You can yacht be serious: Larry might be planning his own version of America’s Cup

Oracle CTO Larry Ellison is reportedly launching his own world boat racing title – just months after his team was spanked at this year’s America’s Cup.

According to yachting commentator Rob Mundle, Ellison is planning a world series with events held across the world.

In a report on his website based on what he described as "reliable sources", Mundle said teams from the USA, Sweden, Japan and France are now "committed to the event".

Mundle added that the final prize would be provided by Louis Vuitton – a regular sponsor of the America's Cup, one of the world's oldest international sporting trophies.

The move comes after Oracle Team USA's latest attempt to win the 2017 America's Cup was scuppered, with the final score in the June comp being 7-1 to Emirates Team New Zealand.

Team Oracle has had a chequered past with the America's Cup – in 2013 the team admitted illegal modifications had been made to its 45-foot AC45 catamarans.

And getting at Oracle's prowess on the waves certainly seems to be one way competitors try to get up Ellison's nose – Splunk recently chose to tease him about the loss in response to criticism of the analytics biz at the OpenWorld gabfest.

"We've been bringing machine data from trains, planes and automobiles into Splunk for years. We can bring in boat data as well. There's a free cloud trial of Splunk that could help you analyze the Oracle yacht data," Splunk CEO Doug Merritt said last month.

"We realize it's a bit late for that this year. We're happy to help you try and win the America's Cup back next time you compete."

Seems like billionaire Larry is taking a different tack.

Oracle did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ®