By JULIE ASH
Paul Cayard's future with Oracle Racing is all at sea.
The America's Cup veteran has been working in administration and management for the American syndicate, but seems to have got offside with Oracle's owner, software giant Larry Ellison.
"I'm still employed as an adviser to the team," Cayard said.
"But
the situation is that my position will be reviewed in five to six weeks."
Oracle Racing have a number of New Zealanders on board, including skipper Chris Dickson.
Since news of Cayard's trouble in the Oracle camp broke, he has been approached by several syndicates in this year's round-the-world race, who are preparing for the start of the second leg on Monday.
Cayard was the first American skipper to win the prestigious Whitbread round-the-world Race, in 1998 on EF Language.
Also on EF Language was Assa Abloy co-skipper Mark Rudiger.
Assa Abloy, which finished fourth in the first leg of the present race, had some leadership worries and as a result sacked Dutch co-skipper Roy Heiner.
New co-skipper Neal McDonald knows his own promotion is only for the second leg and after that there will be a high premium on boat-to-boat tactical sailing, which is Cayard's forte.
But Cayard also has links to the Nautor Challenge. He is a director of boatbuilders at Nautor Swan, whose affiliate, Nautor Challenges, fielded the entries of Grant Dalton's Amer Sports One and Lisa McDonald's Amer Sports Too.
Cayard is a six-time world champion and a five-time America's Cup veteran.
He has participated in the America's Cup since 1983, when he was sail trimmer for the late Tom Blackaller on the 12m Defender.
Cayard sailed again with Blackaller as tactician in 1987 and in the last cup contest, Cayard skippered AmericaOne, which lost the final of the Louis Vuitton challenger series to Prada.
As for Heiner, within 24 hours of losing his round-the-world job, the South Africans offered him a new post with their America's Cup challenge for 2005-06.
