Thanks to the internal dynamics of Oracle BMW, Paul Cayard is sitting out what would have been his sixth America's Cup instead of racing in the semi-final repechage.

But Cayard has visited Auckland briefly, sniffed the air, talked to his sources and has his finger firmly on the pulse.

Would he like to be part of the next Cup? Yes. Would it be with a US team? Unlikely. Keep your eyes peeled on developments in Italy. Cayard has argued for a long time that the Cup needs to move on from its defender-dominated ethos, that there should be an independent, permanent management; that teams ought to be a magnate for sponsors rather than millionaires, because the Cup was attractive enough with measurable returns on sponsor's expenditure.

So what of the current influx of just millionaires, but billionaires? "In the short term, the Cup is still not really self-supporting. The $80-90 million these guys are willing to put in is not justifiable in most commercial markets," says Cayard of the Ellisons, Bertarellis, Allens, McCaws and Bertellis.

Having struggled to raise funds for his AmericaOne effort last, a nerve-wracking, energy sapping exercise, Cayard watched the way the game changed this time with acute interest. "As soon as a billionaire walks in, there's no limit to the number of well-funded programmes. There is a talent limit however. There's been a big mix to get top talent in the teams. Basically between four teams we hired 320 people in six months following the last Cup. The design budget is double that we were working with last time spread over two-thirds as much time. The sail budget is quadruple. The salary side is triple. But we only operated full time at AmericaOne for one year. At Oracle BMW Racing, it's two and half years."

In this way, some 50 per cent or more of the top teams' budgets have been absorbed by the wage bill and the level of teams shot up to unprecedented levels.

This is the marvel of Team New Zealand. Having lost half of their squad, having no sugar daddy patron and having to raise corporate cash in the tiny Kiwi economy, no one but no one is expecting the Kiwis to be anything other than a potent defender in the 31st Match. Remarkable really.
Tim Jeffery, 22 December 2002