14Th August 2009 Dear Editor, Your Blog on “Future Technology” (

14th August 2009 Dear Editor, Your blog on ªfuture technologyº (http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2009/08/future- technology.html) , it©s reference to the legality of use of 3DL sails and the constant innuendo over possible legal action by BMW Oracle to try and show that the Alinghi 5 catamaran has not been « constructed » in Switzerland leads me to write on the meaning of ªconstructedº as it applies to the Deed of Gift. Defining the qualities of the yacht or vessel protagonists, the Deed of Gift says they must defend or challenge: « ...with a yacht or vessel propelled by sails only and constructed in the country to which the Challenging Club belongs, against any one yacht or vessel constructed in the country of the Club holding the Cup. » (Emphasis added) The 1887 edition (the year of the Deed and which I have here) of Websters Dictionary defines the word « construct » as follows: « To put together in their proper place and order the constituent parts of; to build; to form; as, to construct an edifice. » So quite simply « constructed » does not mean that every single « constituent part » of the vessel has to originate or be manufactured in the country of the challenging OR defending country. It simply means what is says - that these components must be « put together in their proper place and order... » in that country. If an American architect designed, and an American company constructed, a White House « edifice » in Washington that included Italian marble, Portland stone, Burmese teak, Honduran mahogany, French porcelain, and then covered the beds with Egyptian cotton sheets, would that be any less American as an « edifice ». Of course it would not. The inclusion of the past participle of « construct » in the Deed of Gift, which, as Websters shows us, is patently clear in itself, needs also to be understood in the context of the Americas Cup at the time, because this really does clarify the point. Challenging yachts or vessels, mostly British at that time and for many years, had not only to be « constructed » in the country of the challenging club, they also had to be sailed to the venue of the match on their own bottoms. This of course gave the American holders a huge advantage. Whilst they could build light and fast inshore yachts suited to defend in their chosen waters and winds, the Challengers had to build ocean going vessels just to get there! The requirement to sail to the venue on their own bottoms thus precluded the Challenger from the « construction » of lighter, faster, competitive yachts in their own country and the subsequent dismantling thereof, for shipping and re-assembly once at the venue of the match. Are BMW Oracle, and other partisan writers I have read, seriously trying to tell us that George Schuyler used the word ªconstructedº when he really meant the Deed to say: « Only organized yacht club from a foreign country ........ which have all the indigenous raw materials and manufacturing facilities to produce every single component to be used in the construction and sailing of their vessel, including: oil, refineries, teak, wood, iron, steel, cotton, lead, hemp, all tools, Kevlar, composites, electronics, computers, silicon, their own national GPS satellite systems, software engineering expertise, LCD screens and all and every one of their components, 3D modeling analysis, and all the relevant Patents thereof registered in the same country, etc, etc., shall be able to compete for the Cup, excluding all others ». If that were the case then so surely he would have said so. I will be surprised if GGYC do not try and muscle that interpretation through the New York courts just, as I see it, they have successfully muscled their way, as two time losers, to the « world championship » without any qualifying bouts on the way and sweeping all others aside. If they succeed, it would reduce the Americas Cup to a contest between yacht clubs of large, powerful, industrialized and elite nations with specific natural resources and manufacturing abilities. It would mean, in fact, that the « friendly » Vanuatu Cruising Yacht Club, which qualifies as a bona- fide challenger on all other points, would thus be precluded from challenging. Surely, George L Schuyler did not intent that? I will finish on another point. I think that the Deed of Gift should now be amended to preclude any defeated challenger, like GGYC, and not just their boat as the Deed instructs, from challenging again until a different and valid challenge has been accepted by the Defender and the match decided. Just imagine!..... ªThis affidavit attests to the fact that our challenge was delivered to the defender 0.001 seconds before the challenge they have accepted. We therefore ask the court to set aside the accepted challenge and declare us Challengers of Record according to the Deed of Gift º. We must all prevent this wonderful competition from sliding deeper into a mire of legal warfare for decades, until GGYC, or Larry Ellison, eventually manage to win the Cup, one way or another. Yours faithfully, Tim Abady P.S. This letter is Certified as being written in it©s country of origin (France), in a foreign language (English), on a foreign computer (Taiwan) and using a Chinese made winch ± er sorry ± cordless mouse with an electrical supply from a Japanese generator using diesel fuel from Iraq. Is it therefore disqualified? .

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