Alinghi, Oracle talks set for Apr. 23

Representatives of defending champions Alinghi and US challengers Oracle will meet in Geneva on April 23 to discuss the format and rules of the next edition of the America's Cup, Oracle said.

The Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) of San Francisco, which represents Oracle, late on Friday released a letter in which it accepted an invitation to the meeting from Alinghi's representative, the Societe Nautique de Geneve (SNG).

The talks are set to take place three weeks after a New York court backed Oracle over the Swiss champions in the conclusion to their long-running legal battle over the rules of the next edition of yachting's premier event.

That ruling means that, barring any other agreement between them, the two teams must hold a best-of-three duel involving multihull yachts.

But Oracle said in its letter that it wanted to talk to Alinghi about a traditional regatta, involving the 18 challengers registered for the 33rd edition of the event, to be held in the Spanish Mediterranean port of Valencia in 2010 or 2011.

Alinghi won the last America's Cup, held in Valencia in 2007, beating Team New Zealand in the final.