More from the Slimefest

On the way home today, after beaching my kayak in the mud by our neighborhood's lake access point, I got some mud on my feet that had to be washed off at the house. That didn't take long.

It wasn't until afterward that I learned of some much more odiferous, long-lasting muck and mire, also known as news from the sleazefest formerly known as the America's Cup Yacht Race, more recently turned into an expanding career field for attorneys, solicitors, card sharps, hustlers, procurers, pirates, panderers, Swiss billionaires, and other delightful citizens of the netherworld.

Hints are now being let out about the secret cheaters' agreement made between cup defender Bertarelli (via his legal squadrons and SNG club creation) and the International Sailing Federation, ISAF. It seems that the application of racing rules 62 and 64 may be abridged in their secret deal, perhaps allowing Bertarelli to curb the power of any pesky juries or judges and control any annoying redress situations.

In other words, Bertarelli isn't content to be merely the event organizer and defending champion; he seems to want to be judge, jury, and executioner of the Cup as well.

After all, who would want such a thing as fair competition with transparent, even-handed rules administered by impartial judges? Certainly not the one responsible for organizing that travesty of sport called the America's Cup Defense.

Conflict of interest? No conflict at all -- in each of his roles he's in total harmony on his plans to befoul the oldest trophy in sport.

Oh yes, he may have also found a creative way to wreck the work that went into the design of Oracle's boat by applying an "interesting" or "creative" measurement interpretation -- and maybe even assigning himself ultimate power over any measurement disputes. That's also par for the course for this Captain of Slime.

If it has secretly agreed to limit its own powers to enforce fair competition and provide for just redress, ISAF may have seriously damaged its own credibility and given sailors significant reasons to doubt its ability to serve as a fair, unbiased referee for the sport.

What's next? How low can these clowns sink the sport's reputation? Will it get so bad that pro wrestlers, track touts, back-alley pool hustlers, roller derby queens, cock fight promoters, and television reality show hosts will refuse to associate with sailing lest it damage their reputations and tarnish their sports by association?


Update: Sailing Anarchy reveals that the secret agreement between Big billionaire Bertarelli (via Societe Nautique Geneva/SNG) and the International Sailing Federation is no longer secret.

<<....the agreement gives SNG wide-ranging unilateral powers over both ISAF and GGYC in the running and judging of the next Cup match. one section ... "gives SNG carte blanche to do whatever they want and ISAF can't say 'no'." Why? Because that same clause expressly requires ISAF to sign off on any Amendment to the RRS or existing interpretation of the Rules that SNG feels like dreaming up....>>