By JULIE ASH
Freeing Willy must seem like one of the easiest things OneWorld backer Craig McCaw has ever done now he has experienced life in the America's Cup.
The past few months have been anything but plain sailing for the Seattle syndicate.
In fact, McCaw could be forgiven for wondering if
his team were actually going to make it to the start-line.
"No one has been through what we have been through," said OneWorld Challenge executive director Bob Ratliffe. "But it has only made us harder as a team."
OneWorld's troubles began in March last year when the stockmarket plummeted and McCaw said he could no longer contribute as much as he first thought.
"With the economy sliding, and after September 11, you couldn't find a tougher time to find money for an event half a world away. It was a nailbiting time," said Ratliffe.
Luckily, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen came to the party, investing US$10 million in the campaign.
The syndicate then became involved in a legal battle with former operations manager Sean Reeves, a former Team NZ employee.
OneWorld sued him for allegedly trying to sell their design secrets to other challengers.
Reeves denied the claims, and alleged OneWorld had obtained Team NZ design secrets.
That prompted OneWorld to admit to the America's Cup arbitration panel that they did have some information, and as a punishment received a one-point penalty.
Legal action against Reeves continues.
Ratliffe said OneWorld were not the bad guys. The only mistake they made was hiring Reeves.
"People will label us as those liars and cheaters, but it is simply not true.
"We look at ourselves as a kind of a well-rounded programme. We are trying to do more than just sail."
OneWorld have made it their mission to use the America's Cup to help to raise environmental issues.
The team planted 10,000 trees on islands along the cup course as a way of replacing the oxygen their outboard motors use every day.
Australian schoolteacher Sean Brealey was employed to visit schools and speak about the health of the environment. He has already seen over 22,000 pupils in New Zealand and Seattle.
The syndicate have funded a series of television programmes on the health of the planet and in the next couple of weeks they will launch the OneWorld partners programme, in which they will announce a different environmental organisation as their partner every week during the Louis Vuitton Challenge series.
"We will put information together about the organisation and what they do and try to draw attention to high-quality organisations that are doing good work for the environment."
Ratliffe said it was McCaw's idea to use the cup to help to promote environmental issues.
"I think he would like to think his life has been a zero impact on the planet.
"When you fly corporate jets, own large boats and drive big cars, you are burning up fossil fuel. I think Craig would like to think he didn't cause the planet any harm."
McCaw, who has helped to fund Team New Zealand in the past, is already responsible for saving the life of orca Keiko - the star of the movie Free Willy.
The whale was captured in Iceland at the age of 2 and for the next 23 years lived in captivity.
"After the movie Free Willy came out, Craig found out that Warner Brothers were going to try to move the whale from Mexico City, where he was dying in a terrible facility. So Craig just said I want to give anonymously US$1 million to help the effort."
The whale was moved into a new facility at Newport, Oregon, where, Ratliffe said, it thrived.
"But the goal was always to try and get him back into freedom. So Craig said, 'let's go for it'.
"He underwrote hiring a United States Air Force aeroplane and arranged with the Government of Iceland to allow the whale to go there."
The 6.4m, 4082kg whale was flown non-stop from Newport to Iceland. Ratliffe was with it on the plane.
"You can't sedate them because they are voluntary breathers, so they can't be anaesthetised. So we just had to keep him calm.
"We got him to Iceland and he did extremely well.
"This summer he was let go and we last heard he had swum over 1000 miles to Norway."
With just over three weeks to go until the start of the Louis Vuitton Challenger series, Ratliffe said OneWorld were happy with where they were.
"The one-point penalty is something we wish we didn't have. But obviously, our goal is to come through the two round-robins and be in that top tier.
"If we are, the penalty didn't cost us. If we aren't, then we will only come out it stronger."
nzherald.co.nz/americascup
By JULIE ASH
Freeing Willy must seem like one of the easiest things OneWorld backer Craig McCaw has ever done now he has experienced life in the America's Cup.
The past few months have been anything but plain sailing for the Seattle syndicate.
In fact, McCaw could be forgiven for wondering if
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