Mismatch at first America’s Cup encounter

Press, 16 August 1988, Page 22

Mismatch at first America’s Cup encounter

PA San Diego The mismatch that is next month’s America’s Cup was emphasised by the first encounter between the monohull challenger, New Zealand, and the 35ft catamaran chartered as a trial horse, in San Diego. In perfect sailing conditions, a 14-knot breeze and slight chop, the comparatively tiny catamaran “bitzed” the big boat, according to a message from the challenge squad. The monohull was clocked marginally faster upwind, but the catamaran, under mainsail only, roared away downwind. The fastest monohull in the world was doing 14 knots while the cat was effortlessly hitting 21 knots. “It was what, back home, we would call character forming,” New Zealand skipper David Barnes said when he arrived ashore. “If that is what a 35ft cat can do, it’s mind-blowing to contemplate what will hap-

pen when we meet the 65ft Stars and Stripes. “I don’t know why Dennis (Connor) bothered with a special design and building programme. If today was any indication, he could have picked up almost any good cat on the coast and saved himself a whole lot of time and money. “Normally, if you were going into a regatta under these circumstances you would be demoralised, but these are the facts of life in this mismatch,” Barnes said.

“We’ll just keep on optimising the performance of the big boat and do the best we can.”

The Kiwis took delivery of their Formula 500 cat hoping to learn more about the dissimilar performances of multihull and monohulls.

Earlier this year, Steinlager 1 skipper Peter Blake predicted the cataraman could easily skip away in such a race.