AMERICA’S CUP UPDATE : NOTEBOOK : Would Conner, Crew Change Boats?

The question was raised Saturday whether Bill Koch and Dennis Conner would consider Conner’s crew taking over one of Koch’s boats even if Conner wins the defender trials with Stars & Stripes.

“We don’t know enough about Kanza,” Conner said. “(But) I’d pick either one of the boats Bill has and be very comfortable.”

Koch said, “Gosh, I don’t know. I’ve got some problems with the IRS that I can’t put advertising on my boats.” Stars & Stripes tactician Tom Whidden said, “All three boats have a condition that each one is superior in, and there is a condition right now in which I think Stars & Stripes is the fastest boat.”

Despite sitting 1-3 with only four races remaining in the challenger semifinals, Nippon Captain Makoto Namba isn’t looking for an early exit.

“My boys don’t want to get back to Japan right now. April is very cold in Japan. But the end of May is a very nice time in Japan.”

A massive shuffle in the World Match Race rankings since last month’s Congressional Cup at Long Beach has two members of the New Zealand team first and third--but skipper Rod Davis isn’t one of them.

Davis fell from second to 10th, while backup boat helmsman Russell Coutts has moved past Nippon’s Chris Dickson into first place. New Zealand Coach Eddie Warden-Owen of Wales is third, followed by Peter Isler of San Diego, the only American in the top 10.

Ville de Paris tactician/performance Bertrand Pace moved up to fifth after finishing third in the Congressional. France’s starting helmsman, Marc Bouet, is 11th, one ahead of Il Moro di Venezia skipper Paul Cayard. Ville de Paris skipper Marc Pajot is only 38th but seldom competes on the circuit.

The rankings are somewhat misleading because they are based on performance over the last three years, with the mosrt recent years weightd heavier. Dickson, Davis and Cayard all figure to move up considerably off their performances in the Cup.