AMERICA’S CUP UPDATE : NOTEBOOK : Kiwis’ Charge on Finalists’ Hulls a Case of Sour Grapes, Official Says

SAN DIEGO — New Zealand syndicate charged after it was eliminated that Americac,63 and Il Moro di Venezia have been using illegal drag-reducing finishes on their hulls but that the official measurers were ignoring it.

Chief measurer Ken McAlpine said, “First, the Kiwis were eliminated before this issue was raised. Second, they’ve known about this since October of last year. Third, we have carried out tests which we believe adequately demonstrate that there are normal paint surfaces on both of the finalists--and every other boat that’s been here, too.”

One suspicion was that the finishes contained substances with banned fluoride or Teflon or both. McAlpine said the only secret ingredient is elbow grease.

“About the best surface you can get is a 1200-grit wet-and-dry-sanded surface,” he said.

New Zealand demanded that samples be taken and sent to an independent laboratory, which it recommended. McAlpine said that would cost $1,000 for each boat.

Instead, McAlpine said, “We went ‘round with a bucket of saltwater and rubbed the surface. We know what it feels like.

“The rules say that only ‘normal paint finishes’ are allowed to be used. It’s just a paint, and I assure you I could walk into Kettenburg’s (marine hardware) in the next half-hour and walk out with the right color even of that particular paint that is on both boats.

“Had the Kiwis come to this thing while they were still in the regatta, we probably would have done it. (But) there was a fair element of sour grapes.”

One suspicion was that the two surviving teams decided to hush it up because they both were doing it.

McAlpine said, “If both parties were doing the same illegal thing, we’d be on it like a ton of bricks.”

Most of the skippers/helmsmen in this Cup are members of the International Sailors Assn., an organization of sailors involved in the world match-racing circuit.

Their Omega World Cup annual championship for the top 10-ranked competitors is scheduled at Long Beach Aug. 18-22.

The rankings are based on events over the past three years, with recent and more important events weighted heavier, so success in the Cup will move several of them up significantly.

Il Moro di Venezia’s Cayard is expected to become No. 1 off what he has already achieved in reaching the Cup match, and even Conner could find himself in the rankings once again.

Conner was ranked seventh after winning the Cup back five years ago, but asked to have his name dropped because he didn’t plan to compete on the circuit and being ranked behind six other sailors didn’t do his reputation any good. The organizers refused but Conner eventually dropped out of sight by attrition.

Gilmour said the ISA has about 100 dues-paying members, at $75 for skippers and $25 for crew, and the organization has ideas for improving the America’s Cup.

One would be to cut costs by having the Cup on a regular two-year schedule to reduce obsolescence of the boats from one event to the next. Another would be for a shorter duration--perhaps two months instead of four--and shorter but additional races.

Chris Dickson said, “The problem with the America’s Cup is there is not $30 million worth of mileage for a sponsor.”

Another idea would be to eliminate secrecy and hang out the “Open to Public” signs.

“There’s a spirit of competition we have to engender into this event, rather than having everybody on a war footing,” Gilmour said.

Although the ISA seems well-organized, Gilmour doubted whether the sailors would play hardball with promoters--such as threatening a boycott--to get their way.

“We’ve discussed this,” Gilmour said. “It’s not in our interest to use our clout to dictate how we want an event to conduct itself.”