Latest Salvos Over America’s Cup

Remember how great the last America’s Cup was? The close racing, the exciting TV coverage on the Versus channel, the good feeling that it was finally an event worthy of sailing’s oldest trophy?

Neither do we.

From now until the next Cup — whenever that may be — most AC proceedings will apparently be more suited to Court TV. As noted in Wednesday’s ‘Lectronic Latitude, talks between the America’s Cup Defender Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) — Alinghi’s home yacht club — and Golden Gate YC — homeport of record for BMW Oracle Racing — had stalled. Those talks had apparently been going well and compromises were on the table when earlier this week SNG abruptly struck the white flag and fired a broadside, demanding that GGYC drop their lawsuit and enter AC 33 by 5 p.m. EST today (Friday). GGYC volleyed back, claiming that SNG clearly didn’t want AC 33 to start in 2009, and they (GGYC) had no intention of dropping the lawsuit until all points of contention had been resolved.

Yesterday, GGYC sent SNG a settlement offer signed by three additional challengers (Emirates Team New Zealand, Team Origin [Great Britain], and Team Shosholoza [South Africa]), which urged Alinghi to accept a joint proposal covering “all outstanding points on the rules so that the event can go ahead in 2009.” If all points were agreed upon, GGYC would drop their suit.

SNG basically responded “No way” — thereby setting one more stepping stone in place toward a final showdown in the New York Supreme Court.