Withdrawal Of Australia's Hamilton Island Leaves America's Cup In Limbo

The America's Cup is "in limbo once more and looks likely to remain that way for a while yet," according to Dana Johannsen of the NEW ZEALAND HERALD. Hamilton Island Yacht Club has withdrawn, "leaving the event without a challenger of record." Hamilton Island CEO Iain Murray said that a "lack of clarity on the most basic of details made it impossible for the team to pull together the funds needed for a credible campaign." Murray: "The timeline is the killer in this Cup. Sponsors want to know where the venues are, and the dates. The gap gets pretty wide trying to get the sponsors to commit against the timeline of the expenditure." Where Team Australia's withdrawal leaves the next event "remains unclear." Cup organizers do not "seem to be in any hurry to clear any of that confusion up -- the only communication coming from the America's Cup Events Authority since Team Australia's withdrawal was in the form of a vaguely worded press release" (NZ HERALD, 7/23).