Quick update. BMWO filed against Alinghi for contempt of court (2nd time now) for stating that they can change the rules at any time as per their liking and for Alinghi giving the ISAF $209,000, requesting them to delay the formation of the judge panel for the America's Cup (which they did) and hiding the details of whatever agreement the $209,000 went towards.
(remember, this is only the 2nd time an America's Cup has actually happened in absence of any mutual consent and is now under the old language governing the match in the Deed). As for the rules thing, the DoG states:
...and these races shall be sailed subject to its [defending club's] rules and sailing regulations so far as the same do not conflict with the provisions of this deed of gift...
Alinghi is contending that this wording allows them to change the rules at any time as they see fit as the defending club. BMWO contends that this means the existing club rules are in effect as they existed when the original challenge was filed (2007) and cannot be changed without mutual consent.
As you may already know, Alinghi unveiled a big boat last week. Although that boat has yet to be named their official challenge boat, it's obviously a step towards that direction with only 7 months left to the match. That boat has a gasoline engine bolted to the rear beam powering a hydraulic system that apparently will make the boat control a push-button operation for everything from the sail downhauls, outhauls, daggerboards, to the winches. As of yet, manual grinding stations have yet to show up on their boat and the design appears to be very dependent on the hydraulic control.
The concern by BMWO about the rules is more complex than just the engine but it's a fine example of what position this puts BMWO in. Suppose BMWO steps up and modifies their boat (or one they may be building) with a similar hydraulic system. One day before the race, Alinghi could pull out an existing or new boat withOUT a hydraulic system, change the rules, and disqualify BMWO. Clearly this was not the intent of the Deed of Gift.
The rules issue goes deeper than just the engine, and Alinghi has yet to say that the engine assisted boat is their official AC boat (they don't have to declare their boat until the 1st day of racing in February). While I think the ISAF money thing will probably turn out to be relatively benign, the rumor is that the payment was to affect "the rules" to expressly permit the use of power assist and/or ballast systems. Alinghi's club's rules (SNG), when BMWO originally filed their challenge, did not permit power assist or movable ballast. They do now. BMWO built their boat to conform to the 2007 SNG rules...we shall see.
The hearing is scheduled fro July 21 and we should see a relatively quick result.
