Ernesto Bertarelli, billionaire head of the Swiss America's Cup syndicate skippered by Russell Coutts, flew into Auckland yesterday and hit back at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron for its delay in accepting his challenge.
Squadron commodore Peter Taylor has denied that the delay has anything to do with sour grapes on the cup-holders' part over the defections from Team New Zealand of Coutts, Brad Butterworth and three other sailors.
The dispute, sparked by Switzerland's landlocked status, has gone to an arbitration panel.
Bertarelli flew to New Zealand from Geneva in part to try to sort out the problems in person. He had meetings scheduled with the squadron, the cup's trustees and Team NZ.
"I'm not happy about it. I have many questions and I hope to get answers for them. Why have Swiss challenges been accepted in the past and not ours?"
Bertarelli said his syndicate, who have yet to decide on a name, submitted their entry and $US150,000 ($375,000) entry fee on August 18, before the challenge from Seattle's OneWorld syndicate, which has since been accepted.
Patrizio Bertelli's Prada syndicate are the other challengers so far accepted, as challenger of record.
"We're spending an enormous amount of energy trying to understand what it is that Team NZ and the squadron want. It's damaging and I hope it's resolved soon," Bertarelli said.
Did he believe fallout from the Team NZ defections was behind the delay?
"I hope Team NZ has more sportsmanship in them that that, so I don't think that's the case - I hope not."
He challenged Taylor's comments that the two Swiss entries accepted for last summer's regatta had not had the same problems because they had long-standing sea regattas.
The cup's Deed of Gift requires challenging clubs to hold annual regattas on the sea or an arm of the sea.
The base for Bertarelli's challenge, the Geneva Yacht Club, founded in 1857 on the shores of Lake Geneva, held its first sea regatta this year off France.
Bertarelli said: "I hope these are not the tactics used in the past by holders of the cup to win it with lawyers rather than on the water.
"It would be very bad for the sport."
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