The New York Yacht Club is contesting the new rules of the America’s Cup Partnership

Ms Clare Harrington, the first female Commodore in the history of the New York Yacht Club, has urged the Charities Bureau of the New York State Attorney General’s Office to shed light on what is happening within the America’s Cup organisation, namely the creation of the governing body known as the America’s Cup Partnership, or ACP for short. It is alleged that the ACP would draw up new rules in a manner “incompatible” with the Deed of Gift, the historic deed of donation of which the NYYC is the custodian. The objections she raises have been on the table for some time, fuelled by the mystery surrounding the document signed by the challengers alongside the payment of $7 million to join the group of members (so to speak) who are expected, after the 38th edition of the event, to organise its future. What is no secret is the desire for a more modern organisation, similar to that found in other events, particularly Formula One. But deviating from the explicit terms of the Deed of Gift is no easy matter; it is a highly binding document that requires amendments, and indeed this has been under discussion for some time.

The fact is that, when it comes to making changes, the New York Yacht Club’s opinion carries weight, and this stance serves as a rather strong warning. A similar request had also been made by John Sweeney, and this appears to reinforce his request. It should be remembered that the NYYC defended the Cup for 132 years, doing more or less as it pleased and subjecting challengers to a great deal of harassment. Their statement reads as follows: “The crux of the matter is the very essence of the competition: whether the America’s Cup remains, in the words of the Deed, a perpetual challenge for friendly competition between foreign nations, or whether it can be transformed into a centrally managed regatta, controlled for commercial purposes and organised by a permanent body composed of the incumbent competitors”.

In recent editions, it had already become common practice to bend the rules of this ‘Magna Carta’ of sailing – for example, the restriction on the type of boat, or the choice of race course driven more by financial considerations than sporting ones, not to mention a club with no access to the sea. Now Harrington is calling for greater transparency regarding the weighty document that has been drawn up: eight hundred pages drafted by leading law firms. She is right to do so, but it seems strange that all these experts did not draft the document in a way that would be difficult to challenge. When asked directly whether an amendment to the Deed of Gift was necessary – a question put to Ernesto Bertarelli, who is one of, if not the main figure behind ACP – he replied, “There continues to be a Defender and a Challenger.” As if to say, the legend remains unchanged. It is worth noting that the New York club was involved in the inception of this idea, of which American Magic was one of the proponents before it withdrew from the project.

The atmosphere on Manhattan’s 44th Street has changed with the appointment of a new Commodore, who is more in line with the traditional values of his predecessor. The Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, has responded with a terse statement in which it, unsurprisingly, states: everything is in order for the 38th Cup – that is, the next one. It is true that the Royal Yacht Squadron’s first challenge came earlier and in the usual manner; therefore, this edition of the Cup is underway, and the restrictions imposed by the ACP – which may be deemed incompatible – for the eventual winner would come into effect with the next one.

What happens next? It’s unlikely that the process will come to a halt; what might happen is that the Attorney General will want to get to the bottom of things, demanding to see the document that, so far, has only been seen by those who have signed a challenge. He will then need to read it and take it on board before forming an opinion. That, indeed, could have an impact on the future. So there’s great anticipation for the preliminary regattas in Naples at the end of September, with teams training in the Gulf on the AC 40s.