Paul Cayard has been demoted as Sailing Manager of Larry EllisonÕs Oracle AmericaÕs Cup Race Team which is one of three US teams challenging for the Cup. Surprisingly, Cayard will remain on the payroll, but will not be present for the forthcoming trials in Auckland. John Cutler will take over as the new Sailing Manager and it seems likely that Peter Holmberg, who recently won the Colorcraft Bermuda Gold Cup, will take over as skipper, replacing Chris Dickson who left the Oracle Race Team earlier in the year.

While reasons for the latest Oracle move remain unclear, there is speculation that billionaire Larry Ellison likes to be in charge of his own destiny which includes sailing on his own boats, and finds it hard to come to terms with spending money promoting the reputation of others.

CayardÕs AmericaÕs Cup involvement goes back to 1980 when he sailed with the late Tom Blackaller. In 1986/87 in Freemantle he raced as tactician, again with Blackaller and in 1992 skippered Raul GardiniÕs Il Moro di Venezia to victory in the challenger series before being defeated by Bill KochÕs America3. Recognised by Dennis Conner, he then went on to helm Stars and Stripes three years later, won the defender trials but was beaten by New ZealandÕs Black Magic in the finals. His final blow was last year when his own AmericaOne team narrowly lost the challenger selection trials in New Zealand to the Italian Prada.

With such a lot of AmericaÕs Cup experience under his belt, it seems unlikely Cayard will be out of a top job for long.