It could happen.

Bob Fisher, one of the world’s most respected yachting journalists declared, “I would have thought Oracle would have the common decency to withdraw [from the America’s Cup]."

When measuring the AC45s in late July for the upcoming Red Bull Youth Championship that is to start on September 1, measurers discovered something wrong. Three of the 12 AC45s, which are the strict one-designs that were used in the America’s Cup World Series events in 2012 and 2013, had been illegally modified. Curiously, all three of the catamarans had been prepared by Oracle Team USA, which went on to win the World Series in San Francisco. Two of the three cats were raced by Oracle, and one was prepared for Ben Ainslie of Great Britain, who was competing in the Olympics at the time the boats were being prepared.

The modification was the addition of about five pounds of ballast, in the form of slurry or lead shot, to the kingpost, which is the forward dolphin striker. In reporting their findings, the Measurement Committee concluded, “the modifications appeared to be intentional efforts to circumvent the AC45 class rule and are therefore serious in nature.”

One would have thought the measurers first responsibility would have been to take evidence of the illegal modifications to their boss, Regatta Director Iain Murray. Inexplicably they first went to the Oracle team, then they went to Murray. A week later, Coutts issued an undisclosed statement to the International Jury. In another inexplicable move, Murray then requested a gag order on the part of everyone involved. Don’t you love transparency in sport?

On August 8, Jury Notice 096 was released, which included emails from Ben Ainslie and Oracle’s Richard Slater, withdrawing their boats from the last four World Series regattas. Ainslie denied any knowledge of the illegal modifications and put the blame directly on Oracle. For his part, Coutts said that neither he nor any of the skippers or sailors on the AC45s had any knowledge of the illegal modifications.

Coutts, presenting himself as the noble guardian of fair play, released a perhaps too-cleverly worded statement on behalf of Oracle, one that has made us vow to never buy a used car from him. The statement said that following in “an internal investigation led by CEO Russell Coutts” it was determined that “the yachts were modified without the permission of the Measurement Committee . . .”

Does anyone else think that Coutts had an obligation to mention that there never would have been an Oracle investigation had the measurers not found the illegal modifications?

Does anyone else see the gaping difference between the Oracle statement saying the yachts were modified “without permission” of the Measurement Committee and the fact that the Measurement Committee could never have given permission for them because the modifications were illegal?

We were also struck by the fact that Coutts didn’t identify which team members made the modifications, and have them explain to the press why they made them and why they did so without telling Coutts or any of the skippers or crew members. After all, we think the sailing audience would understand, as it’s common knowledge that lower-level members of America’s Cup teams are allowed, if not encouraged, to make whimsical modifications to the America’s Cup boats whenever it strikes their fancy.

If, as Coutts claims, the modifications had no impact on the performance of the boats, we also have to wonder why Oracle retroactively withdrew from the World Series events — as opposed to either asking the other teams or the International Jury to decide if it was something they should do. Withdrawing makes it seem as though they had something to feel significantly guilty about.

There is disagreement as to whether or not the modifications could have helped the Oracle team’s performance. Some have said the cats could benefit from added weight forward in light winds. Others, such as the respected America’s Cup vet and naval architect Murray, suggest they would have had no benefit. Another possible explanation is that the weight was added to keep the boats at the necessary displacement. If this was the case, the weight was added in an area where it was not permitted.

Following the disclosures, there was a lightly-attended but gruesome press conference on the matter, with Murray and America’s Cup CEO Stephen Barclay on the podium. Bob Fisher, longtime and highly respected yachting and America’s Cup journalist, was blunt. Microphone in hand, he firmly declared, “There has been cheating going on. I won’t use any other word because it is obviously cheating.” And he demanded an explanation from Barclay and Murray, the latter looking as though he hadn’t slept in a week. They said the matter was being investigated. An Italian journalist informed the panel that officials in Venice and Naples were thinking about suing the America’s Cup because the World Series events held there had been “a fake.” Tom Fitzgerald of the San Francisco Chronicle had the temerity to ask Barclay if it was determined that there had been cheating, should Larry Ellison be "banned from the competition." Interesting press conference snippets can be found here.

Among the competitors, Emirates Team New Zealand head Grand Dalton, a longtime adversary of fellow Kiwi Russell Coutts, also used the word “cheating.” Dalton said, “This is as bad as it gets.” If the modifications were for a competitive advantage as opposed to some kind of mistake, we would agree with Dalton’s evaluation. The entire concept of fair play in yacht racing is based on the honesty and integrity of the participants.

The matter is now in the hands of the International Jury, which is currently conducting its own investigation. Under the Racing Rules of Sailing (America’s Cup version) Rule 69 (Allegations of Gross Misconduct) and America’s Cup Protocol Article 60 (Protecting the Reputation of the America’s Cup), the Jury could give Oracle the boot. There is precedent for such an action in the Admiral’s Cup when it was a top-flight international competition. In that case, even the whistleblowers were banned from racing for a period of time. Whether it would happen to the host of the the 34th America’s Cup is another thing.

We don’t want anybody to get the wrong impression. As flawed as it’s been, we’ve enjoyed the America’s Cup competition thus far, as well as the AC World Series, and we’re happy about the sailing buzz they’ve brought to the Bay. Also, based on the new gizmo you can attach to a Laser without tools to make it capable of foiling, there actually has been some trickle down. Nonetheless, we have the following questions for you:

Do you think Oracle’s illegal modifications were the result of an attempt to cheat, or an honest mistake made by lower-level people who didn’t know any better and who weren’t properly supervised?

Do you believe Russell Coutts’ claim that neither he nor any of the people actually sailing on the 45s knew anything about the modifications, and would you buy a used car from him?

If you think Oracle cheated, what punishment do you believe would be appropriate for whom? Email us here. 

The Gastonguay family were reportedly frustrated with the U.S. government, so Sean, 30, and Hannah, 26, decided to move their family to the remote island nation of Kiribati by sailing there. They never made it. 

In an interview with the Associated Press on Saturday after their arrival in Chile, Hannah says the family traveled from Arizona to San Diego in November to move aboard a sailboat — on which she gave birth — and set sail in May. Details are sketchy, but Hannah reported that the family — including their 3-year-old and now-8-month-old daughters, and Sean’s father Mike — suffered "gale after gale" during the first couple of weeks and somehow damaged the boat. They claim to have drifted for 91 days without propulsion because they were afraid that setting the genoa would dismast the boat. They were finally rescued by a Venezuelan fishing vessel and transferred to a Japanese cargo ship, which delivered them to San Antonio, Chile.

None of the family were injured during the ordeal, and there’s no word on if the boat was scuttled or is still afloat. Indeed, in news reports there’s not even mention of exactly where the rescue occurred. Flights home for the family — who were fed up with paying taxes for services they didn’t approve of — were arranged by the U.S. Embassy.

For reasons nobody seems to be able to explain, distance yacht racing in the south of England seems to be booming despite an economic downturn and modern life pressing everyone for time. Events of 100 to 200 miles starting in the south of England have been attracting more than 100 boats on a regular basis.

But most amazing of all is the record participation in the 611-mile Rolex Fastnet Race, from Cowes to Fastnet Rock off Ireland and back, that started on Sunday. All 350 slots in the nearly 90-year-old race were spoken for — many times in French — in the first 24 hours. "It’s a bit difficult to understand," confessed Mike Grenville, Commodore of the Royal Ocean Racing Club. 

While most of the participants are amateurs, there is an extremely strong group of top-flight multihulls and monohulls, with the French leading the way. You think the AC72s currently screaming around the Bay on their foils are big and fast? The biggest Fastnet boat is Dona Bertarelli — sister of Ernesto Bertarelli of the Swiss America’s Cup campaigns — and Yann Guichard’s trimaran Spindrift 2. At 131 feet, it’s nearly twice as big as, and has sailed even faster than, an AC72. Under the name Banque Populaire, she holds the around-the-world record of 45 days, the 24-hour record of 908 miles, and the Fastnet record of 1d, 8h.

Oddly enough, the new Banque Populaire, is the smaller 103-ft trimaran that, as Groupama III, had held the around-the-world record. She is being skippered by Frenchman Armel Le Cléac’h. Nonetheless, currently leading the fleet is Oman Air-Musandam, a MOD70 sistership to Orion that we sailed at 35 knots on Banderas Bay and is currently sailing on San Francisco Bay. Ironically, Bertarelli and Guichard also own a MOD70 named Spindrift, another of the three multihulls they race, but she flipped off Dublin about a month ago.

Monohull line honors are expected to go to the 100-ft Esimit Europa 2, the former Alfa Romeo, as she’s just as long as former two-time winner ICAP Leopard, which is 40% heavier. But in funky conditions, some of the 70 footers or even a TP52 could correct out.

The Fastnet has a terrific website. Check it out. Among other info, you can follow the progress of the entire fleet, as all boats carry transponders.