Russian Bid Appears Doomed : Sailing: Merger talks involving two syndicates falter.

D-Day for Russia’s chance to participate in the America’s Cup has arrived, with representatives of the Red Star ’92 and Age of Russia syndicates acknowledging that, barring a miracle, their nation will have no entrant when the challenger trials start Jan. 25.

Both sides agreed that any hopes of a reconciliation between the groups were doomed almost as soon as merger talks, which continued late into Saturday night, started.

“I’d say there will be no Russian presence,” said Red Star’s Tom Griffin. “All the deadlines have passed . . . It’s like the Hatfields and McCoys. The art of compromise has never been part of the equation in the last 75 years in Russia. It’s a sad situation.”

Age of Russia has its crew in place, and its boat should be ready within the next few days. But the syndicate has neither the blessing of the America’s Cup Organizing Committee nor the permission from the Port Security Committee to put it in the water.

Red Star, on the other hand, has the valid challenge, but its boat is stuck at a military base in Tartu, Estonia. It lacks the $150,000 transport fee--reduced from the original $450,000--to get it to San Diego by noon today, the extended deadline and the last day the Challengers of Record Committee has given it to be measured. And there was talk that the flight that was to transport Red Star’s boat was canceled.

ACOC General Manager Tom Ehman repeated his merger theme but said it’s out of his hands. As far as the ACOC is concerned, the Russians, as do the rest of the challengers, have until Friday night to name their boat. But since it hasn’t been measured, the burden to extend the deadline fall on CORC Chairman Stan Reid, who said Thursday there would be no more extensions.

“It’s up to Stan to extend the deadline,” Ehman said, “but the groups have got to get something arranged.”

Chris Haver, Cup director of operations for Knight & Carver, has been working closely with Age of Russia representatives to try and merge the efforts. Although Haver kept negotiations open until late Saturday, the last real glimmer of hope dissolved when telephone talks with Red Star ended earlier in the week.

Haver said Tinu Uranik and Valentin Stepanov, Red Star representatives in Tallinn, Estonia, where its boat was built, agreed to a five-point merger plan then did an about face a few hours later.

“They acted like they had never heard of our proposal,” said Haver. This display of diplomacy led Haver to believe that nothing short of a letter of transfer of power from Red Star president Oleg Larionov to Age of Russia can resolve the situation.

“Right now, I’d say the chances are one in a hundred,” Haver said. “I don’t see anything happening unless Larionov talks to Ehman and signs something that says Age of Russia is the valid challenger. The ball’s in Red Star’s court.”

Red Star has the ball but is stalling. Part of the problem is no one knows who is calling the shots. John Sawicki, who would love to house the Russian syndicate on a parcel of land in Coronado, declared himself the group’s official representative early in the week and hasn’t returned reporters’ calls since. Griffin, a clothing manufacturer, Chris Drake, a friend of the syndicate who just returned from Tallinn, and Jenik Radon, an attorney in New York, have all acted as Red Star’s mouthpiece.

In a late development Saturday night, Haver said Sawicki had arranged a secret meeting between him and VEK Vice President Michael Vesslov, Natasha Gracheva and five Age of Russia crewman. Gracheva said recently she was the group’s official spokesman, but Haver said she did so presumptously and was being sent back to Moscow.

The meeting, Haver said, was to discuss a merger and he is convinced that Sawicki won’t cut a deal unless he represents the emerging syndicate and it is housed on his property.

“But they can’t do anything without the boat,” said Haver, who represents the boatyard where Age of Russia’s boat is housed. “If he thinks we’ll release the boat after all the work we’ve done, the time we’ve put in, the money we’ve spent, he’s crazy. We won’t let them just take the boat.”

According to Haver, Age of Russia signed its boat over as security for the money Knight & Carver has put into the syndicate’s effort.

Another problem is that no one is sure where Larionov is. As syndicate head and president of the challenging yacht club, Ocean Racing Club of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Larionov holds all the cards, and it appeared he has folded. The last time anyone heard from him was via a letter faxed Wednesday to the ACOC.

“No one knows where he is,” Griffin said.

Ehman said Larionov is waiting at Tartu, where communications are limited. Haver said Sawicki acted as if he had talked to Larionov recently, but suggested that Sawicki’s unreturned calls to reporters weren’t a good sign.

“When he doesn’t talk, he’s in trouble,” said Haver, who suggested another possibility should the Russians be ruled ineligible.

“The team (Age of Russia) would like to stay,” Haver said. “What we’d like to see is someone like Bud or Coke come on board. It would be a great opportunity to keep the Russians involved. It would be something like the Olympics, they could have a demonstration team for the Russians, with corporate backers.”

Griffin, relieved the long ordeal might finally be over, said whatever transpires, Age of Russia isn’t immune to its own internal problems.

“I think you’ll see a split of the Age of Russia group, like we saw with Red Star,” Griffin said. “Then maybe they could call it the Moscow Circus. Pitch a big tent above the whole thing and sell tickets. Wouldn’t that be something.”