AMERICA’S CUP : Kanza, Stars & Stripes in Sail-Off

Dennis Conner wasn’t expecting a break from rival camp America 3 Sunday.

Nonetheless, in this semifinal round of the defenders’ trials, he got one.

Conner assumed that the result of the intramural race between Kanza and America 3was predestined. America 3needed the victory to force a sail-off today between Stars & Stripes and Kanza, and keep alive the possibility of an all-America 3 final.

But Bill Koch’s camp will have to work all night to pull it off.

As helmsman Bill Campbell rounded the fourth mark, Kanza sustained a broken mast ram, rendering the vessel helpless to continue.

“It’s a big race (today). We’ll have a good share of the team, 16 or 17 of the guys who won’t be racing, working on the boat. It’ll be an all-night affair,” Campbell told ESPN’s Gary Jobson on board Kanza after the breakdown.

Vince Moeyersoms, part of Koch’s design team, said there is a hydraulic mast ram that controls the mast in the fore and aft positions, and attached to the mast ram is a chainplate. “Basically, this plate, on the first 135 degree reach, failed,” he said.

When the chainplate failed, it crushed the ram up and went through the deck. The mast ram, located below the deck, was intact, but crushed through the deck.

“There are two dangers when that happens,” Moeyersoms said. “Suddenly, nothing’s holding the mast, it starts moving back and forth and you’re risking damage to the mast. The other danger, by the ram being crushed, you could have endangered the structure of the keel.

“It’ll be all right, it’ll be fixed tonight,” said Moeyersoms, downplaying the damage but conceding that if the damage had come against Stars & Stripes today, another “did not finish” would be likely.

Chris Dickson sailed Nippon with a broken boom during the challenger trials, but Moeyersoms said this was a different case.

“The guys would have to look at (finishing the race) carefully,” he said. “It’s pretty hard to get around the course without a mast or a keel.”

But Kanza’s trouble began long before the fateful first leg of the three reaching laps. Kanza spotted her stablemate a 2-minute, 16-second lead at the second weather mark, just 10.75 nautical miles into the 20.03 nautical-mile course.

In nine knots of wind, the boats got off to an even start. But on the first starboard tack off the line, with Kanza in the controlling position, Campbell tacked away. With the move, Kanza gave up the control, and Koch never looked back.

Did Campbell make a bad tack?

Campbell explained that a sudden shift of wind to the left enabled America 3 to get his bow out on Kanza.

“Once the guy from leeward bow’s out on you, it’s tough to build speed, and you quickly fall into them,” he said.