NOT NECESSARILY THE AMERICA’S CUP : Cup Bid Is Sweden’s Crowning Glory : Challengers: From the king to its skipper, the Swedes derive satisfaction from sailing, not the pomp and circumstance.

Called directory assistance, asked for the King of Sweden, got the palace.

“Yeah, the king, please. Have some questions about the America’s Cup.”

The receptionist in Stockholm bit her mother tongue, and replied in perfect English: “Who? The what?”

So here was the assignment: Write an America’s Cup story that is more fun than serious. Mission impossible, until you discover the Swedes, the king and their “wake me when it’s over” approach to these races.

The Louis Vuitton (yeah, the luggage guy) Cup challenger trials start in a week, and the Swedes got their boat wet for the first time Thursday. It didn’t sink, but then it still hasn’t left the dock. Italy, France, New Zealand, Spain and Japan have been riding the waves around San Diego for almost a year.

“They must be very bored,” said Gunnar Krantz, skipper for Sweden’s boat.

So what have the Swedes been doing in preparation for this intense competition?

“Well, they’ve been spending a lot of time in the employees’ cafeteria,” said Jessica Rogers, sales manager for the Hyatt Islandia, the San Diego headquarters for the Swedish Challenge.

The Swedish Challenge has 17 sailors here to ride their boat, and they eagerly await the first opportunity to race one of these International America’s Cup Class yachts.

“Touched one once,” Krantz said with a grin. “But never been a skipper on one. A few of the crew have been out on these yachts, but not everybody.”

But surely you guys have been out on the water?

“Well, frozen water,” Krantz said. “About a month and a half ago we raced boats on skates in Sweden. About 100 m.p.h.; it was a gas.”

The ho-hum racing on water, meanwhile, starts in a week for the challengers, and Sweden may need directions to find the course.

“It’s like driving a new car,” Krantz said. “The time that people spend on them is tuning the boat and making it go faster. Just to learn how to operate the boat around the course shouldn’t take too long.

“The big time-consuming part is the speed-making of the boat. That could consume a lot of time if we’re wrong in our design. It could be fast, who knows? But it could be a dog as well. We don’t know.”

To use an old Swedish expression, it doesn’t appear like these guys have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning all the luggage.

“I put a thousand bucks at 100-1 (in Tijuana) on us,” Krantz said. “Give me one good reason why we can’t win. We believe we can win; we just got a late start and that’s good.

“I believe too much time in the same place is not good for this type of event. You have to be late enough to be so cranked up to feel you have achieved something almost unachievable.”

That’s what the Chargers said when Marion Butts and Stanley Richard reported late to training camp, and they finished 4-12. Isn’t all this “too much time in the same place” chit-chat some sort of psychological ploy to downplay Sweden’s late start?

“Sort of,” Krantz said with a grin. “Sure, the others have experience here on the water, some of them have an advantage of having more boats and some have better technology. There are hurdles there for us, but we’ll cross them. We have only one chance and we believe we can do it. It’s like the U.S. team that won the Olympics in hockey; anything can happen.”

Krantz said the people of San Diego have been very kind to his country’s effort, but he said their reaction has left him puzzled. “Most of the people say, ‘I hope you beat Dennis Conner.’ I don’t know why. I’ve been wondering about that a lot.”

Back in Stockholm, the local newspapers have been telling their readers that the Swedish Challenge doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of capturing the America’s Cup. Obviously, the newspapers in Stockholm are not that much different from the newspapers in Southern California.

“I think it’s an ordinary boat, you know,” said Rune Manzon, motor sport editor for Dagens Nyheter. “What we have been saying is that the boat was too late in the water and they don’t have the right amount of money. No chance.”

Krantz nodded. “The media has been very tough (in Sweden). We have a blacklist like everybody else of journalists we won’t talk to.”

Is it possible to make a blacklist in two different countries?

“The people (in Sweden) think we are even bigger underdogs than the people here,” Krantz said. “They look at all the money some of these syndicates are spending and who is sailing these boats. And they say realistically we shouldn’t have a chance.

“But it’s good being the underdog. Imagine the amount of pressure on (Italy’s) Paul Cayard’s shoulders. They spent all those millions; for him it’s worst to end up second than for us to end up last.”

There are reports that Japan, New Zealand and Italy are spending in the neighborhood of $50-$60 million to pursue the America’s Cup.

“We are spending $11 million,” Krantz said. “I think it’s the Hyatt Islandia room rates that make the difference. But we have to pay for everything we destroy; I hate that.”

Now you know why the Hyatt Islandia housekeepers, grounds crew and everyone else who has come into contact with the outgoing Swedish Challenge came out in force this week to watch the boat hit the water for the first time.

These athletes remain approachable. Refreshing. They do not demand complete secrecy. They are having fun.

“I guess we’re opposite of everyone else,” Krantz said. “I think sailing is losing the happy atmosphere. That’s a pity. It should be relaxed as it has been, and then once you’re on the water, full steam ahead.”

You want to take a tour of Dennis Conner’s compound or watch Japan’s preparations up close and personal and you also better be packing the name and phone number of a bail bondsman. They have guards posted everywhere. If they pull their boats out of the water, they throw drapes over the bottom of the boats to maintain secrecy. The submarines will be on the watch for divers shortly after the machine gun nests have been put in place.

You want to take a peek at Sweden’s boat, drop on by. Bring the kids and don’t forget the camera. Bill Koch and Dennis Conner won’t appear at post-race press conferences; Gunnar Krantz may invite your whole family on board of Sweden’s boat.

“Every day there are people from the other syndicates coming over here,” Krantz said. “We’ll see them and they will be so shy and embarrassed, and we’ll say, ‘Come on, take a look at the boat.’ We had Paul Cayard here the other day, and he said, ‘Can I? Can I?’

“We should actually have a scorecard, a big board, with all the important names of who has been here and who hasn’t. ‘Who is it? Chris Dickson? Yeah, mark him down.’ They’ll come and try and avoid eye contact with us, and we’ll scream, ‘Hi,’ and wave. They can have a good look at the keel or anything they want.

“Think about it. Some of these people have been on the water for two years and we’re here with a week to go before the start and we haven’t been on the water. If they are interested in what we have, they have serious problems.”

The Swedish Challenge has one Woolworth padlock on a fence that is covered with see-through green meshing. No guards. No frowns from the crew.

“The only reason there’s a fence is because a car almost ran into the boat the other day,” Krantz said. “The sun was in the eyes of the driver, and it was like, ‘Oh, look at that boat,’ and it was almost, ‘Wham.’ Our liability insurance is not that good.”

The padlock on the fence remains open throughout the day. Those who are too timid to walk through the gate are able to walk on the rocks around the gate. There’s not a “Keep out” sign in sight.

“They don’t seem to be concerned at all,” said Jack Pierce, who walked through the gate unchecked with friend, John Hildebrand for close inspection of the boat. “We were talking to one fellow about the mast. Very laid back.”

Like the other syndicates, the Swedes have the keel and bulb covered. But unlike the other syndicates, the Swedes have used clear plastic.

“We used the plastic to keep the wind away from the workers,” Krantz said. “Everybody knows what the others have. When the boats are coming around the marks, they have divers there filming the keels. They can take an infra-camera and film through the cover and see a profile of the keel.

“We don’t have security cards, we don’t have to get all in a panic if we see diving bubbles in the water. We’re open here. The other syndicates are playing the America’s Cup game with corporate money. We’ve got nothing to hide.”

The blue and gold Swedish boat, which will be christened and officially named at 4:30 today, will remain on display behind the Hyatt Islandia throughout the racing schedule.

“The America’s Cup races are boring races because they’re so long,” Krantz said. “It’s like watching grass grow. So we’re trying to do our part for the people; we’d like to make it as exciting as possible by showing people these spectacular boats.

“I think the racing should be closer to land with smaller boats. It would be more intense, more unfair, like in here (bay). Unfair winds, yes? But it would be fun to watch. Let’s make it exciting for people or otherwise I might be out of a job. It seems to me it’s like designing the best car available and then not showing it to anybody. Who would want to buy it?”

The Swedish Challenge, which has received a boost from Scott McAllister’s expertise, has received funding from a variety of sponsors, including Saab Automobile and TV 3 in Sweden.

King Carl XVI Gustaf is an honorary member of the Swedish America’s Cup Challenge. Might the interested king take a ride in the 17th position on Sweden’s boat during the Louis Vuitton Challenge?

“I doubt that,” Krantz said. “I could not say, ‘King, shut up.’ It would be a little difficult.

“But he’s very involved. I’ve talked to him about the America’s Cup. He’s every interested in sailing. He’s very fired up about this. He gets weekly reports from us.”

Back at the palace, the receptionist said she would transfer the call to the aide-de-camp or the first marshall of the court.

“Yeah, the king, please. Have some questions about the America’s Cup. And Sweden’s boat. It’s a big deal, you know. Lots of excitement. Important stuff here.”

Before hanging up, the voice on the other end of the telephone replied: “The king’s out of town.”

Why sure. That’s it, he’s on his way to San Diego for the chance to watch the exciting chase for the America’s Cup in person.

“No,” said the reporter in Stockholm, “he’s gone skiing.”

STANDINGS

Defender Selection Series

First Round Robin

Boat Syndicate Pts Defiant America3 2 Stars & Stripes Team Dennis Conner 1 Jayhawk America3 0

Tuesday

Defiant (Buddy Melges) def. Stars & Stripes (Dennis Conner), 1:34

Wednesday

Stars & Stripes (Conner) def. Jayhawk (Bill Koch), 4:10

Thursday

Defiant (Melges) def. Jayhawk (Koch), 3:47.

Friday

Lay day

Today

Defiant (Melges) vs. Stars & Stripes (Conner), 12:15 p.m.

Sunday

Jayhawk (Koch) vs. Stars & Stripes (Conner), 12:15 p.m.

Monday

Lay day

Tuesday

Defiant (Melges) vs. Jayhawk (Koch), 12:15 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 22

Defiant (Melges) vs. Stars & Stripes (Conner), 12:15 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 23

Jayhawk (Koch) vs. Stars & Stripes (Conner), 12:15 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 24

Lay day

Saturday, Jan. 25

Defiant (Buddy Melges) vs. Jayhawk (Bill Koch), 12:15 p.m.

Challenger Selection Series begins (opponents to be determined).