Sail America Syndicate Gives Its OK to British Sail-Off With New Zealand

As New Zealand set course back to court, San Diego’s Sail America syndicate Thursday gave its blessing to a late British entry in this summer’s America’s Cup competition.

“Sounds fine to us,” said Sail America executive Tom Ehman, explaining that the syndicate delayed its response to English financier Peter de Savary’s proposal for a challengers’ sail-off only until it could determine what kind of boat he would bring.

“He has now told us that the yacht will be between 60 and 65 feet,” Ehman said.

That will be about the size of a conventional 12-meter yacht but much smaller than the boat Auckland merchant banker Michael Fay has built: 90 feet at the waterline and 125 feet overall.

But Sail America designer John Marshall speculated that to suit San Diego’s light winds, the English boat won’t be much like a 12-meter.

“For a boat of that size to be competitive, it will be some radically different concept from Fay’s,” Marshall said. “Possible unballasted.”

That would mean no lead keel--essentially, a giant dinghy on which stability would be controlled by shifting the weight of the crew.

The sail-off is scheduled for late August. Sail America intends to sail one of two 59-foot catamarans it is building--a plan Fay has said he will challenge in court, along with Sail America’s announced plan to start the defense series Sept. 3 instead of Sept. 19, as New Zealand insists it should be.