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Ellison urges Bertarelli to speak up
11 Dec 2007
The current Challenger of Record, the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) has issued a renewed call for the America’s Cup defender to confirm whether it will agree to a mutual consent challenge so that planning for the next regatta can go ahead.
This follows a meeting in New York on December 10 where the American club was disappointed that Alinghi representatives were only prepared to discuss a new vision for the Deed of Gift rather than concrete proposals.
The week before, Ernesto Bertarelli, Alinghi’s president, issued a public letter on his vision for a new cup. Larry Ellison, owner of the American club’s BMW ORACLE racing team, wrote to Bertarelli on December 11 asking him to first declare where Alinghi stands on accepting GGYC’s proposal for a conventional America’s Cup in Valencia in 2009.
‘We have heard Ernesto’s vision, but what we really need is his decision,’ said Ellison said.
The club said time is running out. Teams need to plan their campaigns, and the GGYC cannot continue to prepare for two different types of racing at the same time.
On December 4, the GGYC sent Alinghi a proposal for a conventional regatta in Valencia in 2009 that was supported by many challengers. Alinghi has not responded to this.
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