Eagle Gets a Break at Beginning, but Things Get Tougher

Eagle and skipper Rod Davis could get off to a fast start in the first week of America’s Cup competition off Perth but will face some severe tests at the end of the first round of challenger trials.

The Newport Harbor Yacht Club’s entry will race lightly regarded Challenge France in its first match race Saturday. French Kiss, the stronger French boat, and Dennis Conner’s Stars & Stripes could be difficult on Days 2 and 3, but then Eagle will face Courageous and Azzurra in its next two match races.

Davis’ extensive match-racing success in world-class events gives him a personal edge on most of the field, aside from boat comparisons.

But later, on the last four days, Eagle faces New Zealand, Britain’s White Crusader, America II and Canada II--all of whom are given a good chance of reaching the semifinals in January.

With 13 challengers, each boat will race every other boat for a total of 12 races, with one lay day each to absorb the odd number.

Each victory in the first round is worth one point, escalating to five points in the second round in November and 12 points in the third round in December, after which the top four boats will advance to the semifinals. The races are scheduled to start at 10 p.m. PDT (1 p.m. the following day in Western Australia) and will take about four hours to complete the 24.1-mile distance.

America’s Cup Notes Opening-day pairings Saturday (10 p.m. PDT): Eagle vs. Challege France, Azzurra vs. French Kiss, Stars & Stripes vs. Italia, White Crusader vs. USA, New Zealand vs. Heart of America, Canada II vs. America II (Courageous bye). . . . The British (White Crusader) and two Italian syndicates are all sailing their original new boats instead of the second models they built. New Zealand, the only fiberglass entry in the otherwise all-aluminum field, America II and Stars & Stripes are all sailing their third boats. . . . Rumors from Fremantle, as forwarded by Peter Campbell of the Melbourne Herald: Dennis Conner returned from a quick trip home to San Diego, went out immediately for a practice race with his old nemesis, Australia II--and lost. Aussie II, succeeded by Aussies III and IV, isn’t even entered in the defender trials. The new boats are said to have super-wide winged keels, almost as wide as the beam. Also, the Italians are so discouraged that they have already booked passage to be home for Christmas.

EAGLE’S FIRST-ROUND OPPONENTS

Boat Country Skipper Challenge France France Yves Pajot French Kiss France Marc Pajot Stars & Stripes United States Dennis Conner Courageous United States David Vietor Azzurra Italy Lorenzo Bortolotti Heart of America United States Buddy Melges USA United States Tom Blackaller Italia Italy Aldo Migliaccio New Zealand New Zealand Chris Dickson White Crusader Britain Harold Cudmore America II United States John Kolius Canada II Canada Terry Neilson