NYYC's American Magic in action during the Prada Cup in January. Photo / Photosport
NYYC's American Magic in action during the Prada Cup in January. Photo / Photosport
OPINION:
The chances of the proposed Deed of Gift match between Team New Zealand and Ineos Team UK seem more remote, in the wake of the New York Yacht Club's grand vision for the America's Cup, which was unveiled on Sunday.
The Americans don't have any direct sayin the planning of future regattas, which was why Team New Zealand swiftly issued their 'thanks, but no thanks' message in response.
But there could be a subplot to the American move, in keeping with the long tradition of subterfuge that has surrounded the Cup.
After years of watching from the side lines, the powerful New York club is back – and apparently back for the long haul.
Amidst the premature end to their recent Auckland campaign, American Magic skipper Terry Hutchinson and his team were keen to continue, but everything depended on the billionaires (Hap Fauth, Doug De Vos and Roger Penske) who had backed the team.
With the support of the money men seemingly in place, New York have re-established a long-term interest in the Cup.
Well, aside from some juicy headlines in the next few days, it might kill the idea of the one-off Deed of Gift match.
Like Luna Rossa, the Americans are strongly against the proposal.
Not just on grounds of fairness and being negative for the overall event, but also because it would lessen their chances at any subsequent multi-challenger Cup editions, as the Kiwis and British would continue their racing, research and development, while the Italians and Americans would be cooling their heels.
In that context, a legal challenge to any Deed of Gift match surely can't be ruled out.
The New York Yacht Club know the Cup's Deed better than anyone and watched two previous court battles play out under their noses, ahead of the Mano a Mano challenges in 1988 and 2010.
And taking on the NYCC, in an American court, would be foolhardy, a bit like complaining about your wife to your mother-in-law.
NYYC's American Magic in action during the Prada Cup in January. Photo / Photosport
Nothing will be overtly mentioned, but the prospect of litigation might be enough to shelve the Isle of Wight idea for good.
New York's plan to re-engineer the Cup, as announced in the lengthy document, will provoke plenty of discussion.
A lot of the proposals make sense, and some are not new to either Team New Zealand or Ineos Team UK.
It's good to see the historic club embracing the future, after they seemed firmly stuck in the past last December, when commodore Christopher Culver advocated a return to displacement boats (non-foiling) in the Cup.
It's logical that they see themselves as the moral guardians of the Auld Mug, given the history, and the reawakening of their interest should be welcomed, as a United States based team is crucial for the event, and their involvement might prompt more entries from that nation.
But it's hard not to be cynical about their idea to rotate the regatta between neutral venues, given the way they constantly moved the goalposts during their long tenure, making it near impossible for challengers.
Their sermon like intiative was well intentioned but also a bit cheeky, given they have been outside the Cup game for the past two decades, with the 2021 challenge their first in 17 years.
And though they held the Cup for 132 years – the longest tenure in any sport – New York has struggled to be competitive when the battleground shifted away from Rhode Island.
As Challenger of Record in 2000, they finished eighth of 11 teams in the Louis Vuitton Cup round robin and were seventh (of nine syndicates) in 2003.
The closest they have come to bringing the Cup back to Newport was in 1987, when they missed the Challenger semi-finals by a point, among an admittedly monster field of 13 syndicates.
If you contrast that with the enduring record of teams from this country – involved in 10 of eleven regattas dating back to 1987, including a staggering eight Cup matches – you can imagine the private response within the Team New Zealand fold to New York's grand proposal.
