Kiwis Gallup Into a New Dispute : In Poll They Commissioned, Americans Say Sail America Unfair

Just when both sides of the America’s Cup had us thinking they’re getting along--hey, they did agree when to race--Michael Fay, head of the New Zealand challenge, got the ball rolling again Friday.

Fay, citing a Gallup Poll he commissioned earlier this week, said “a majority of Americans feel San Diego’s catamaran defense of the America’s Cup is unfair.”

“I think (the poll results) are the ultimate proof of the sense of fair play in Americans,” he said. “It’s something we have felt here in San Diego. I think it spells out a clear difference between the Sail America way and the American way. American people don’t like the concept of a mismatch.”

Efforts to reach Dennis Conner for comment were unsuccessful.

Sail America, however, provided a press release.

“In the entire history of the Cup, I doubt we have seen such a whiner and complainer as Michael Fay,” spokeswoman Lesleigh Green said. “He doesn’t want to race, and he will be whining all the way to the starting line. The court has said, ‘Get out and race,’ but he just won’t accept the judge’s ruling gracefully.

“(The poll) is just another, rather pathetic, attempt to curry favor with the American public and win sympathy in New Zealand.”

Fay has repeatedly argued, including in court, that the Americans were required by the Deed of Gift that governs the America’s Cup to enter a monohulled boat similar to that of the Kiwis. But a New York Superior Court judge has ruled that the Americans can race a catamaran, and any protests will have to wait until after the best-of-three event that is scheduled to begin Sept. 7.

If nothing else, the arguments have drawn attention. Seventy-one percent of the Gallup Poll’s 1,050 respondents--750 nationally, 300 in San Diego, all 18 years old or more--said they had heard of the America’s Cup; 51% said they were unaware of the controversy over the vastly different boats; 53%--the number that Fay trumpeted--said that it is not fair to allow boats of radically different designs to race against each other.

As to whether the poll accomplished anything, Fay said:

“Perhaps at this stage, I can’t change anything. I felt it was important to find exactly how Americans view the prospect of a mismatch. It might make our boat move faster: right is might. Our boat would need to go about 2 1/2 knots faster, but that’s another matter.”

Notes

New Zealand’s third broken bow sprit has been replaced, but the new one might cost the boat some speed, said Michael Fay and skipper David Barnes. . . . New Zealand returns to the water today after three days of mechanical checkups. It probably will be sailing alongside a 35-foot, American-built catamaran acquired Thursday. . . . Once again, Fay said he will seek the removal of the “720 rule,” adopted for this America’s Cup. The rule allows a boat to absolve a penalty by rounding a marker twice. Such a rule would encourage the usually fast-starting Dennis Conner to be more aggressive at the beginning, Barnes said. In the 1987 America’s Cup in Australia, rules allowed a jury of judges to disqualify a boat for infractions. . . . Barnes on the race: “One advantage we might have in very light airs, if the catamaran is a lot faster than us--which we know it will be--they could get so far ahead as to fall into a hole (dead wind zone), we may be able to back sail around them. In strong winds, gear breakages could play a big part, (Stars & Stripes) might be more susceptible.”