Dubai: America's Cup challenger BMW Oracle Racing received some good news and a surprise admonishment from a New York judge on Tuesday.
Justice Shirley Kornreich of the Supreme Court of the State of New York denied a motion by two-time defending champion Alinghi of Switzerland to disqualify BMW Oracle Racing because the US-based syndicate has not provided a measurement certificate for its 90-foot new trimaran. This is the sixth time that the two teams have been to court to settle an ongoing battle out of the waters.
Kornreich said BMW Oracle Racing - owned by software tycoon Larry Ellison of Oracle Corp - must provide Alinghi with the final documentation at least two weeks before February 8, the scheduled start date for the best-of-three showdown off Ras Al Khaimah, for the oldest trophy in sports.
Alinghi has been demanding the documentation for more than a year as part of a bitter legal fight between the powerhouse sailing teams, both owned by billionaires.
The ruling means BMW Oracle Racing can continue to modify the monster trimaran, including installing an engine to trim the sails and move ballast. Earlier this year, Alinghi, owned by biotech tycoon Ernesto Bertarelli, broke with America's Cup tradition by launching a 90-foot catamaran with an engine to trim its gigantic sails and move water ballast from one hull to another.
The Americans have argued that a Certificate of Documentation, the modern-day version of a Custom House Registry, cannot be obtained from the Coast Guard until the trimaran has been proved seaworthy. BMW Oracle Racing continues to test the futuristic-looking craft off San Diego in California.
Alinghi wants the documentation to confirm that BMW Oracle Racing has built its boat to the specifications included in its challenge issued in July 2007, shortly after the Swiss successfully defended the America's Cup by beating Team Emirates New Zealand off Valencia, Spain.
Buried in an eight-page decision was a surprise admonishment of BMW Oracle Racing's backing yacht club, San Francisco's Golden Gate Yacht Club.
"It is not only advances in technology, but the unsportsmanlike behaviour of Golden Gate that has resulted in substantially reducing SNG's advantage as originally contemplated by the Deed. Nonetheless, Golden Gate's actions are not contrary to law or sanctionable in this limited forum," Judge Kornreich wrote.
