OneWorld may fall into one-and-done group

OneWorld. OneTry?

Alas, it might be true — even with the cards seemingly stacking up in favor of a second Seattle-based campaign for yachting's greatest prize.

With the Swiss boat Alinghi putting the final coat of shellac on an unexpectedly hapless New Zealand Cup defense effort yesterday, the America's Cup is on its way to Europe — the very place OneWorld syndicate head Craig McCaw said he would prefer to re-wet his feet in pursuit of sailing's greatest prize.

The next Cup competition, in summer 2007, likely will be modernized and revamped in many of the ways McCaw said he would require before deciding on a second run.

And there's this: The newfound knowledge that OneWorld's USA-67, one of only two boats to beat the juggernaut Alinghi squad in the regatta, may well have given the claptrap Kiwi boats a run for the money, if not beaten them outright.

But unless another Uncle Paul Allen benefactor comes along, don't expect to see the blue boats flying the Seattle Yacht Club burgee in '07.

"I'd give it a very slim chance that we'll be a sponsor again, as OneWorld — under the same ownership," OneWorld spokesman Bob Ratliffe says. "I don't think it was a bad experience for Craig or Paul. Of course, winning would have made it a lot better."

It's not like the Cup's new power brokers don't want the Seattle group back. Larry Ellison's Bay-Area Oracle camp has made great show of the fact that it's been selected by Alinghi as the "challenger of record" for the next Cup — the syndicate representing all challengers in negotiations over rules and formats for the next contest. But it apparently wasn't Alinghi's first choice.

The role also was offered up to OneWorld's McCaw, who was in Auckland last week for the Cup finals. He said no thanks, Ratliffe reports — because he has yet to commit to a second attempt.

"Craig is weighing all the options," but a carbon-copy OneWorld Challenge isn't likely without the addition of another major sponsor, Ratliffe suggested. Allen, McCaw's 50-50 partner this time out, isn't expected to be interested in a second try.

Hard to blame him. He never got fully engaged in the campaign. And when he did set foot in Auckland, he saw his boys spanked 4-0 by the USA-76 boat owned by Ellison, a man who Allen, by all accounts, considers to be about as much fun as flesh-eating bacteria.

There's a sense that if OneWorld can't continue, its owners would love to give a head start to another U.S.-based effort capable of scuttling the good ship Larry.

"Craig feels very strongly that he wants there to be a strong American team in the next Cup — hopefully in addition to Larry Ellison," Ratliffe said. "He would like to be part of that, or at least have the (OneWorld) assets be part of that."

One option would be to sell the syndicate to another challenger, but maintain a partial ownership role. Another would be to sell the whole thing and say, "Well, that was an experience," Ratliffe said.

Either way, McCaw is likely to weigh the options a bit longer.

The large number of challengers expected for the next Cup will put training boats such as OneWorld's USA-65 and USA-67 at a high premium. Their value is only likely to increase as time goes on.

On the other hand, OneWorld's crew, including skipper Peter Gilmour and highly touted helmsman James Spithill, both of Australia, is under contract only until the end of March. So there's some pressure for McCaw to make a decision one way or the other by then.

But a Euro-Cup campaign might not be as attractive to McCaw as expected. Learning that the Kiwis were ripe for defeat this time around cuts both ways: McCaw may now look at OneWorld's third-place finish as an ever increasing opportunity lost. Nobody expects Alinghi to mount a defense as poorly conceived, financed or executed as the New Zealand effort, which will go down as one of the most inept in Cup history.

Money remains tight, and the challenger of record will be Ellison, who already has vowed to spend whatever's necessary to return America's Cup to America.

Given all that, it's probably selfish of Seattle's sailing faithful, which found itself downright silly with enthusiasm for the enviro-themed OneWorld campaign, to ask McCaw to spend $100 million to bring the Cup to Seattle. Or, failing that, at least keep Ellison's sticky fingers off of it.

That doesn't mean they should pass at any chance to remind him of the lesson of Alinghi's Brad Butterworth and Russell Coutts, who responded to ringing Kiwi cries of "traitor!" by skunking their own ill-prepared countryman in the Cup finals:

Revenge on the water is especially sweet.

Ron C. Judd: 206-464-8280 or rjudd@seattletimes.com