America's Cup: New dispute between the Cup teams, break at "Luna Rossa"

Just postponed or cancelled? In light of the coronavirus pandemic, the international sailing world had already anticipated in recent weeks that the America's Cup World Series opener planned for the end of April off Sardinia would probably not be able to go ahead. But now the Italian organisers and the New Zealand Cup defenders are arguing about whether and how things can continue as an alternative. The Challenger of Record only wants to postpone the regatta, which is important for Italy, because for Patrizio Bertelli's Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team, as for the British, their ACWS regatta off Portsmouth at the beginning of June is the only opportunity to show up in front of their own fans and also to impose the same "travel burden" on the defenders that they themselves will have to take on later in the year on the Auckland course.

The America's Cup defenders from Emirates Team New Zealand reacted cautiously and are naturally not enthusiastic about the postponement of the event, because for them the extension of the away match in Europe means a reduction in testing and training opportunities on their home turf. Even before the Italian hosts, the Cup defenders had therefore issued a statement saying: "It is quite clear that the ACWS event in Cagliari cannot take place. The teams have started discussions with each other to find an appropriate solution regarding this loss and/or to identify the possibility of additional sailing time in the wake of the global Covid-19/coronavirus situation." Any results of these discussions will be communicated to the public in a timely manner.

The plagued Italians, who feel they have been ignored and their interests disregarded, are now outraged by New Zealand's solo effort. The Challenger of Record in the 36th America's Cup (COR 36 for short) published a statement late on Friday afternoon in which the New Zealand Cup defenders were directly attacked. It said: "Due to 'force majeure' and as a result of the declaration of the Covid-19 pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and restrictions imposed by various governments, COR 36 has declared it impossible to hold the ACWS Sardinia Cagliari regatta (23-26 April) on the scheduled date. The COR 36 has also submitted a proposal to the defender to postpone the event to a new date. The Defender has issued a press release announcing the cancellation of the ACWS Sardinia Cagliari regatta without mentioning the COR proposal to postpone the regatta and a new date, rejecting the COR proposal without any discussion. The COR 36 will bring the postponement of the ACWS Sardinia Cagliari regatta to a new date before the America's Cup Arbitration Tribunal."

Parallel to the tug-of-war at the green table in difficult times, it was initially noticeably quiet around Patrizio Bertelli's "Challenger of Record" on Friday morning. The Italian Cup team has apparently had a large hole in the bow section of its new Cup yacht since Thursday. Pictures circulating on social media clearly show this. The team had not provided a more precise explanation by Friday afternoon, even in response to international enquiries. Initial fan comments included the following assumption: "It looks like it exploded from the inside." In fact, at first glance it looks more like the bowsprit has torn out of the structure.