America’s Cup, affaire vele: ecco la contro-replica del GGYC
America's CupOracle Team USAVela 28 Gennaio 2010 Zerogradinord 0
[singlepic id=4904 w=300 h=204 float=left]America’s Cup – New York – A distanza di pochi giorni dalle repliche depositate da Alinghi nell’ambito dell’azione promossa da BMW Oracle Racing contro le vele di Alinghi 5, il team statunitense ha presentato le contro repliche riassumibili, come ha sottolineato Tom Ehman, con due semplici domande:
– in un Deed of Gift match le vele dei contendenti devono essere costruite nella nazione di appartenenza del team?
– le vele di Alinghi sono state costruite in Svizzera?
“Secondo il Golden Gate Yacht Club – ha dichiarato il portavoce del club a stelle e strisce – si, le vele devono essere costruite nella nazione di appartenenza e no, Alinghi non ha costruito le vele in Svizzera ma negli Stati Uniti”.
Nel brief depositato notte tempo, gli avvocati di parte americana replicano alla difesa di Alinghi sostenendo che:
– il Deed of Gift, quando parla di costruzione, non si riferisce espressamente allo scafo e in più non riporta parole come “assemblato” o “rifinito”. Le vele sono uno dei componenti fondamentali di una barca da regata, perchè ne costituiscono il motore;
– il Golden Gate Yacht Club ha fatto sforzi immani per rispettare la regola del Costructed in Country;
– non si tratta di una questione difficile da risolvere poichè il Deed of Gift stabilsce che lo “yacht or vessel” debba provenire dalla nazione di appartenenza, le vele sono parte integrante della barca e Alinghi ha dichiarato che le vele di Alinghi 5 sono realizzate in pezzi in Nevada;
– la mozione presentata da Alinghi contro gli statunitensi circa l’ispirazione francese del progetto sono un mero tentativo di distrarre la Corte e squalificare il Golden Gate Yacht Club;
– Il Golden Gate Yacht Club non vuole squalificare Alinghi, ma trovare una soluzione prima dell’8 febbraio;
– la Société Nautique de Genève ha respinto ogni proposta di accordo avanzata dal Golden Gate Yacht Club, come quella di Singapore dello scorso 12 gennaio.
Per leggere il Memorandum of Law contro la Cross Motion di Alinghi clicca qui.
Pet leggere la replica del Golden Gate Yacht Club clicca qui.
AMERICA’S CUP, GGYC FILED ITS RESPONSE TO SNG SUBMISSION
[Source Golden Gate Yacht Club] Tonight Golden Gate Yacht Club filed its response to Société Nautique de Genève’s submissions to the New York Supreme Court of last week.
There are two important questions before the Court:
– in an America’s Cup Deed of Gift match, must the sails of competitors’ yachts be constructed in the country they represent?
– were Alinghi’s sails constructed in Switzerland?
Golden Gate Yacht Club believes the answers are clear: yes, sails must be constructed-in-country; and, no, Alinghi’s sails were constructed in the USA, not Switzerland.
Last week Société Nautique de Genève let go an avalanche of papers to obscure these simple questions. The Swiss defender has long appeared to be suffering from snowblindness over the fact that the 33rd Match is not a normal regatta. It is not even a normal America’s Cup. It is a Deed of Gift match in which the clear wording of the Cup’s ruling document must be adhered to by both teams.
Highlights of Golden Gate Yacht Club’s briefs filed tonight:
– the Deed of Gift does not say that only the hull of the defender’s vessel must be constructed in the defender’s country. Neither does it carve out an exemption for the vessel’s sails – the component that propels the boat and one of the major determinants of a vessel’s competitiveness. Nor does it say that yachts may be constructed in pieces abroad so long as they are “assembled” or “finished” in country. This fundamental part of the Deed of Gift has shaped the character of this great sailing competition for nearly 130 years;
– Golden Gate Yacht Club went to extraordinary efforts to comply with the Deed of Gift’s constructed-in-country provision.
– this is not a complex issue to resolve. It rests on three simple propositions: (1) the Deed of Gift requires that the defender’s “yacht or vessel” be constructed in the defender’s country, (2) sails are part of a yacht or vessel, and (3) Société Nautique de Genève has admitted that its sails were custommade in pieces in Nevada. All that is required is an application of a plain and unambiguous provision of the Deed of Gift to admitted facts;
– in a transparent attempt to distract the Court from its own blatant violation of the Deed of Gift’s constructed-in-country requirement, Société Nautique de Genève has brought a baseless cross-motion against Golden Gate Yacht Club seeking – once again – to disqualify Golden Gate Yacht Club’s challenge vessel;
– Golden Gate Yacht Club is not seeking to delay the race; it is ready and eager to begin the match on February 8. It is not trying to disqualify Société Nautique de Genève’s yacht; that is why it is seeking to have this issue resolved now, before the race;
– Société Nautique de Genève has rejected every attempt by Golden Gate Yacht Club to reach mutual consent on constructed-in-country and other issues, most recently at a meeting in Singapore on 12 January. An agreement was negotiated between Société Nautique de Genève and Golden Gate Yacht Club representatives. It was signed by Golden Gate Yacht Club and the International Sailing Federation (the world governing body), only to be rejected by Société Nautique de Genève/Alinghi.
Alinghi’s constructed-in-country violation is yet another example of Société Nautique de Genève’s reckless disregard for the Deed of Gift, and of their repeated attempts to gain an advantage by shamelessly breaking the rules.
Golden Gate Yacht Club hopes the Court will resolve this issue next week, before racing for the 33rd Match starts in Valencia on 8 February.
To read the Memorandum of Law against Alingh’s Cross Motion click here.
To read the Golden Gate Yacht Club reply Memorandum of Law click here.
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