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MADRID: Swiss defender Alinghi on Thursday offered to hold the next edition of the America's Cup in eastern Australia in a bid to resolve its dispute with US team Oracle over a venue for their February duel.
The two teams have been battling in court over whether the event takes place in the Gulf emirate of Ras al-Khaimah, the venue first chosen by Alinghi, or in the Spanish Mediterranean port of Valencia, as favoured by Oracle.
Alinghi "proposes to stage the 33rd America's Cup on the east coast of Australia, in the Southern Hemisphere, in compliance with the Deed of Gift," the 19th century rules that govern the trophy, it said in a statement.
"This is a venue that should be acceptable to both teams if, as expressed publicly, the true intention of Oracle is to race for the America's Cup on the water...
"A specific race course in the Pacific Ocean off the east coast of Australia, with weather conditions suitable for racing in February, will be announced promptly should (Oracle) accept this offer and cease their legal strategy," said Alinghi.
Oracle said it needs to know exactly where the event would take place.
"We have written to Alinghi to tell them it's necessary to know" where it would be held "to ascertain whether it would be possible to prepare on such short notice," an Oracle spokesman told AFP.
"You can't evaluate 2,500 miles of coast."
Alinghi said its first choice for its three-leg duel with Oracle, scheduled to start February 8, 2010, had been Ras al-Khaimah, but it had proposed Australia "in order to achieve a match in February" and "unlock the 33rd America's Cup."
New York Supreme Court Judge Shirley Kornreich ruled last month that the event cannot take place in Ras al-Khaimah, upholding a challenge by Oracle, which considers the site unsafe due to its proximity to Iran.
She said that under the Deed of Gift, the America's Cup cannot be held in the Northern Hemisphere between November 1 and May 1.
However, Kornreich made an exception by allowing the race to be held in Valencia, where Alinghi won the last America's Cup in 2007.
The New York court will on Friday hear from experts on whether the event could take place in Valencia in February, as favoured by Oracle, even though the weather conditions could be difficult at that time of year.
Alinghi, whose crew has been training in Ras al-Khaimah since August on its giant catamaran, has appealed Kornreich's decision.
Alinghi and Oracle, owned respectively by Swiss biotech billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli and American computer billionaire Larry Ellison, have been locked in a more than two-year legal battle over the next edition of yachting's most prestigious event.
The New York court ruled in April that the Cup should be settled by a one-on-one multihull duel next February instead of the traditional fully-fledged regatta with several teams.
However, the two sides remained in dispute over the venue.
"The east coast of Australia offers several locations with ideal sailing conditions for the best-of-three match," Alinghi said on Thursday.
"A venue in this region would be approximately two and a half weeks away by ship from Oracle's base in San Diego, while Alinghi's voyage from Ras al-Khaimah would take approximately three weeks." - AFP/de
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