Americans confirm BOR 90 is Cup challenge boat
SAN DIEGO — America’s Cup challenger BMW Oracle Racing has confirmed that BOR 90, the giant trimaran being tested in San Diego, is the boat it will use in its showdown against defending champion Alinghi of Switzerland on the Persian Gulf in February.
The Americans made the disclosure in New York State Supreme Court on Monday in the ongoing legal tussle between the bitter rivals.
Justice Shirley Kornreich didn’t rule on when the Americans must submit a Custom House Registry, which the Swiss want in order to confirm that the 90-foot trimaran matches the dimensions listed in BMW Oracle Racing’s challenge document.
There had been speculation that BMW Oracle Racing, owned by software tycoon Larry Ellison, was building a new boat.
At some point, the massive, three-hulled boat will be renamed USA.
Both sides were pleased with the outcome of the hearing, the latest in a convoluted, two-year spat between Ellison and his one-time pal, Alinghi boss Ernesto Bertarelli.
BMW Oracle Racing spokesman Tom Ehman said the Americans will be allowed to continue to modify the trimaran, which is estimated to have cost well more than $10 million.
“We’ve just learned what the rules are, and because of that we have to make significant changes to the boat, not only to be competitive, but to be legal,” Ehman said.
Ehman said the Americans are considering adding an engine to help trim the giant sails and possibly to move water ballast from one hull to another.
In a ruling late last month, Kornreich said she found nothing in the Deed of Gift, the 1887 document that loosely governs the America’s Cup, that prohibited the Swiss putting an engine on their 90-foot catamaran, Alinghi 5, to trim the sails and move water ballast.
“There are major modifications planned for the boat and have been all along,” Ehman said.
Alinghi attorney Lucien Masmejan said it was good to know for sure which boat the Americans will be sailing.
“They’ve finally confirmed that the famous BOR 90 is USA, is their challenging vessel,” Masmejan said. “We know what it looks like. There won’t be a secret weapon or whatever. This is the boat.”
The sides had been squabbling over the Custom House Registry — more commonly known as a Certificate of Documentation — for nearly two years. Ehman had said it was impossible to get the document from the Coast Guard until BMW Oracle Racing is finished with trials and know the boat is seaworthy.
Launched late last summer on Puget Sound, the boat was moved to San Diego for further sea trials. It was significantly modified in the spring before returning to the water.
BMW Oracle Racing’s sailing team will be formally presented on Tuesday during a ceremony to be attended by Ellison and actor Harrison Ford.
The best-of-3 America’s Cup is scheduled to begin Feb. 8 in Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates.
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