Defenders decision needed

The Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) today made 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 yesterday 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.

Last week Ernesto Bertarelli, Alinghi’s President, issued a public letter on his vision for a new Cup. Larry Ellison, the owner of the American club’s BMW ORACLE racing team, wrote to Bertarelli today 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,” Larry Ellison said. The club said time is running out. Teams need to plan their campaigns, and GGYC cannot continue to prepare for two different types of racing at the same time.

On December 4, 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.