The blue letter reached San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee by email on Tuesday evening: It said in black and white what the sparrows in the America's Cup world have been whistling from the rooftop for some time: The Californian harbour city, which had provided a great sailing backdrop for the duels of the 34th America's Cup in 2013 despite many low blows, is out of the running for the follow-up edition. Coutts wrote, among other things: "In view of the tight scheduling and the teams' need to finalise the venue, it had become necessary to reduce the list of final candidate cities. As a result, we have had to make the difficult decision that San Francisco is no longer a possible candidate to host the 35th America's Cup."
The letter from the CEO of the Cup defenders does not contain any further explanations. However, it is known that San Francisco, after losing around 11.5 million US dollars in the organisation of the last America's Cup (YACHT online reported http://www.yacht.de/sport/americas_cup/das-aus-fuer-san-francisco/a89427.html ) would not have wanted to use city funds again. The mayor had also demanded that the Cup organisers pay rent for the piers on the one hand and, on the other, adhere to the standard wage rates for workers when building new Cup venues. Obviously, these conditions were not to the liking of the defenders of Larry Ellison's racing team Oracle Team USA. It is less than a small consolation when they point out that they are open to new negotiations with a view to the 36th America's Cup. In fact, it is downright cheeky, as Oracle Team USA would first have to successfully defend the Cup again. Which, in turn, is probably firmly planned...
With Chicago, San Diego and Bermuda, three territories are now still in the running for the rights to host the Cup. For quite some time, Chicago was considered the secret favourite. But the city on Lake Michigan in the US state of Illinois has a problem that leading Cup experts such as Cory E. Friedman are now publicly pointing out. According to the Cup's Deed of Gift, penned by the first Cup co-winner George Schuyler, a challenging club can only be one that organises "its annual regatta on a course on the open sea or an arm of the sea or a combination of both".
While the definition of "sea" is undisputed, the term "arm of the sea" is now - once again - being debated. When the Chicago Yacht Club took part in the America's Cup in 1987 with Buddy Melges and the "Heart of America" campaign, the New York court responsible confirmed that Lake Michigan (part of the Great Lakes) was considered an "inlet". However, this was done in a fast-track procedure and without any objection from the competition.
Rights expert Friedman considers the view at the time to be a poorly thought-out mistake that would not stand up to a challenge today. Friedman says that George Schuyler deliberately chose the term "estuary" and that the Great Lakes were therefore out of the question because, although they had their own tides, they were not subject to the ocean tide (like the Hudson River, for example). In 1987, according to Friedman, nobody would have challenged the approval of the area as an "estuary". Friedman is certain: Schuyler did not want to see the Great Lakes in the Cup.
With a view to the 35th America's Cup, the defender and challenger would have to agree that they want to sail there. Only then would a possible lawsuit be ruled out. It is not without ulterior motives that the sailing information service Scuttlebutt, in which Friedman regularly publishes his views, asks what the defenders would have offered the challengers in return if Chicago really was to be the venue.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
