At first there were only rumours that nobody wanted to believe. Especially because they were started by a website called sailinganarchy. But at the weekend they were confirmed at the re-run of the Louis Vuitton Cup final in Newport between BMW Oracle and Alinghi. Russell Coutts is at war with his employer.
He was actually supposed to lead SUI 64 to another victory against the Americans. And with reference to this, Alinghi spokesman Bernhard Schopfer rejected any comment on the subject on Saturday: "Alinghi only comments on facts and not speculation. And it is a fact that Russell will sail with the team." But that was wrong. Although perhaps the best sailor in the world appeared on the crew list, he did not appear on board.
Ernesto Bertarelli said: "We hoped that he would steer. I asked him when we left the dock and I asked him again when he was on the support boat. But in the end he decided he didn't want to steer. That's why we're going to trust Peter and Jochen this week." When asked what that means for Russell, Bertarelli replied: "You'd better ask him."
But the star skipper only said that he had already informed the team about his absence on the boat a month ago. The reason: the Cup protocol, which prevents sailors from switching to other teams if they are too privy to design secrets. Apparently, the New Zealander does not want to deprive himself of the opportunity to switch to another team.
The British newspaper Sporttelegraph quotes him as saying that he "doesn't really" feel bound by this switching rule in the protocol. It refers to the fact that members of the design team are not allowed to change. "But I wasn't on the design team, I was mainly involved in marketing and acquiring sponsors."
We can only speculate about the exact reasons for the differences, as neither side has officially commented on the matter. Coutts has never made a secret of the fact that he favoured Lisbon as the new venue in order to see strong wind races like the one in Fremantle in 1987. He also favoured much more radical designs for 2007. He wanted to make them affordable by making them as tightly measured as possible. But after the split between the Alinghi sailing team and America's Cup management, he had less to do with the design of the new Cup than he would have liked.
The question is whether his contract offers a way out. It is rumoured that his lawyers are examining all options. This could mean that, like Paul Cayard at the time, Larry Ellison could cut him off for the duration of the next Cup. Another question is how the rest of his team, which he brought to Switzerland from Team New Zealand in 2000, will feel about him.
If it remains loyal to him, it would be the end of the Alinghi success story. Brad Butterworth was also not on the boat in Newport. However, this was due to a broken ankle that he sustained in a car accident in Newport. Dawn Riley, one of the leading personalities in the French Team K-Challenge, was also in the car.
On the other hand, BMW Oracle went public with another first-class signing. Former New Zealand tactician Bertrand Pacé will be working for the team in the future. This means that the stern of Larry Ellison's boat is slowly getting crowded.
In view of this top news from the America's Cup, the action on the water in Newport almost became a minor matter. Peter Holmberg and Jochen Schümann first took the lead with two victories, but then had to accept the equaliser on Sunday to make it 2:2. The Pro Race will be decided today. Larry Ellison and Ernesto Bertarelli will compete against each other from Wednesday.
