Yachting: America's Cup in February 2010, judge orders

Oracle sailing off San Diego during trials earlier this year. Photo supplied.

A New York State Supreme Court justice set February 2010 as the date for the next America's Cup, news agency Reuters reported today.

Software executive Larry Ellison's BMW-Oracle team and the defending champions Alinghi, backed by biotechnology billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli, have been locked in a legal dispute for two years over the 33rd running of the race.

BMW-Oracle, sponsored by the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC), and Swiss team Alinghi, which sails under the colors of Societe Nautique de Geneve (SNG), were ordered to select a third-party mediator within one week and to return to planning talks for yachting's most prestigious race, Reuters reported.

Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich ruled the race will be held in Valencia, Spain, or at another venue named by SNG. As defending champion, SNG has the right to pick a venue.

- NZHERALD STAFF