Comments for Bootsnboats

Comment on Clubs, cliques, and class by paul notary

paul notary — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 10:34:47 +0000

I do not like your term “dreaded sponsors”

One of my highlights as an ex 18footer sailor is the “Corporate Types” on the Media & Sponsor Days where one can entertain & meet, a huge mix of personalities,imparting tales tall and true and trying to unite them in excitement and the satisfaction of many leaving an event with some understanding of our sport.

I had over a decade of Sponsors paying bills so i could actually live out my passion of performance sailing & without them would have been a spectator or reading about stuff ,rather than actually being a player !

Comment on Clubs, cliques, and class by Geoff Stagg

Geoff Stagg — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 14:11:38 +0000

Hi Stuart. Normally dont get involved with this stuff but have high regard of your opinion. Makes way to much sence to have a team comprised of a TP 52 F40 M30. The RORC would simply not allow that to happen as to heavily invested in IRC. F40 class has been down this track before and we will not change our rules to allow pros to drive the boats. My personal opinion is that current F40 owners drive better than half the pros out there any way and why sould they write the checks and go back to sitting in back of the bus and told to keep quite.

Comment on Clubs, cliques, and class by Ben Jarashow

Ben Jarashow — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 12:29:26 +0000

My recollection (and I may be mistaken) is that in previous times, the Admiral’s Cup teams were composed of owners who tended towards driving their own boats anyway, thus I don’t see the need to tinker with either TP52 or Farr40 rules to re-start Admiral’s Cup competition. I think it would be much harder to get 2 Farr40 teams from any given country to enter….. Maybe the Mumm 30 as the “small boat” class - there are enough in Europe, and they are more commonly chartered out that the larger boats, as well as being a boat that has been raced for distance, and a cheap boat compared to the others suggested. I think the hardest part to re-starting an Admiral’s Cup would be getting the MedCup to give a large enough break for the TP52s to get moved north for that event (& Fastnet), and then back…..

Comment on Truth and power by Nick Carraway

Nick Carraway — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 07:23:02 +0000

If you want to predict how the court case might go, read the decision from the 1988 AC case, available at: http://www.nycourts.gov/history/cases/mercury_sandiego.htm

Key point: to the extent the language of the Deed of Gift is unambiguous, the court will not look “beyond the four corners of the deed”. So if they decide that the deed unambiguously requires the challenger to have held an annual regatta at the time of its challenge, then it seems to me that CNEV would not be a valid challenger. It won’t matter whether Mercury Bay in 1987, SNG in 2003 or Desafio in 2007 were valid challengers. That is all “extrinsic evidence”. And a further question on which the court can rule: did SNG breach its fiduciary responsibility to the beneficiaries of the trust (yacht clubs that meet the requirements of the deed) by self-dealing with a sham challenger? Over to you, Judge Cahn.

Comment on Battle lines are drawn by Lyn Hines

Lyn Hines — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 08:55:43 +0000

Sending the America’s Cup to the American Court system is the obvious solution. I mean it worked out well in selecting a President didn’t it? I’ve been saying this for months…steel boats and canons..last one floating wins. As always, the only real winners will be the lawyers.

Comment on Battle lines are drawn by AC developments - interesting at sailing360.co.za

AC developments - interesting at sailing360.co.za — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 19:38:49 +0000

[...] busy and it seems that things aren’t going to quiet down any time soon. So take a look at this write up on what’s going on (found via sas). It puts everything into context and the next few months [...]

Comment on Battle lines are drawn by Geoff

Geoff — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:37:10 +0000

Bertarelli would have us believe he has the moral high ground in this matter. Crap! Why not call Ellison’s bluff and continue with the same formula that worked so well previously? - because he knows that Team NZ were getting too close for comfort.
As for Brad Butterworth, down here in Kiwi Land he’s known as Dennis Conner junior.

Comment on Battle lines are drawn by Jack Engel

Jack Engel — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 13:18:43 +0000

Nicholas Crawley states that “..American defenders were allowed all sorts of advantages such as sail cloth, crew nationality, etc…”. Not so. The rules essentially stated that each country’s boat had to be built in its entirety in that country, and sailed only by citizens of that country. i.e., if your country does not build spars, make sailcloth, winches, ropes, etc., don’t bother challenging. What was wrong with that? Blame the current ills of the AC on commercialism and greed.

Comment on Battle lines are drawn by Peter

Peter — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 11:02:39 +0000

Alinghi has accepted an invalid challenge from a sham yacht club in order to enhance their own position. If they wanted a weak partner, why not choose one of the other lower end teams from this year (Shosholoza, United Internet)? What Alinghi is doing smells to high heaven (ask Louis Vuitton). I wish Ellison luck.

Comment on Battle lines are drawn by Nicholas Crawley

Nicholas Crawley — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 03:17:49 +0000

It seems that we are heading back to Faye-Richwhite days when NZ tried to get the Cup with a Monster yacht and Dennis Conner raced in a Catamaran. It also seems that Ellison is a poor loser and cannot or will not accept being beaten by a better prepared team. and I dare say will do anything he can to get the Cup back ie; the New York Supreme Court. What should happen is that all interested parties (Defender and those accepted and paid as challengers) strike an even playing field relative to the design of the yacht. It seems that ever since the first challenge the defender has set the rules for the next challenge and I seem to remember that the American defenders were allowed all sorts of advantages such as sail cloth, crew nationality, etc when the Brits, Swedes, Aussies, Italians and Kiwis were all trying to win the “Auld Mug” from them. It seems destined to be won by those who have the most money to pay lawyers in an endeavour to satisfy their ego alone and stuff everyone else who is seeking an honest and open competition that recognises yacht design and building and the resources, skill, daring and courage of the sailing teams competing.