During the Allianz Cup Larry was interviewed by the AP's Bernie WIlson (USA, San DIego), who has covered the Cup for the Associated Press well and for as long as we can remember. Bernie's story is now on the AP wires and running in papers around the world -- including a nice spread in yesterday's International Herald Tribune.

BMW Oracle Racing aims to bring America's Cup within shadow of Golden Gate Bridge
The Associated Press

Less than six months before the America's Cup begins in Spain, the top sailors with the only American-backed syndicate got a breathtaking reminder that victory will mean more than just spraying champagne and hoisting the silver trophy.

If BMW Oracle Racing can return the America's Cup to America for the first time since 1995, the next regatta likely would be sailed with a spectacular backdrop including the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, the Coit Tower and the Transamerica pyramid.

"This is the greatest natural amphitheater for sailing, perhaps in the world," software mogul Larry Ellison said in San Francisco during the recent Allianz Cup, a stop on the World Match Racing Tour.

Ellison and others with BMW Oracle Racing already know what it's like to have 80-foot (24-meter) America's Cup sloops, with mainsails as big as Boeing 747 wings, tacking along the cityfront.

Three years ago, BMW Oracle Racing and America's Cup winner Alinghi of Switzerland sailed an exhibition regatta here, with spectators watching from the shore and nearby buildings. It was mostly smooth sailing, except for when a massive container ship steamed through the course, leaving the rich guys no choice but to yield the right of way.

"A lot of people said, 'Oh, you couldn't race the America's Cup in San Francisco Bay,'" said Gavin Brady, a New Zealander who lives in the U.S. "I think this would be one of the coolest places to run the America's Cup."

When Cup races are held offshore, boats can be separated by hundreds of yards, making it hard to tell who's in the lead.

On San Francisco Bay, "It's like going to a NASCAR race on a small track," Brady said. "There's no big straight. They can't get far enough away from each other, just bumping and crashing. 'Which side of Alcatraz is he going to go? Geez, he went on the other side of Alcatraz!' The whole thing would be an awesome spectacle. It really would change the face of the America's Cup."

Dreams are one thing. Then there's reality.

"First we have to win it," cautions Ellison, the CEO of Oracle Corp.

To claim the oldest trophy in sports, BMW Oracle Racing will have to top 10 other challengers in the Louis Vuitton Cup beginning on April 16 in the Mediterranean off Valencia, Spain, then knock off Alinghi in the America's Cup matches beginning on June 23.

Ellison and his skipper, New Zealander Chris Dickson, say BMW Oracle Racing is in good shape 3 1/2 years into a four-year campaign. After 12 pre-regattas that have filled the gap since the 2003 America's Cup, the U.S. team is ranked second, right behind Team New Zealand, the hard-luck loser in its home waters three years ago.

Then known as Oracle BMW Racing, the American-sponsored crew made it to the Louis Vuitton Cup finals before losing 5-1 to Alinghi, which went on to sweep Team New Zealand.

That campaign had its share of upheaval. The intense Dickson was banished from the boat for a time due to friction with teammates. When Ellison reinstated him, there were some races when Dickson replaced Ellison in the brain trust at the back of the boat.

"I think that's all behind us," said Ellison, who sometimes steers the America's Cup boat, which has a crew of 17 plus one observer. "Chris is the boss. He's the CEO of the syndicate. As it became very clear in the last campaign, I was on the boat at his pleasure. He's the boss and we all salute."

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