America not so True in pedigree

By Suzanne McFadden

You cannot have a dummy run of the America's Cup without a little squabble to kick it off - especially a US-Kiwi controversy.

The challengers in the Road to the America's Cup regatta sat on the dock for two hours yesterday while the America True camp battled in the boardroom to get a crew on the water.

The Trues wanted to sail with non-Americans on board - fair dinkum Kiwis to be exact - even though the America's Cup protocol says they cannot.

They wanted special dispensation after losing a few key crewmen in the last fortnight.

But the race committee stood firm and stuck to the cup rules, which are being used for this dress-rehearsal regatta. They said America True knew the score; they had received the notice of race in December.

So the True team were sent scurrying to pull in some American replacements - and came up with three more New Zealanders.

America True helmsman John Cutler, who also happens to be a New Zealander living in the United States, said he felt his team needed a break after some crew problems.

Helmsman Gavin Brady (another Kiwi) left the syndicate 10 days ago and an American grinder went home with a broken hand.

"We felt we had a pretty legitimate case for dispensation," he said. "We were just trying to do the best we could in our circumstances."

America True wanted to use their coach, David Barnes, who skippered KZ1 in the 1988 cup debacle, and round-the-world bowman Jared Henderson.

But instead they called on Leslie Egnot, skipper of the America3 crew in 1995, and NLZ39 sailor Kelvin Harrap, both of whom qualify as Americans.

They also used Team New Zealand sailors Andrew Taylor and Dean Phipps, who were on board to take care of the black-and-white boats.

It was not a successful day on the water for skipper Dawn Riley's coed challenge either. True lost both their races to the unbeaten Prada Italy and Le Defi France.

Said Cutler: "We made a few mistakes out there, but I don't blame it on the new guys. They didn't have the wheel."