War of words over rules

SAILING

STUART ALEXANDER

reports from San Diego

After a short lull in the America's Cup, during which the five syndicates opened their doors to the opposition as well as the public to show off their boats, the war resumed among the three defender syndicates yesterday. The two challenger finalists renew hostilities today.

In among the introduction of "appendage packages" to lunchtime topics of conversation, there was also, as always, alittle war of words going on in the background about the rules of the competition. It had seemed that the defenders had found a way of driving a coach andhorses through the concept of making no changes to a yacht once it had been declared.

The defence syndicates seemed to have taken control of the event from the San Diego Yacht Club's defence committee, but the president of AC '95, Chuck Nichols, was keen to emphasise that the defence committee was in charge. He said that no change meant no change, and that any private deals between the syndicates allowing change would be quashed.

He also wanted to assure the challengers, who are sailing to tighter rules, that the conditions for the America's Cup match, due to begin on 6 May and still unsigned, will not leave things ambiguous, nor will they mean shore crews working through every night reconfiguring the boats.

The hulls, which along with sails and rigs contribute far more than the keels, bulbs, wings and rudders people were poring over yesterday, cannot be changed.

The two neatest boats were the two favourites, Kevin Mahaney's Pact '95 for the defenders and Peter Blake's Team New Zealand for the challengers. Four of the five had drooping wings of different sizes and shapes on the keels, the only horizontals being on Pact's Young America.

The whale-tail on the bulb on the keel and a full-depth thin rudder, giving both steerage and hydrodynamic lift, on America3's Mighty Mary were the two most extreme appendages on show.

The most eggs in a basket have had to be placed by John Bertrand's oneAustralia. He has added length and given up some sail area, as well as apparently narrowing the waist of his remaining yacht. "The changes have been big everywhere," Iain Murray, designer and crew member, said.

If they had done nothing, they would probably have lost 5-0 to TNZ, skippered by Russell Coutts. It looks as if Bertrand has placed a lot of faith in his weather man, Roger Badham, and will be hoping for fresh breezes.