| | AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Team New Zealand's chances of successfully defending the America's Cup were
greatly enhanced Wednesday when the Nippon Challenge reneged on the
unwritten agreement to refrain from speed testing against the defender.
In a well organized four-hour practice session, the Japanese and New
Zealanders tested upwind speed, downwind speed and starting drills. It was
a major blow to the other five challengers who begin racing in the
semifinals this weekend.
At a press conference on Thursday, American contenders Paul Cayard and
Dennis Conner blasted Nippon skipper Peter Gilmour for undermining the
challenger effort.
"One of the few advantages the challengers have is a greater number of competitors," Conner said. "I cannot understand what Gilmour was thinking."
It is clear that New Zealand gained a lot of extremely valuable information. They now know for the first time how their boat (NZL57) performs against Japan's Idaten (JPN52). By extension, New Zealand
now has a handle on their boat's speed by comparing Idaten's performance against the other challengers in round robin 3.
As recently as October, the challengers continued to pledge that no one
would take this action. At the press conference, Gilmour said there is
considerable precedent for this kind of trialing. But an indignant Conner said he has been around the Cup since 1974, and he had never done it.
My own recollection is that in 1987 the New Zealanders spent some time
tuning up Australia. Then in 1995, Young America spent a little time
against Chris Dickson's Tag Heuer. Neither boat reached the finals that
year.
Gilmour said he lacked a worthy adversary in his own camp and
needed the competition. But Paul Cayard told me, "We invited Nippon to
sail with us more than once, and they turned down our offer."
Gilmour left it open on whether he would spend any more time sailing against the Kiwis.
Certainly the challengers will continue to make progress between now and
the America's Cup. The other teams continue to say they will not sail
against Team New Zealand. Unfortunately Japan's indiscretion has seriously
hurt the challenger's chances.
Since the end of the round robins, all six semifinalists have been working
hard to prepare. Paul Cayard says, "The semifinals are the scariest round
for us. You just don't know when you will meet a boat in their perfect
conditions."
Cayard will be entering his new boat, USA61 which has performed faster than USA49 over the past two weeks.
Dennis Conner does not plan to sail aboard Stars & Stripes. During the
break, the team put new wings on its keel, installed a new rudder and will
be racing with a new sail inventory. Conner says Stars & Stripes is
sailing much better now.
America True has had an excellent run to date. Apparently the team has
modified its keel by taking some lead out and putting it in the bilge.
Under the America's Cup Class Rule, this potentially allows America True
more sail area. The boat looks more tender sailing. The team is very
confident that it will be able to advance. America True races Prada in
Race 1.
It is hard to know if Peter Gilmour learned anything from New Zealand
during his training period. The reports from on-the-water observers had
Nippon sailing slightly faster to windward and even downwind. Neither boat
seemed to have an advantage during the practice starts.
In a surprise move, Gilmour announced Thursday that his team would be using Asura (JPN45), the boat it sailed in the first two round robins. Nippon must have made considerable changes to this boat.
Internally, the Italians had quite a debate over which boat they would sail. Both Conner and Cayard told me they felt the first Italian boat was faster. Skipper Francesco deAngelis confirmed Prada would
be sailing its first boat in the semifinals.
During the break the French continued to make modifications to their boat, extending a stern scoop to give the boat more waterline in a search for upwind performance. The French are fast in light wind but struggle in a breeze.
The crowds around the waterfront have been huge. More than 1,000 spectator boats are
expected to be on the racecourse for the first day of the semifinals. Team
New Zealand certainly will be the most interested spectator now that it has some knowledge of its speed vs. Nippon.
That makes the task of the other teams a little more difficult.
Gary Jobson is ESPN's lead sailing analyst.
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ALSO SEE
U.S. skippers slam Gilmour for training with Kiwis
Nippon breaks agreement, sails against Kiwis
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