The America's Cup - named for the great Sandy Hook Pilot schooner that beat all comers 'round the isle of Wight, is sailing's biggest prize - for lawyers. The Cup was won by a great sailor who has the misofrtune to be from Lake Geneva, which is not, as the Deed of Gift requires, an arm of the sea. The latest snag is that Alinghi's sails were not made in Switzerland, surprising given its history as a reat maritime nation.
Now Ernesto Bertarelli says he may forfeit the race to fellow billionaire Larry Ellison if he loses in court once more. Good, as far I am concerned. He wanted to race in Abu Dhabi, where the racers might have been wrecked by a falling skyscraper or something. Best case scenario: Ellison wins on the water and brings the race to San Francisco where we can have photogenic races in lots of wind that people can watch from the Golden Gate Bridge.
