AMERICA’S CUP / RICH ROBERTS : New Zealanders Have Firm Hold on Every Helm

The America’s Cup not only lacks enough boats for all of the great sailors of the world, there aren’t even enough boats for those from New Zealand.

“There are only seven jobs,” says John Cutler, who is happy to have one with the Nippon Challenge.

New Zealand not only loaded up two boats with as many Kiwis as it could but the country’s talent has slopped over into the rest of the fleet. All four boats in the challenger semifinals starting March 18 have New Zealanders at the helm. Along with Russell Coutts at the helm of unbeaten--except on a protest--Team New Zealand and Chris Dickson’s TAG Heuer Challenge, Cutler drives for Japan and Rod Davis for oneAustralia.

Then there is Leslie Egnot, who steers the America 3women’s boat, Mighty Mary, in the defender trials.

Only those boats that did not have Kiwi helmsmen failed to make the challenger semifinals: France, Spain and Australia’s Sydney 95. Syd Fischer had four people steering his boat. Perhaps he should have tried a Kiwi.

The two-island nation of only 3 1/2 million also has dominated the last two Whitbread Round-the-World Races, and Peter Blake, who heads Team New Zealand’s syndicate, last year set a record when he sailed around the world in 75 days.

Cutler sailed Nippon into the semifinals behind Team New Zealand, oneAustralia and TAG Heuer by a slightly smaller margin--13 seconds--coming from behind at the last mark of the last race of the round-robins to beat Spain’s Rioja de Espana by two boat lengths, just when France seemed to have a foot in the door.

“Very scary,” Cutler said of the race.

“The Japanese, lacking a strong competitive sailing background, have come to terms with foreigners sailing their boats.

“The Nippon Challenge, even though it’s a Japanese challenge, is not as nationalistic as it may appear from the outside,” Cutler said.

In fact, it’s a remarkable mix of cultures from four continents. The amiable Makoto Namba is skipper and navigator, but the crew of 16 also includes Cutler’s New Zealand tactician, Peter Evans, as well as two Britons and two Americans, Bill Campbell and Hartwell Jordan. The shore support team is equally diverse.

Cutler, 32, was Chris Dickson’s tactician on the Japanese boat when it reached the semifinals in 1992. When Dickson went home to build his own team, Cutler stayed on to compete for the helmsman’s job and now, with Evans at his side, has won status alongside Dickson, Coutts and Davis in one of sport’s most exclusive clubs.

“It’s something I’ve been striving for,” he says. “You can’t say I’m the equal of these guys, but we’ve held our own. We try hard. We’ve been trying to learn a lot in two years, what Davis and Coutts and Dickson have learned in five or 10.”

Until rivals protested, Nippon coach Peter Gilmour, an Australian and the top-ranked match racer in the world, sailed as Nippon’s “non-contributing” 17th man, literally looking over Cutler’s shoulder and offering his critique at the end of each day. It helped lift Cutler to a higher level, but when Gilmour was forced off the boat it might have been the best thing for Cutler, allowing him to settle into the role.

Cutler has studied his rivals’ styles. He believes Coutts hasn’t yet had to show his best moves because the Black Magic has been so fast.

“Those guys have sailed a little bit loose, without having to work the start,” Cutler says. “Russell can be exceedingly aggressive in the pre-start if he’s forced to be. As the competition gets closer, you may start seeing that.

“Davis seems to be more relaxed. Once he’s across the starting line, he really starts sailing well. He doesn’t get passed in a lot of races. He positions the boat well.

“Dickson is a little different from Davis and Coutts. He has a flair for unpredictability. He can switch from a classic match-racing style to just splitting away if he believes it’s the right way to go.”

And Cutler?

“I have no idea what my style is. Maybe not quite as relaxed and free-flowing. I’ve had some good moves.”

America’s Cup Notes

The Young America yacht was slightly damaged on Sunday while it was being transported to a training session. It fell off a 10-12 foot wave while under tow and the impact caused damage to the forward underbody of the boat. No one was injured in the mishap as the boat was being taken to a training session in the waters off Point Loma. Team spokeswoman Dawn Umemoto said the boat was not taking in water but the crew had secured the boat with emergency flotation bags in preparation for its return to the syndicate camp.