AMERICA’S CUP : Conner’s Crash Causes Loss to Kanza

The issue was helmsmanship, but let the record show that Bill Koch had nothing to do with it.

Instead, it was Buddy Melges who steered Kanza in front of Dennis Conner, who drove Stars & Stripes into the side of the America 3 boat on Tuesday.

Who was to blame?

The on-water umpires couldn’t tell, so they said no one.

But they did say it was Conner’s fault that Stars & Stripes then “creamed” the last windward mark buoy--tactician Tom Whidden’s description. Stars & Stripes’ subsequent compulsory penalty turn at the finish line tilted the race to Kanza by 57 seconds.

The result left Stars & Stripes’ magic number for advancing to the defender finals at two. Any combination of victories for itself or losses for America 3, the boat, which it meets today, will do it, but that may be an elusive achievement.

For one thing, Koch finally has decided whether he wants to (a) steer his boats or (b) win the America’s Cup. He steered only the three reaches in the middle of Tuesday’s 20-mile race and let Melges do the rest, and later said Melges would steer exclusively in light-wind races.

Then, wearing a shirt with a bull’s-eye on the back because “when anything bad happens I seem to get blamed,” Koch finally named a starting crew lineup.

Dawn Riley, the only woman sailing here, didn’t make the cut.

Koch also said he had exercised the option Conner owed him to modify America 3 during a round with a new keel and ballast change to speed it up in light wind.

Il Moro di Venezia (5-2) clinched a spot in the challenger finals starting April 19 by outsailing the French (3-4) by 1:28.

New Zealand (5-2) came from behind to eliminate hard-luck Nippon (1-6) by 31 seconds but needs one more victory or another French loss to advance with the Italians.

The Kiwis meet the French today.