event, and with BMW Oracle already placing their cards on the table in agreeing to race a multi-challenger event in 2011 in the new AC33 box rule boat… there seems to be precious little for the teams to disagree on.

Sanderson agrees: “No longer can they put their hand up and say that they have fundamental differences with what their vision is of the next America’s Cup. Okay maybe after the next one they might deviate in their long term vision, but I think both of them agree that for the next America’s Cup, given the economic, given the fact that we have to get it back on track and given the fact that it has taken a hit, I think so much of what they are both talking about is so similar. It is crazy that we couldn’t now come to an agreement.”

As we mentioned in yesterday’s article on the subject, one of the main sticking points is likely to be how Alinghi participates in the next America’s Cup. Much to the consternation, initially at least, of all the other challengers, if it is one boat for all teams America’s Cup, then Alinghi have proposed they race in the challenger selection series, otherwise they won’t be able to work up their boat sufficiently. The other alternative is that Alinghi keep traditionalists happy and stay out of the challenger selection series, but are allow to build two boats.

“I think there both parties have just got to be realistic,” states Sanderson on this topic. “Why the challengers discussed ways of having Alinghi in the challenger series was because our only other option was that they had two boats. So if Oracle have got a better way of doing it, well they should have come out with it two years ago, because it is something which has been discussed for a long time.

“Maybe it is just better that Alinghi has two boats and there is some sort of a limit put on what they are able to do with them. Maybe they are only allowed to race on the same days we are racing and they are not allowed to two boat test. Maybe that is something that could be governed. If that meant they weren’t in the challenger series and everyone was happy with that, I would certainly think that was a result. How could Oracle say that Alinghi should only be allowed one boat and shouldn’t be allowed to do any racing until the America’s Cup? What is their solution? We have heard they have a gripe, but we have never heard their solution.

“Let’s say that is what they were offered, they would get to see all the challengers boats before they had to commit to their second one. So I think that as long as they speak about realistic ways of dealing with either the defender being in the challenger series or what is the solution if they definitely can’t be there...The big question for sure is how deep is the desire for it to be a multi-challenger event? I am not sure Alinghi have ever said that they would ever like a multi-challenger event with BMW Oracle Racing as Challenger of Record.” This is certainly true, although as we have said, this represents a 180deg about turn from what Alinghi were planning with the challengers prior to the Court of Appeal's ruling.

We put to Sanderson our theory that the challengers have become so strong and so large in number over recent decades that it is becoming increasingly hard to defend, even if teams are allowed two boats. He disagrees: “The defenders have always done it pretty well. I guess the Australians were more than capable of defending it in 1987, but of course they ended up with just far too many defenders. They did have the resources. I guess the Team New Zealand defence of 2000 and the Alinghi defence in 2007, they were both very strong teams. If you looked at Stars & Stripes’ defence in 1995 or Team New Zealand’s defence in 2003, you can find reasons why those teams lost: in 2003 Team New Zealand didn’t make it through two of the races and Dennis’ defence in 1995, they borrowed someone else’ boat a week before the Cup. So I think there is still plenty of attraction to be the defender through being able to work up with your two boat program all the way through to the Cup, while observing what the challengers are doing.”

Looking at TeamOrigin’s situation Sanderson reckons that there are three possible outcomes. If agreement can’t be reached between BMW Oracle Racing and Alinghi then it will end up as a Deed of Gift 33rd America’s Cup in big multihulls, which he reckons will be on 12 February 2010 (although this is the BMW Oracle Racing’s reading of it – ie 10 months after the court ruling. Alinghi we suspect will argue that a Deed of Gift match held in the northern hemisphere can’t happen before 1 May 2010 as it states in the ancient document).

“If that is our worst case scenario, well it is not that bad as we will have clarity. We have already been waiting nearly two years, or we have at least, so another seven months doesn’t seem that far away. Let us hope that is the worst case scenario.”

Slightly less worst case is that a Deed of Gift match happens but the two parties take pity on the sport and announce their intentions should they win the DoG match. “At the very least they throw the challengers some lifeline about how they can stay alive, ie a venue and a date and a type of boat [for the 34th America's Cup]. Just something which the challengers can go into the market place and can speak to sponsors and hold some regattas of some nature, just to keep the machine alive.”

And obviously the best option is that they agree on a multi-challenger event in 2011, a year later than Alinghi and the challengers were previously looking at.

“That would be fantastic,” says Sanderson. “The nice thing about 2011 now is that we would have time to take a few deep breaths and ramp back up into it, and hopefully they would agree on some pre-regattas of whatever nature, and off we go. 2011 would come round in plenty of time and life would be good. Obviously the world is in a very different place to where it was, certainly compared to 2004 or whenever most of the sponsorship deals were done for the last Cup teams. But hopefully they can put the America’s Cup into a very different place as well.”

Obviously BMW Oracle Racing stating that they would be happy to compete in a multi-challenger event in the new AC33 box rule boat (that someone, one day, must properly name), has been good news and shows a willingness by the American team to negotiate. “A lot of work was put into that rule. They have obviously looked at the boat and thought that a reasonable job was done with the rule. We think the boat is cool. They are definitely going to be more exciting. I think Formula 1 has shown that is the case with a tight new rule. That is why there is no point in making the comparison to when the old ACC class came out, because that rule was very open and you could have short fat light boats with little sail area or long skinny heavy boats with lots of sail area. That is not the case under the new AC33 - it is a pretty tight box.”

In the meantime TeamOrigin’s sailing team are out in the field. Ben Ainslie and his crew have committed to the World Match Racing Tour. There is also a rumour that the squad will be racing Neville Crichton’s newly rebuilt and lengthened to 71ft Mini Maxi, Alfa Junior at Cowes Week and then at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. We understand the Rolex Fastnet Race isn’t possible for the boat as it simply isn’t set up for offshore racing.

Sanderson hopes that they get more opportunities to race their V5 Cup boat too, although the regattas in Valencia announced by Alinghi and the Challengers earlier this year seem to be in the balance since the verdict from New York when Valencia cancelled the deal. If these don’t come to pass then Sanderson hopes that Bruno Trouble and Louis Vuitton will save the day once again, organising more events like the one they held in Auckland.

“For sure there are lots of discussions going on about whether there is room for more of those style events. Auckland was a great success and the timing of it was perfect. If there is a void due to these guys going off multihull racing, I think it would be great to see something fill it.”

One of the ironies of this event was that with Emirates Team New Zealand racing in the round robins and then ducking out and going straight to the finals, it was an exact copy of Alinghi’s much criticised proposal for how they might participate in the challenger selection series/Louis Vuitton Cup equivalent for a multi-challenger 33rd America’s Cup.

So did that format work? Sanderson says it worked fine in Auckland, as Emirates Team New Zealand was the local team and the event was more of a show, to get people back on the water. If there are more events say in South Africa or China or the UK then perhaps a similar format could be used. Otherwise, probably not.

So we twiddle our thumbs and wait to find out what has gone on today in Geneva. While the trio representing BMW Oracle Racing we know to have been given authority to make decisions, it seems unlikely that without Ernesto Bertarelli there that the team representing Alinghi/SNG will have the same power. So it could well be that today’s meeting represents a preliminary set of negotiations to see if the two teams can get on to the same page. Given the closeness of their positions and how much airing the arguments of both sides have received over these last months, if they can’t reach agreement over a multi-challenger event then they will certainly face the wrath of the sailing community.

“All we can hope is that all of this is real and we are not just being played. The sailing world are going to want it to be real. Otherwise there will be some pretty annoyed people,” agrees Sanderson.