The selling of the America's Cup

By Suzanne McFadden

Paul Cayard, the suave and savvy face of the modern-day America's Cup, has a double-edged mission.

As well as wanting to win the Auld Mug - who doesn't? - he wants to make the event a cleaner place to sail.

The man behind AmericaOne would like to rid the America's Cup of nasty little controversies that detract from sailboat racing.

It's not so much about doing away with the scuttlebutt, spying and secrecy - the spice that add to the Cup's mystique.

But this man's plan is to entice more dollars to a regatta run on what he thinks would be a more level playing field, independent of the defenders or their yacht club.

"If we're fortunate enough to win it, we're going to turn over the running of the event to independent management," he said yesterday.

"It would be an entity looking out for the growth of the event - they would have nothing to do with who the winner was."

Cayard has been entangled in his fair share of Cup controversy - he is now in his fifth campaign and was the finalist in the last two.

This week, he has brought a band of sponsors and journalists from the United States to Auckland to foster better relations between the corporate and yachting worlds, and to wake up America to a regatta which starts in eight months.

AmericaOne did some research to find out what the American public knew about the world's most famous yachting event.

"The name America's Cup was recognisable," Cayard said, "But some people thought it had something to do with soccer."

With the over-abundance of sport in America it is not easy for Cup syndicates racing on the other side of the world to steal the interest of Jane and John Doe.

Said Washington Post yachting journalist Angus Phillips: "They latch on to events that tickle their imagination, like the 1987 Cup in Fremantle, when Dennis Conner beat the Kiwis.

"I think this is an event that could grab them. But two things will have to take place - one, the challenger series has to be reasonably competitive, and two, one of the finalists will have to be American."

Cayard is appealing to the "nerds" of the United States to follow his campaign.

His financial backers are heavily technology-related.

"We've had great success getting Silicon Valley interested. They love it that it's a sport where nerds can make a difference," he said.

Cayard has pulled in a professional sports marketing team to run his show. Two of the team ran the 1995 Cup event, another was head of the San Francisco Giants baseball team for 15 years.

He is also playing the friendly neighbour in the Viaduct Basin. AmericaOne have built a pavillion they call the Opera House on the water's edge of their base - with one of the best views in town - and have invited the Team New Zealand, Prada and Swiss sailing teams over for dinner.

Pictured: Paul Cayard. HERALD PICTURE / KENNY RODGER