Home
News
In Focus
Business
Metro
Nation
World
Sports
Feature
Opinion
View more »Opinion Columns
Wan LixinOpinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily
Restaurants get off to a quick start thanks to game-changing policies
High service charges on event ticket refunds call for further regulation
Sunday
- Subscribe
Ellison has safety issues with America's Cup venue in UAE
Source: Agencies |
August 13, 2009, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SOFTWARE tycoon and sailor Larry Ellison questioned the safety of the Persian Gulf port picked for the America's Cup showdown between his American-based crew and defending champion Alinghi of Switzerland.
Ellison, the Oracle Corp founder and CEO who owns BMW Oracle Racing, said on Tuesday he's never been to Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, which was named last week by Alinghi as the port for the best-of-three race starting on February 8 for the oldest trophy in international sports.
"I don't exactly know what to say," Ellison said during the official presentation of his crew and the giant trimaran it will sail. "I think they picked it because it's very light winds. I'm a little bit concerned because it's less than 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Iran, so we're all concerned about the safety of our crew and our shore crew and everyone setting set up there."
Ras al-Khaimah is on the southern end of the Persian Gulf and not far from the Strait of Hormuz, which separates the peninsula from Iran.
"People say, 'Oh my God, the Emirates, that's where Roger Federer trains for tennis and that's where Formula One races'," said Ellison, who will sail aboard the 27-meter trimaran. "Not this part of the Emirates. There's an oil depot, we're concerned about electricity, we're concerned about a lot of things. We're concerned about the proximity to Iran.
"I know a lot of people in the UAE. We like them a lot. Oracle does do a lot of business with the UAE. Nothing bad to say about the UAE at all, but we are concerned about the suitability of this particular venue for a race like this."
BMW Oracle Racing is backed by San Francisco's Golden Gate Yacht Club. It has been testing its space age-looking trimaran in San Diego, California, since last autumn and will be here until November.
The legal bickering aside, the showdown between two of the fastest sailboats ever built is expected to provide the most extreme, spectacular racing in the 158-year history of the America's Cup.
The rare one-on-one match is the result of a convoluted, two-year court fight between billionaires Ellison and biotech tycoon Ernesto Bertarelli, who owns Alinghi and its 27-meter catamaran, Alinghi 5.
Also on Tuesday, BMW Oracle Racing named Australian Jimmy Spithill as helmsman for its races with Alinghi.
Spithill will be sailing in his fourth America's Cup.
The 30-year-old Spithill sailed with Young Australia in 1999-2000, when he was the youngest skipper in America's Cup history. He also sailed for American syndicate OneWorld in 2002-2003 and Italy's Luna Rossa in 2007.
New Zealander Russell Coutts, one of the most dominant skippers in America's Cup history, is BMW Oracle Racing's skipper and CEO. But Coutts said he's not sure how often he'll sail the trimaran, which will be renamed USA once sea trials are completed and a Certificate of Documentation is obtained from the Coast Guard.
Coutts sailed unbeaten through three America's Cup matches, the first two with Team New Zealand and then for Alinghi in its 5-0 win over the Kiwis in 2003. He was fired by Bertarelli and sat out the 2007 America's Cup, when Alinghi successfully defended the Cup with a 5-2 win over Team New Zealand.
Ellison, the Oracle Corp founder and CEO who owns BMW Oracle Racing, said on Tuesday he's never been to Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, which was named last week by Alinghi as the port for the best-of-three race starting on February 8 for the oldest trophy in international sports.
"I don't exactly know what to say," Ellison said during the official presentation of his crew and the giant trimaran it will sail. "I think they picked it because it's very light winds. I'm a little bit concerned because it's less than 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Iran, so we're all concerned about the safety of our crew and our shore crew and everyone setting set up there."
Ras al-Khaimah is on the southern end of the Persian Gulf and not far from the Strait of Hormuz, which separates the peninsula from Iran.
"People say, 'Oh my God, the Emirates, that's where Roger Federer trains for tennis and that's where Formula One races'," said Ellison, who will sail aboard the 27-meter trimaran. "Not this part of the Emirates. There's an oil depot, we're concerned about electricity, we're concerned about a lot of things. We're concerned about the proximity to Iran.
"I know a lot of people in the UAE. We like them a lot. Oracle does do a lot of business with the UAE. Nothing bad to say about the UAE at all, but we are concerned about the suitability of this particular venue for a race like this."
BMW Oracle Racing is backed by San Francisco's Golden Gate Yacht Club. It has been testing its space age-looking trimaran in San Diego, California, since last autumn and will be here until November.
The legal bickering aside, the showdown between two of the fastest sailboats ever built is expected to provide the most extreme, spectacular racing in the 158-year history of the America's Cup.
The rare one-on-one match is the result of a convoluted, two-year court fight between billionaires Ellison and biotech tycoon Ernesto Bertarelli, who owns Alinghi and its 27-meter catamaran, Alinghi 5.
Also on Tuesday, BMW Oracle Racing named Australian Jimmy Spithill as helmsman for its races with Alinghi.
Spithill will be sailing in his fourth America's Cup.
The 30-year-old Spithill sailed with Young Australia in 1999-2000, when he was the youngest skipper in America's Cup history. He also sailed for American syndicate OneWorld in 2002-2003 and Italy's Luna Rossa in 2007.
New Zealander Russell Coutts, one of the most dominant skippers in America's Cup history, is BMW Oracle Racing's skipper and CEO. But Coutts said he's not sure how often he'll sail the trimaran, which will be renamed USA once sea trials are completed and a Certificate of Documentation is obtained from the Coast Guard.
Coutts sailed unbeaten through three America's Cup matches, the first two with Team New Zealand and then for Alinghi in its 5-0 win over the Kiwis in 2003. He was fired by Bertarelli and sat out the 2007 America's Cup, when Alinghi successfully defended the Cup with a 5-2 win over Team New Zealand.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
