America’s Cup Challengers Ready for Round 2 : Some Are Pleased With Their Performance, Others Are Seeking Improvement

Crewmen are joking less and scrutinizing their weaknesses more with the first of the big point America’s Cup challenger matches starting Nov. 2.

The second round carries a 5-point bonus for each victory and then a whopping 12 points for each win in the third round robin starting Dec. 2.

Gone are the casual approaches, explanations that sail inventories are low and rationalizations that each race isn’t all that important when a victory counts for only one point as it did in the first round robin that ended Oct. 19.

Quick winning predictions have also evaporated now that the competitors have sized each other up.

Even normally confident Dennis Conner of the San Diego Yacht Club’s Stars & Stripes, sharing first place with the New York Yacht Club’s America II and New Zealand, says only that he’s “cautiously optimistic” about winning back the prize he lost three years ago.

Notes NYYC skipper John Kolius, using the break to practice against his trial horse US44, “We learned a good deal about our competition and more importantly about ourselves.

“We saw some pretty close stuff out there,” Kolius says, mandating that the crew press forward with sail development and crew training instead of taking time off.

Conner, Kolius and New Zealand’s Chris Dickson dominated the first round robin series. Each lost only one race, finishing with 11 points out of a possible 12.

Others at the end of the first round with one point per victory were White Crusader (Britain) and USA (U.S.) each 8 races won and 4 lost, Canada II and Italia each 6-6, French Kiss 5-7, Eagle (U.S.) 4-8, Heart of America (U.S.) 3-9, Challenge France 2-10, Azzurra (Italy) and Courageous IV (U.S.) each 1-11.

The specter of five points per win in the second round combined with the onslaught of the legendary Fremantle Doctor, a sea breeze expected to usher in strong winds during November, has left the top three helmsmen reluctant to even speculate about each other.

“I’ve seen Chris in only one condition--12 knots, and he had a 300-yard lead,” says Kolius. “I’ve seen Dennis only in 13 to 14 knots. There’s a long way to go. You have to see them in different conditions.”

Equally cautious is Dickson. Describing his KZ7 as presently in a “light-weather mode,” he said, “Each round-robin will be a different story. We won’t be in the same mode in a month’s time, and I wouldn’t expect they (America II and Stars & Stripes) would be either.”

The Kiwis are spending the days between races practicing starts and evaluating sails, while the Stars & Stripes crew is concentrating on preparing the boat for the heavy weather ahead.

No one has ignited as much speculation as Tom Blackaller. The colorful San Francisco skipper and his disciplined crew are showing the most startling improvement as they gain mastery over their “revolutionary” 12-Meter.

Tied with Great Britain’s White Crusader at 8-4, Blackaller admits his U.S.A., featuring two rudders with one forward of the unconventional keel, “is different than any other boat we’ve ever sailed.”

The first round robin provided his team with the opportunity to learn the quirks and master the steering system.

“The mysteries are clearing up,” Blackaller says. “It’s been like refining a dinosaur, but we’re in the control phase now. We are very, very hopeful we can optimize the boat and realize her full potential.

“This break is valuable for us. We’re putting to work all the things we learned so we’ll be a lot better prepared for the November series than we were for October.”

With U.S.A. prompting anxious looks from other helmsmen taken aback by its increasing speed, Blackaller says he’s “very, very happy” with the boat designed with the assistance of a scientist.

Blackaller “will be on top or out,” says White Crusader helmsman Harold Cudmore, who is counting on a new keel and the high-technology capabilities of his 12-Meter to ensure a spot in the semifinals among the four surviving challengers beginning Dec. 28.

For multiboat syndicates, the intermission offers the sole opportunity to switch to another yacht for the rest of the competition. While substitution means the loss of all points from the first series, that’s of little consequence when few races were won.

Italia is hanging in among the leading yachts with a 6-6 record, a considerable accomplishment considering the newest boat sank at the launching when a crane toppled over.

With Italia II barely rebuilt and untuned, the second-string Italia was entered for the first round, with the hope that the newer boat would be competitive in time for the second.

Chief helmsman Tommaso Chieffi is counting on Italia II to carry the Genoa, Italy syndicate into the top four contenders.

“The modifications are finished. We’re taking it step-by-step. Italia II was originally slower, but now we believe she is the faster.”

Chieffi acknowledges there is not much time to tune a 12-Meter between round-robins, and the selection of Italia II could backfire.

For some of the single-boat syndicates which fared poorly, surgery has been the No. 1 priority.

Heart of America, with 10 inches added to the overall length of the keel and more than 1,000 pounds of interior ballast moved, will point higher, says skipper Buddy Melges.

Finally armed with a sufficient arsenal of sails and a new mast, Melges, at 56 the oldest helmsman, figures his 3-9 record will rapidly improve.

“Our boat is near to its optimal mast tune,” he said. “Now that our sails are in hand, we are using the best technology available to recut and reshape them every day.

“The Kiwis, America II and Stars & Stripes are at the top of the game right now and have given us a target to shoot at. This first tuneup period has provided us with valuable input to utilize during our downtime.”

Melges, known as the “Wizard of Zenda” in his Wisconsin hometown, isn’t underestimating the competition.

“They’re a tough lot. But no one is so much better he can’t be beaten.”

With the graphically dazzling Eagle hauled out of the water, skipper Rod Davis explains about 1,500 pounds of weight have been removed and sail area has been increased.

“I’m not proud of our racing record,” says the Newport Beach skipper with a 4-8 record. “Obviously, we’d like to win every race. But we’re looking at the first round robin as an opportunity to access our strengths and weaknesses. That’s why we’re making changes. When something is out of whack, the boat goes slower.”

Davis, in his fifth Cup campaign, candidly says, “I really, really do want to win. There’s a lot on the line.”

Casting an affectionate look at the two bald eagles painted on each side of the boat, Davis adds, “We’d like to get seven or eight wins in the next series and keep climbing” in the final round robin. We’re very serious. We don’t joke around. The important thing is where we go from here. And we wouldn’t be working this hard if we didn’t think we could make it.”