Expert witness finds talk of 'fix' insulting

By BILL KOCH

Did Paul Cayard throw Thursday's race with Stars & Stripes? Did he show a lack of sportsmanship?

This is not a new accusation in this America's Cup. Dawn Riley, head of America True, was accused of foul play and poor sportsmanship when her already-qualified team withdrew from a round-robin race, meaning Young America had no chance of progressing.

I have a unique perspective on the issue. First, I know a little bit about Cayard, having competed against him in more than 100 races in the Maxi class. I was also fortunate enough to defeat him in the 1992 America's Cup. We have been fierce and antagonistic competitors.

But I was 17th man on AmericaOne in its race against Nippon on Wednesday, where Cayard secured his spot in the finals. I was also 17th man on Stars & Stripes in Thursday's race, when she beat Cayard to stay alive. If this were a trial, I would be the first witness called.

The race against Nippon was in severe sailing conditions. Cayard devised a conservative start of ducking under Nippon and tacking and running away instead of the usual dial up (luffing into the wind at the line) to avoid any penalties or damage.

Nippon was both aggressive and desperate. AmericaOne wanted the right side of the line but Nippon forced it to the left. On the first beat the boat speeds were even and the wind shifted from right to left and right again, giving Nippon a seven-second lead at the first mark. At the windward mark Nippon did a bareaway set and Paul did a jibe set. After a number of attacking jibes, Paul rolled over Nippon to establish a narrow lead of eight seconds. He fought off Nippon over the next four legs, winning by only 17 seconds.

On the tow-in, Cayard debriefed his crew. He told them that they were in the finals, and he would decide the next morning if they would race.

He said AmericaOne had only two masts and had to protect its assets, but the press flak America True got for not showing would be minor compared to the controversy if AmericaOne did not sail. However, the race would be good practice.

On Thursday, AmericaOne showed up at the starting line. There was a lot of tension on Stars & Stripes, as this was another do-or-die race. During the prestart, the afterguard agonised over which side of the course was favoured. They finally decided on the left.

Ken Read, the skipper, aggressively entered from port and headed straight for AmericaOne. Surprisingly, Cayard ducked Stars & Stripes and tacked to follow. In the circling that followed, Cayard manoeuvred to obtain the lefthand side.

With less than 90 seconds to go, Peter Isler on Stars & Stripes said the right-hand side of the line was favoured by l2 degrees. Ken Read said to go for it and the yacht started with a four-second lead. The wind did go left on the first beat but not enough to offset the start and then swung back right.

In the l3 knots of breezes Stars & Stripes showed very good upwind speed, and rounded the top mark with a 45-second lead. On all the downwind legs AmericaOne showed better speed and tried every possible move to overtake, but Peter Isler and Tom Widden worked hard to fight Cayard off.

Stars & Stripes won by 22 seconds. This was a very close, hard-fought race, considering the average winning margin has been 1m 10s. The exhausted crew, delighted to be still alive in the Cup, slept on the tow-in.

There is no question Cayard used this race as practice. He had made a small underwater change, and had rotated two crew members.

He was conservative at the start, but he needed to protect his equipment. Cayard made a decision that was in his long-term best interest even though there were costs and risks.

He learned what it would have taken to beat Stars & Stripes if they get into the finals, and he refined his weather forecasting. The risks were that he could have broken some equipment and hurt some crew members. The costs were a day of modification, wear and tear on the sails, and the media flak.

Although Paul and I have had a lot of hostility in the past, I believe he did not throw the race. He was no different than a professional football coach who has already secured a playoff spot, but still has one more game to play, and uses it as training.

There is another issue - on Thursday, Cayard's wife was 17th person on AmericaOne. From my own experience, a man of Cayard's pride does not want to lose with his wife on board, especially in light of the sacrifice she has made to his commitment to the event.

Stars & Stripes won the race with hard work and excellent sailing in what has been one of the most exciting Cup competitions. There have been fewer dirty tricks than any Cup of modern history.

I find it personally offensive that someone at this level is accused of throwing a race. In the 1992 Cup we were accused of planning to throw a race between our two boats, Kanza and America3, to eliminate Stars & Stripes from the defender series.

We debated it at some length, as the San Diego Yacht Club and press badgered and accused us in advance of plotting.

We sailed, Kanza was eliminated, Stars & Stripes stayed alive, and to our chagrin almost eliminated America3. But the competition from Stars & Stripes forced us to improve our boat.

The challenger, to be effective against New Zealand, needs the best competition possible.