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7:29 PM Mon 11 May 2009 GMT
Two words should have come flashing into the mind space of America's Cup fans, after the announcement by Circolo di Vela Gargnano (CVG)of a challenge for the 33rd America's Cup, in what will be the second Deed of Gift Match.
Those two words should have been 'Blue Arrow' the ill-fated extreme multihull designed by Derek Clark, built to take on Sir Michael Fay's 130ft monohull to determine the challenger for the 27th Match.
Fay initially allowed the organisation of a challenger series for the Match in which he, or rather his club, Mercury Bay Boating Club had its challenge accepted after a prolonged battle through the New York courts.
While Fay was happy for a Challenger Selection series in monohulls, he was not prepared to allow the entry from Royal Burnham YC under the patronage of Peter de Savary to compete against his monohull. And so permission to compete was withdrawn.
Turning to the present circumstance, we now have the ironic situation where the Defender of the America's Cup, Soci?t? Nautique de Gen?ve (SNG), having accepted a very dubious challenge from Club Nautico Espanol de Vela (CNEV), and subsequently had that bounced by the New York courts, now wants a multi-challenger event in multihulls.
The irony comes from the fact that while SNG say on one hand they want a multi-challenger event, on the other knowing that they could have a 19 or 20 team challenger event, if they had accepted the Challenger's offer to race in monohulls to the new 33AC rule.
For reasons best known to themselves, SNG refused this offer, and have since started the futile process of encouraging cash strapped teams, to build and enter multihulls for a Match ordered by the New York Supreme Court for nine months hence.
One of these has stepped up to the plate. While at this stage it is easy to talk and pose for photographs, it is quite another to get a credible boat on the water, that will go the distance.
Yes, challenges of the CVG/Blue Arrow style it might seem like a good idea at the time, however this Match is pretty well locked and loaded. It is to the good of the wider America's Cup family that it is dispatched as soon as possible, so that the 34th America's Cup can be got underway.
Creating a Challenger Series scenario nine months from the event - or spinning for time and delay in the conduct of the 33rd Match does not help the future of what is left of the America's Cup in the medium to long term. These latest moves do suit the short-term interests of a couple of the players.
If SNG were genuinely serious about wanting a multi-challenger event, then they would have accepted the offer by Golden Gate YC to race in 33AC yachts - which were the boat of choice of 19 teams, plus now GGYC.
To read more on the the Blue Arrow Challenge click here
For the record, Blue Arrow never made it to San Diego. The radical multihull was built, and launched, but crashed on sea trials in UK before leaving for San Diego. She was not rebuilt, and KZ-1 was the sole challenger.
by Richard Gladwell
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Marion Reef, QLD
