The finals for the America's Cup are set, and soon the waters off Auckland will host an epic struggle between teams from New Zealand, and as Bryant of Population One points out, land-locked Switzerland. Traditionally, the winner of the America's Cup gets to defend the Cup on its home waters. Which begs the question: just what home waters would Switzerland's Alinghi team defend the Cup on next time if it manages to win the Cup this year? Lake Geneva might be dazzling in the Summertime, but it isn't exactly the setting of choice for racing 12 meter yachts.
Well, not exactly. According to "The Protocol" that governs the current edition of the America's Cup, it is the Cup defender who decides the manner of where and when the Cup will be defended within certain specified dates. It doesn't specify that the Cup has to be defended on the home waters of the team that's defending the Cup.
So, in fact, if Alinghi wins, they can defend the Cup anywhere they darn well please. We may very well see the Cup defended in the waters of Rhode Island or San Diego once again, though one would think that a European location might be a more likely venue.
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