America’s Cup Trials : Fiberglass War of Words Continues

If the shrill comments of American rivals Dennis Conner and Tom Blackaller about New Zealand’s flying 12-meter sailboat were meant to shatter glass, they failed.

Michael Fay, New Zealand syndicate chairman, answered Conner Tuesday by saying, calmly: “I think perhaps his remarks were a little further than he wanted to go. I believe that, when pressed, Dennis specifically said he wasn’t accusing the New Zealanders of cheating. I give him the benefit of the doubt.”

As for Blackaller, Fay said: “I don’t think, with due respect to Tom Blackaller, he knows what he is talking about.”

Conner asked Monday why anybody would build a 12-meter of fiberglass instead of aluminum, “unless you wanted to cheat?”

Blackaller suggested that the Lloyd’s Register of Shipping rules were “out of whack” if they said a competitive 12-meter could be built of glass.

Fay spoke at an informal press conference at New Zealand’s headquarters while KZ7 sailed to its 20th straight win, blowing away Azzurra by 6 minutes 8 seconds. Skipper Chris Dickson took the day off, and tactician Brad Butterworth steered the boat.

Fay, 37, an Auckland financier, wore a blue golf shirt, smiled a lot and patiently answered every question of half a dozen reporters.

“I would have thought everybody is getting thoroughly sick of this,” he said. “We assumed, a little bit like ‘keelgate’ in 1983, that the only different boat here would be the subject of a certain amount of interest. We also assumed that the better the performance on the water, the greater the interest would be.”

The glass boat may be the winged keel revisited for Conner. Like the Australians’ submerged secret, New Zealand has something good he’s dying to know more about.

“I think you should ask Dennis Conner, or ask a psychologist, what’s he doing?” Fay said. “Is he really aiming at us, or is he beating himself over the head with it?

“I’d suggest to him and his syndicate that if they are convinced in their own minds that the boat is illegal, then they should protest. We’ve been saying that to them for three months.

“In terms of the four semifinalists, the procedures for remeasurement are there. In the final elimination series, there’s a procedure for a full re-survey. Lloyd’s can do anything they want to.”

Except take core samples of KZ7’s hull, which Conner has proposed.

Bill Packer, general manager of the America II syndicate, said Tuesday: “If I was general manager for New Zealand, I’d have drilled the darn thing two months ago. They are legal, and they know they’re legal. Why not put it to rest?

“Isn’t it very likely that if they’re the challenger, they’re gonna be protested by the defender? That would make ’83 look like a picnic.”

Fay replied: “We won’t allow core samples because Lloyd’s themselves have specifically stated that that is a destructive method of testing, a disadvantage in terms of the structural integrity and a weight penalty in reinstating the boat.”

Packer said: “That’s nonsense. What are you talking about, a pound? Two pounds? When you’re winning races by 10 minutes?”

Fay disagreed. “What you’ve got is your business,” he said. “Besides, I think people are not looking at the reality of the New Zealand effort and seeing the strengths of very good crew work, an excellent afterguard (skipper, tactician) performance and a very well-designed 12-meter boat, a lot of time spent here on the water, a very good management input.

“We’re starting to get letters now from the American people supporting the New Zealand position, saying, ‘We’re sympathetic, good luck to you guys, we don’t like the call from Conner.’ The first letter turned up the other day with a $10 U.S. check.”

Fay, who formed the syndicate with the hope that a successful America’s Cup effort would boost New Zealand’s economy, explained why fiberglass was chosen as the material.

“Not to cheat,” he said, smiling. “Ask Tom Blackaller, ‘Why did you try to build in fiberglass?’ (Johan) Valentijn with Eagle tried to build in fiberglass. Five syndicates, to the best of my knowledge, approached Lloyd’s for this regatta with requests for fiberglass boats.

“It’s an easier material to handle. It’s a stiffer, stronger boat.”

But the others couldn’t figure out how to do it within the 12-meter rule.

Packer said: “We weren’t able to do it. The Kiwis may have something we don’t. In 1983, we didn’t know about the winged keel, either.”

According to Fay, some of the aluminum boats, having been knocked around in the rough water here, may have trouble remeasuring.

“Some of those boats out there are flexing a lot more,” he said. “The glass boat is exactly . . . we’ve had no problems since the day we launched it in Auckland.”

America’s Cup Notes

In Tuesday’s most important race, sailed in punishing 30-knot winds, fourth-place America II struck gloom in the British camp when it beat White Crusader by 1:47. British skipper Harold Cudmore had trouble raising his headsail before the start and never caught up. Now he’ll have to beat New Zealand and Dennis Conner’s Stars & Stripes to reach the semifinals. . . . Second-place French Kiss, 10:10 over Heart of America, and fifth-place USA, 5:39 over Canada II, beat crippled foes. Heart shredded two spinnakers, lost a man overboard momentarily, then tore its mainsail. Canada II snapped its main halyard. . . . Italia merely sailed around the course for a default victory over Challenge France, which quit the competition Monday. Stars & Stripes had almost as easy a race with a 10:11 margin over Eagle. Both jumped the gun and had to re-start, then Eagle was over early again and had to re-start a second time. Eagle also broke its spinnaker pole for the second time this week. . . . A defenders showdown turned into a walk for first-place Kookaburra III when Australia IV broke its headsail halyard during pre-start maneuvers. Aussie IV sailed the course with main only and retired while trailing by 22:07 three-fourths through the race. . . . Improved Steak ‘n Kidney (3-24) finally held together and upset Kookaburra II by 2:08. The latter blew out a spinnaker.