Compromise not ruled out—Fay

Press, 7 March 1988, Page 44

Compromise not ruled out—Fay

NZPA Los Angeles The America’s Cup challenger, Michael Fay, refused last evening .to rule out acceptance of a compromise from the defending San Diego Yacht Club that would result in a 1989 race. Answering questions at the California Yacht Club about his America’s Cup challenge, Mr Fay admitted that the issue I of sportsmanship was his “Achilles heel”. He was asked if he could accept an offer from San Diego, which has so far not been proffered, that would entail sailing the cup match next May instead of this September, in 90ft mono-hull yachts off San Diego and with a multichallenge format. Mr Fay said he would be “troubled” by such an offer, implying that it would be sporting to accept it but at the same time it would mean giving away his current advantage. “Right now I’m ahead. Am I going to drop my sail and wait?” Mr Fay said he would “take on board” any such offer. “If that went on the table, I’ve got an open mind,” he said. However, it could mean the New Zealand challengers would not win the cup. “For us to stop now and back off is a tough request,” he said. New Zealand did not want to win the America’s Cup in the courtroom. If San Diego, because of its multi-hirtl defence and switching of venues, was forced to forfeit the cup, New Zealand would not want its name engraved on the trophy as winner. The cup should be “set on the shelf” and the winner decided by a new series. “New Zealand doesn’t want to win the America’s Cup until we win it on the water,” he said to applause. Mr Fay was given a standing ovation by the near 300 members of the club who heard his spirited defence of the New Zealand challenge. Before the discussion

Mr Fay showed slides of his |! huge challenger yacht with its sleek bow and distinctive j flared midsection. As he spoke, the yacht was; being unveiled in Auckland, he said, and would be heading to the naval! dockyard) there where its mast and keel would be added, before official launch on March 27. Dimensions of the yacht are immense, apart from its 90ft length, and drew gasps of admiration and astonishment from California Yacht Club members. Mr Fay said the mast would be as tall as a 17storey building, it would carry 15,000-18,000 square feet of sail and the mainsail would weigh more than a tonne and take eight men to grind up. From the top of the mast to the bottom of the keel would be about 200 ft and the craft would have a crew of about 45 members. Gerry Driscoll, a leading member of San Diego Yacht Club America’s Cup committee, said afterwards he was not surprised by what he saw of the New Zealand yacht in the slides. “It’s pretty much what we had been led to believe — that it would be something like a large Lake Garda boat — that type of thing. Very light and long,” he said. “It looked very nice.”’ Mr Driscoll said he did not see anything in the construction that looked as if it would Infringe any yacht racing rules. Mr Fay is now tentatively scheduled to go to San Diego again tomorrow and may hold a further round of talks with San Diego Club and its Cup manager, Sail America. j Mr Driscoll said a race in the northern hemisphere spring of 1989 off San Diego in large monohull yachts “could be a solution to a problem that is rather awkward at the moment” ! “He certainly! didn’t say no to the suggestion.'* Photo: Page 3.