BMW Oracle takes Alinghi to court

BMW Oracle's yacht club has taken Alinghi's club to court, claiming the Swiss syndicate have accepted an ineligible challenger for the next America's Cup and are seeking an unfair advantage over their rivals.

The Golden Gate Yacht Club said it filed a lawsuit against Societe Nautique de Geneve (SNG) in New York on Friday after Alinghi ignored an informal complaint from the US team.

The protocol Alinghi and the new Club Nautico Espanol de la Vela (CNEV) signed as soon as the Swiss team won the 32nd America's Cup does not specify where or when the racing will be, nor exactly what boats will be used.

Alinghi has said the next America's Cup will be held between 2009 and 2011, depending on whether they stay in Valencia. They also said the next races would be sailed in longer boats but have not published exact measurement rules.

San Francisco-based GGYC, which was represented by software mogul Larry Ellison's boat BMW Oracle in Valencia, has made its own challenge for the next America's Cup but Alinghi have not yet accepted it.

Under the Deed of Gift, a challenging club must hold an annual regatta on an open arm of the sea. GGYC has argued CNEV was not a valid challenger because it had never held a regatta.

The New York supreme court has jurisdiction over the Deed of Gift, the document that has ruled the America's Cup since 1857.