Nippon team on mat for fraternising

By SUZANNE McFADDEN

The Japanese broke an unwritten promise among the America's Cup challengers yesterday and went sailing with the enemy, Team New Zealand.

Nippon spent four hours sailing side-by-side with Black Magic boat NZL57 on Hauraki Gulf - sparking an incredulous reaction from other challengers.

Before the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series began, the 11 syndicates agreed not to help the defender, Team New Zealand.

But Nippon chairman Tatsumitsu Yamasaki accepted an invitation to spend the day together on the gulf.

Team New Zealand have been crying out for a sailing partner. Everyone had turned them down until yesterday, four days before the challenger semifinals start.

Tactician Brad Butterworth said it had been a "bloody interesting day," with Team New Zealand and Nippon testing each other up and downwind, then engaging in four pre-start battles.

"It was encouraging because both boats were so similar," he said. "But we won't really know how fast we are until we see the results of the semifinals."

The Nippon skipper, Australian Peter Gilmour, said the Japanese crew wanted to tune up against "the world's best match-racers" - knowing they would cop flak from their fellow competitors.

"It took a lot of courage for the chairman to make this call ..." he said. "But Nippon has had tremendous help from New Zealand sailors in the past. And no one else invited us out.

"I can't believe on the eve of the new millennium, there are still these silly prejudices. We don't see ourselves as naughty boys. We see it as something really positive."

America True skipper Dawn Riley said she could not understand why Nippon had done it.

"I've always said it makes no sense to sail against Team New Zealand," she said. "I'm not sure what Nippon is going to gain."

Prada designer Doug Peterson, who worked for Team New Zealand last time, said it was "not very cool" of Nippon.

While Gilmour would not spill the outcome of the mini-races, he said: "It will take an absolutely superlative effort from any of us to wrest the cup from them."