Yachting: Mutiny creates waves

Alinghi have written their own postscript to one of the most controversial and arrogant America's Cup tenures with a letter from Societe Nautique de Geneve vice-commodore, Fred Meyer, one of the three 'mutineers' in the second and final race last month.

Race officer Harold Bennett, of New Zealand, was astonished to find that Meyer and two other Alinghi/SNG men (SNG is the yacht club backing Alinghi in the Cup) refused to help start the race against BMW Oracle claiming, among other things, that the one-metre swell was too high.

In an email which has already found its way into yachting legend, Bennett - himself an Alinghi appointee as race officer ahead of others who were viewed as too close to other teams - said:

"It was a very trying day with the dying westerly taking its time to drop and then the wait for the NE gradient to slowly gain enough momentum for us to start.

"That is when the s*** hit the fan as two of the Alinghi club helpers on the committee boat refused to do the start. I enlisted my boat driver and the Oracle observer Tom Ehman to do flags and I started the race.

"They [Meyer and the Alinghi people] were telling me that the waves were too big!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [The 17 exclamation marks are as written by the normally phlegmatic Bennett]. I have never seen such disgraceful behaviour on a committee boat, believe me ... trying to influence the PRO to the point of ordering me to stop the sequence. Well, I think you all know how well that went down ..."

The 'mutiny' has created outrage in yachting circles around the globe as most recognise that Alinghi's giant catamaran was geared up to perform better in light winds and sea conditions.

The accusation that has been made was that the Swiss tried to get the race called off because conditions didn't suit their boat.

That is like a rugby team refusing to take the ground because the grass is too long.

In his letter, Meyer said the Swiss committee members had warned Bennett the race should not start because there were too many spectator boats in the start area; that the race risked not finishing until after sunset; and the waves were too high.

Meyer said Alinghi were penalised before the start because it was disturbed by spectator craft (other observers have said Alinghi boss Ernesto Bertarelli was helming the boat and did not do well ... ) and that it was unreasonable, unnecessary and impractical to start the race then.

"From a rules point of view, it is not even clear whether there was truly a race or not on that day," Meyer concluded.

Which doesn't take into account that both yachts started the race and finished it in daylight and without damage or incident.