Attempt to outlaw keel backfires

Press, 3 August 1983, Page 40

Attempt to outlaw keel backfires

NZPA Newport, Rhode Island The New York Yacht Gub’s attempt to outlaw the America’s Cup campaigner Australia II lay in ashes yesterday. In addition, the club that has held the cup since 1851 was chastised for the way it released the claim against the top challenge contender.

The chief measurer in yachting’s supreme body, the International Yacht Racing Union (1.Y.R.U.), said as far as he was concerned Australia 11, with its revolutionary design, was legal.

The official, Tony Watts, added Shat if he did decide

to refer the yacht club’s claim that the keel was unfair to the 1.Y.R.U., he believed it would agree with him. But the N.Y.Y.C. had not been courteous enough to send him a copy of the claim, said Mr Watts, and he expressed surprise at its timing: “If this had been done at the outset, one could have treated it in a more dispassionate way,” he said from Los Angeles. “But at this stage, with the measurers having approved it, and the yacht having raced in 36 races, to start objecting is surprising to say the least.” 4 Earlier other

challenge campaigners closed ranks in support of Australia Il’s rating. In doing so, they resisted the club’s efforts to find someone who would oppose the dominating yacht of the elimination series, said Australia H’s syndicate director, Warren Jones. “We believe they would have liked one of the other challenge campaigners to pick up the baton,” he said. “We are delighted that nobody did.”

In a memo to Mark Vinbury, one of the three official measurers, the N.Y.Y.C. puts forward a case that Australia Il’s winged keel makes the rat-

ing unfair. Mr Watts said Mr Vinbury had spoken to him about the memo: “As far as I am concerned the keel is legal,” he said. “Because the 12 metre class is a development class, we have got to accept there will be developments.” In the memo, the N.Y.Y.C. claims that because the wings are “peculiar” they give the yacht a benefit not contemplated by the rules. Hence Australia II is unfairly rated. But Mr Watts said: “Whether it is advanced enough to warrant exception gander the ‘peculiarity’ rule’s doubt. There is a list

of other developments such as the trim tab and the bustle which are all precedents.” Mr Watts said that if the N.Y.Y.C.’s memo was to be taken up, the I.Y.R.U.’s keelboat technical committee would be the body that ruled whether Australia H’s keel was legal. “If I was going to refer it at all to the full committee that would be in November, which would be too late.” In the meantime the committee’s executive, consisting of Mr Watts and the chairman, Beppe Croce, of Italy, could give an “interpretation.” J. “I still haven’t sptSen to

the chairman, and I can’t say what he would do,” Mr Watts said, “but my feeling is that there would be no problem here.” Since making the memo public, the yacht club has made no comment. Its author, the America’s Cup Committee chairman, Robert McCullough has gone on a week-long cruise. When told this, the club secretary, Vincent Monte Sano, said: “I’m not surprised.”

Australia H’s Warren Jones was yesterday asked his opinion of the N.Y.Y.C: “It’s a lovely old building with some beautiful model boats inside,” he said.