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Stars & Stripes granted delay |
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The International Jury for the Louis Vuitton Cup worked late following Wednesday's races (Tuesday in the U.S.), hearing a
request by Team Dennis Conner for 48 hours to repair its boat, damaged in
a collision with France's Le Défi. After hearing evidence about the
collision, the Jury also initiated a Rule 14 (Avoiding Contact) protest against
Le Défi.
The Jury will hear evidence in the Rule 14 case Thursday night. If it finds
against Le Défi, the French team, currently without any points, could
find itself with a negative score.
After hearing from the Chief Measurer Ken McAlpine and Stars & Stripes shore
boss Mick Harvey, and visiting the Stars & Stripes compound to view repair work
already under way, the Jury gave the American team 24 hours to complete repairs.
The Jury said it would consider additional time for repairs if Stars & Stripes
was able to show cause before at 6 p.m. NZDT (1 a.m. ET) Thursday.
The collision occurred at the end of the first spinnaker run, as Le Défi,
trailing Stars & Stripes and already burdened by one penalty, attempted to
unload that penalty by luring the American boat into a penalty situation. Instead, the
French boat hit Stars & Stripes, cracking the outer skin of the hull from the
sheerline to the centreline at a point about one meter from the extreme end of
the transom.
McAlpine and Harvey each gave evidence that it would take a minimum of 24 hours
to make structurally sound repairs to the American boat. It would take an
additional 24 hours to finish cosmetic work to return the boat to as-new
condition.
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AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Italy's Prada syndicate suffered a
major blow Wednesday when its mast broke during a race against
AmericaOne in the America's Cup challenger semifinals.
Prada, which led the teams into the semifinals, is 1-2 in the
six-boat series to determine the two challenger finalists. The
winner will face Team New Zealand for the America's Cup.
Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes won its third straight race
Wednesday, beating Le Défi Francais by 3 minutes, 6 seconds. In the
other race, Nippon beat America True by 1 minute, 31 seconds.
AmericaOne and Nippon are 2-1, America True is tied for fourth
with Prada at 1-2, and Le Defi Francais is 0-3.
Prada and Paul Cayard's AmericaOne were locked in a tacking duel
halfway up the first beat in perfect conditions -- flat water and
14-knot winds. AmericaOne was protecting the right side of the
beat, forcing Prada to tack each time they met.
At the second meeting, AmericaOne forced Prada back to
starboard. As the Italians neared optimum speed, the carbon-fiber
mast snapped between the third and fourth sets of spreaders.
No crewmembers were hurt and the top of the mast was secured to
the stump in the boat to prevent it from damaging the hull. A
towline was attached to the silver sloop to tow it back to Viaduct
Basin, where a spare rig was fitted. On Monday, Prada's boom vang
bent in a race against Stars & Stripes. | |
ALSO SEE
Semifinals schedule and results
Stars & Stripes stops Prada, becomes lone unbeaten boat
Jobson: Nippon's indescretion gives Kiwis an edge
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