Defenders Challenge New Zealand’s Use of Bowsprit

The America’s Cup challengers have taken their best shots at New Zealand’s bowsprit and failed, and now the defenders are oiling their legal chain saws.

On Monday, Tom Ehman, executive vice president/general manager of the America’s Cup Organizing committee, and Stan Reid, chairman of the Challenger of Record Committee, said they had written chairman Goran Petersson of Sweden asking the ACOC’s international jury to rule.

The issue involves not the legality of the bowsprit, which projects one meter beyond the bow of the boat, but the way the Kiwis use it in attaching one corner of the gennaker to it while it is disconnected from the spinnaker pole in the process of jibing--i.e., changing sails from one side to the other.

The CORC jury already has issued an interpretation and dismissed a protest by the Il Moro di Venezia team, upholding New Zealand’s procedure.

But Ehman, who represents the defense side of the competition, said he had received papers from both defense syndicates--America 3 and Team Dennis Conner--questioning the procedure.

“There’s no question that the bowsprit is legal,” Ehman said. “It’s how it’s used that’s in question. We do disagree with the Louis Vuitton Cup (challenger) jury’s interpretation.”

The surviving challenger will not meet the defender until the best-of-seven Cup match starting May 9, but Ehman said he wanted to settle the issue now.

“Given the apparent difference of opinion, we thought we’d submit it to the match jury so there’s no questions later,” he said.

The eight challengers also have been invited to submit papers on the bowsprit before 5 p.m. Friday.

No other International America’s Cup Class boat has a bowsprit.

The second round of defender trials will start Saturday. The second round of challenger trials will start Feb. 15, instead of Feb. 13 as formerly scheduled.