AMERICA’S CUP ’92 : AMERICA’S CUP UPDATE : No Effects of Spill Reported
It’s being called one of the worst such spills in the nation, but the people you’d expect to be at least indirectly effected are hardly giving it a second thought.
Round 2 of the America’s Cup defenders’ trials begins Saturday, three miles off Point Loma, amid a 180-million-gallon spill of partially treated sewage that caused Gov. Pete Wilson to declare a state of emergency Thursday.
Yet the two defending syndicates, Team Dennis Conner and America 3, don’t seem concerned.
“It was played down in today’s meetings,” said America 3 representative Sue Maffei. “I’m sure some of the crew has probably sailed in worse waters, like in New York maybe.”
“We haven’t noticed it, to be honest,” said Stars & Stripes tactician Tom Whidden, who added that going through the San Diego Bay channel didn’t seem to make a difference. “We’ve done that two days in a row and it doesn’t seem to be a big problem.”
The America’s Cup Organizing Committee said it didn’t expect the flow to affect the regatta.
“You can actually see the spill,” said Tom Ehman, ACOC general manager. “But it doesn’t affect the course at all. The only thing, if the tide is south, then the spectators’ boats will have to go through it. So far, the teams I’ve talked say they haven’t seen anything.”
Bill Koch’s America 3 (say “America Cubed”) syndicate has named its new, third boat-- ta-da!-- America 3 (ditto).
Now they are deciding whom to name skipper--Koch or Buddy Melges.
Think they’re eager? On Thursday both were in the yard under the boat helping the crew wet-sand the hull. It’s messy, dirty work, but a syndicate insider swears it’s true. Smooth is fast.
Is the new boat is as fast as Defiant?
“They don’t know, or they would have picked which boat to put in which slot,” Stars & Stripes tactician Tom Whidden said.
The Cubens haven’t said which boat they’ll have in the B slot to send out against Stars & Stripes Saturday when the second round starts off the Point Loma sewer. Defiant was 6-0 for six points in the first round. Jayhawk was 0-6 for zero points. Victories count two points in the second round and four in the third.
Stars & Stripes also will look different, but only to Amir Pishdad.
He’s the professional diver caught by New Zealand trying to take pictures of its boat last week.
“We did a modification to our keel and moved our rudder forward, for balance,” Whidden said. “We’d like to think it’s gonna be a little better in light wind.
“We built sails for the areas where we thought we had weaknesses, (such as) reaching, that we hope will get us through this round. We hope we went to school on what the other guys had and did a good job.”
