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Despite the America's Cup hostilities, Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth insists there is no underlying tension as his team prepare for the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series.
The on-going legal battles between the Swiss syndicate and Larry Ellison's BMWOracle Racing has added extra spice to the Louis Vuitton regatta, which
begins in Auckland on Friday.
The two feuding syndicates are likely to face off on the water on several occasions during the two-week regatta in what has been billed as a grudge match.
Likewise there has been little love lost between Alinghi and Emirates Team New Zealand in recent times, with the Kiwi syndicate also embarking on legal action at one time. Team NZ dropped their lawsuit late last year to ensure their participation in the next America's Cup. Part of the deal also included a guarantee Alinghi would send a team to Auckland to compete in the LV series.
It has all the makings of a tense couple of weeks on the water, but Butterworth said he doesn't feel any animosity towards Oracle or Team NZ, nor has he detected any hostility towards his team.
"I don't have any problems with any of the teams, they've all got mates of mine in them and I'm here to go sailing and enjoy myself," said Butterworth.
"What's happening with the Cup and the court case is completely foreign to me. I don't have a law degree and I'm not a judge. I really don't totally understand it, but it's the way the Cup is at the moment."
A PR war has also raged between the two syndicates, with Alinghi often cast in the role as the bad guys trying to hijack the America's Cup by creating a set of rules which unfairly serve their own interests.
But the role of villain is one Butterworth has become accustomed to over the years.
Since defecting to Alinghi after Team New Zealand's defence of the 2000 America's Cup, he has copped plenty of bad press.
He admits it's a little unfair, but said in some ways it is a measure of success.
"Nobody likes to be the bad guy, but I guess it's something that comes with being the defender. When I was defending the Cup with Team New Zealand, we were the bad guys. Everybody wants what you've got and it just goes with the territory."
Butterworth said Alinghi have never set out to stack the rules unfairly in their own favour. He said the new protocols drawn up at the end of last year were done so through a "thoroughly democratic" process
He also contends that Alinghi have not deliberately tried to exclude BMWOracle from competing in the next event.
Should Oracle's appeal to the New York State of Appeals next month fail, the American syndicate will not be able to compete in the 33rd America's Cup as they did not meet the December deadline for entries.
Oracle's entry would only have been accepted if the Golden Gate Yacht Club dropped their appeal.
