Frenchman Gets Fine and Punishment : America’s Cup: The French budget consultant embarrassed his countrymen by accepting a dare. He was fined by police and banished by the syndicate.

In the old days they would have ripped off his epaulets and banished him to Devil’s Island.

Instead, Yvon Kergreis paid a $40 fine and Le Defi Francais--the French America’s Cup syndicate--sent its budget consultant packing in disgrace for diving around the rival Nippon boat in, apparently, an embarrassing prank Sunday morning.

San Diego police took Kergreis, a French citizen, to the station and cited him for the misdemeanor of diving in a no-diving area of Mission Bay.

The French apologized to the Japanese, who accepted but seemed to take the incident seriously. Only two days earlier the Japanese were badgered when New Zealand questioned their practice of switching forward rudders between races in the third round, so their patience may have been thin for practical jokes.

The French compound is about 200 yards away on Mission Bay, but Kergreis was believed to have entered the water elsewhere.

“We are tired of these espionage activities,” Nippon syndicate chairman Tatsumitsu Yamasaki said. “We strongly feel that this act of espionage violates the spirit of the America’s Cup.”

Skipper Chris Dickson said, “Certainly, we’re very disappointed. I guess now that the French have seen our keel, maybe Marc (French skipper Marc Pajot) would like to invite me along tomorrow morning to have a look at his keel.”

As Pajot looked down the dais at Dickson in some confusion, Dickson added, “He thinks I’m kidding.”

Asked what kind of equipment the diver was wearing, Dickson drove his needle deeper: “Maybe Marc could tell you.”

Pajot said, “I understand the position of Chris. I don’t think it’s a good thing to do, playing a spy sport. I’m disappointed.”

Pajot also said, “I don’t think there’s any advantage,” because even if they did like the Nippon keel, it would take a minimum of three weeks to build and install a new one, and by then the trials would be over.

Kergreis told French syndicate personnel he was acting on a dare from friends.

Francois Giraudet, project manager for Le Defi Francais, said, “It was kind of a joke (Kergreis) made with some friends. It was crazy. He’s fired and he’s left San Diego, and we’re sad about that. I think he lost his dare.”

Kergreis, described by a colleague as one of the least likely team members to do such a thing, was caught by the Japanese at 10 a.m. as they took their boat out of its pen for Sunday’s race against New Zealand. Dickson and other crew members saw flippers in the water as the boat was being towed about 30 yards from shore.

Kergreis was wearing a wetsuit but had no camera gear, which would have been standard equipment for a serious spy, like the one New Zealand caught under similar circumstances several weeks ago.

Dickson said, “He was offered the customary cup of Japanese green tea and he said in very bad English he’d prefer espresso coffee. His Spanish was non-existent and his French was immaculate.”

The Japanese, who lost to New Zealand by 1:43 Sunday, found no damage to their boat.

An unidentified leader of the syndicate was reported to have told Kergreis that the French had worked hard to build goodwill among their rivals and the San Diego community, “and you have put all of that in jeopardy.”

Kergreis, who had brought his family to San Diego, had been with the team for eight months. He was on his way back to France by sundown.