This article appeared on the front page of SA and shortly after it was put up it was removed.

If the tax stuff is true then might we see a Protocol 60 action against the Kiwi's? Maybe docked two points?

I think the fat lady has gone home for now.


dumb and dumber

AC Dope

Suddenly they are slower than Oracle and tactically hesitant if not just plain stupid. They look as dumb or dumber than Oracle did in the first four races.

But off the water they look even more like idiots.

First, Emirates Air brought a plane in to SFO four days ago to take the “victorious” team to Auckland, in anticipation of a Kiwi “sure win” as their SFO station chief told me. And it’s been sitting at SFO since. Why would Grant Dalton permit that? Talk about bad karma.

Then they put down $300,000 as a deposit on a victory party to be held Friday or Saturday night, and guess what? The word around town is that they lost the entire deposit as the regatta continues much to the amazement, and pleasure, of everyone in San Francisco, except ETNZ and their supporters. We called but ETNZ declined comment.

But what really has the Kiwis’ knickers in a twist? Sailing Anarchy has learned that City, State and Federal authorities are investigating ETNZ for tax fraud. Supposedly Dalton grossed up team members’ pay packets before they left NZ, and ETNZ have been paying them minimum wages since they arrived in SF to minimize income taxes payable in the USA. If true, that, my friends, would be criminal.

So is it any wonder that Grant Dalton is no longer racing on the yacht? You thought he was hurt? Or does he just have his hands full on shore?

Adding insult to injury, hundreds of Kiwi fans have had to move out of their hotels today as Oracle Open World gets under way and over 50,000 conventioneers have arrived and checked into those same hotel rooms at four times the going rate.

Will the Kiwis leave their hearts, and the Cup, in San Francisco?