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DON'T tell Aussie Senator Ian 'Humourless' Campbell but I cracked up in unison with oneAustralia.

 The America's Cup sinking of the so-called super sloop brought back memories of that English eccentricity, the University Boat Race, and old footage showing one of the vessels slowly filling with water.

 The sight of the muscle-bound University Blues becoming increasingly bluer as they started to tread the icy water of the River Thames was 'Keystone Cops' comical. It's worth the watching every year in the hope of a repeat.

 OneAustralia's demise was an altogether more serious affair, but given that all the crew managed to abandon their disintegrating ship and were plucked to safety it does have its funny side.

 Steinlager, which is supporting New Zealand's bid for the America's Cup, certainly thought so. Their ad department came up with the wonderful line that 'there's one thing that goes down faster than an Australian yacht - Steinlager' and plastered it prominently across newspapers a day after oneAustralia was submerged.

 That did not amuse the aforementioned Senator Campbell, who you will not be surprised to learn is a yachtie himself and sailed for Australia in the Olympics.

 'It's like a death in the family,' said the old salt. 'It's just not funny.'  It was left to Foster's, whose logo was seen disappearing into the briny on the mast of oneAustralia, to fight New Zealand wit with Aussie wisdom.

 The brewery took out an advert of its own which read: 'We'll just have another Foster's and get on with winning.'  In fact, the sponsors must be secretly glad at oneAustralia's wave-borne ruin as they have been able to generate precious little publicity from this particular Challenger Series.

 The organisers, in a bid to turn back the clock to more traditional times when the yachts were not moving billboards, ruled that only a country's name should appear on the hull.

 Most participants, being millionaire types in it for the sport not the money, agreed and the results have reflected this with Team New Zealand beating the Nippon Challenge and so on. But hold on, what pray is the Tag Heuer Challenge doing in there and who is the mercenary Chris Dickson representing this time?  It seems that Dickson's craft set sail without a name on the hull, just Tag Heuer on the sails. So instead of calling it the 'boat with no name' journalists have been endorsing the watchmaker in newspapers around the world while the other sponsors have had barely a mention. Clever stuff, indeed.

 And if you think this most interminable of sporting contests must be nearly over, think again. They are just approaching the semi-final stage in deciding who's going to race who for the America's Cup.

 Gripping stuff it's not but with the possibility of another belly-laugh as US$3 million of high-tech yacht design is slapped down by Mother Nature, you may as well stay tuned.



It's not funny - but it is hilarious