Alinghi is the syndicate set up by Ernesto Bertarelli, racing under the colors of the Société Nautique de Genève, to challenge for the America’s Cup, as well as other competitions. Bertarelli had raced several smaller yachts named Alinghi previously, but 2003 was his first attempt at the America’s Cup. Alinghi challenged for and won the 2003 America’s Cup in AucklandNew Zealand and successfully defended it at the 2007 America’s Cup in Valencia, Spain. Alinghi lost the America’s Cup to the Golden Gate Yacht Club and their team BMW Oracle Racing in a Deed of Gift match in Valencia, Spain in February 2010. For the 2003 event, Team New Zealand as the holder of the America’s Cup, in consultation with Prada, the Challenger of Record, removed the nationality rule that stipulated that all of the crew members must be nationals of the challenging syndicate.
Alinghi took full advantage of this rule change and hired many of the world’s top America’s Cup sailors particularly from New Zealand. New Zealanders saw the defection of key members of Team New Zealand to Alinghi as an act of disloyalty to their home country—understandable against a background of strong nationwide public support for Team New Zealand that they saw as representing their country rather than just representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.
After a series of discussions with Team New Zealand it was announced that they would compete in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series in 2009. In July 2010, it appeared that the team was being disbanded and would not compete in future America’s Cups. On 26 November 2010, Alinghi formally confirmed that it would not participate in the 2013 America’s Cup.
[caption id="attachment_25484" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Jean-Baptiste Colbert by Robert Nateuil[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Jean-Baptiste Colbert was a French politician who served as the Minister of Finances of France from 1665...
