Team NZ secrets sold, says defector

By TONY WALL

An Auckland lawyer accused of peddling America's Cup secrets has deepened the spying scandal by claiming Black Boat designs were obtained by an American rival during the Team New Zealand break-up.

Sean Reeves, who left Team NZ in 2000 and lured others with him to the One World syndicate, claims in US court papers that Team NZ technology which took years to develop was among information which the Americans were able to obtain.

The documents name seven men from prominent syndicates, including five New Zealanders. Reeves' allegations - which come as Team NZ prepares to battle One World in an America's Cup practice regatta starting on Monday - are in a statement of defences and counterclaims filed in the US District Court in Seattle this week.

Reeves, a former Olympic sailor from Devonport, has gone on the offensive, suing One World for defamation for its writ filed in the King County Superior Court in Seattle last year.

That writ accused him of trying to sell $6 million of One World's secret design and technical plans to rival syndicate Oracle Racing through old friend Chris Dickson.

The 40-year-old denies offering any secrets to Dickson during an international telephone call.

Reeves left One World, headed by billionaire Craig McCaw, last May, citing disagreements over the direction the syndicate was taking.

In his affidavit, Reeves alleges:

* One World obtained, for $3.5 million, design plans which were exact replicas of the boats NZL57 and 60, effectively allowing the Americans to race the "next generation" of Team NZ yachts.

* Also arriving at One World were dozens of colour photos of tests and models.

* Details of a revolutionary millennium rig which took Team NZ three years to develop cut One World's duplication effort to three months.

* Some new syndicate members violated America's Cup protocols, in one case delivering internal fittings designs to One World.

* Crucial design and technical information arrived at One World on disks compiled before Team NZ purged its computers.

Reeves says this enabled the Americans to produce on demand almost any design or specification of any Team NZ boat.

* A folder entitled "Team NZ Laminate Specifications" also arrived at One World.

Approached for comment last night, Team NZ chief executive Ross Blackman said he was deeply disturbed at the explicit allegations.

He would not comment further until he had seen the full details.

Attempts yesterday to contact the New Zealanders identified by Reeves in his court documents were unsuccessful. Some are back in Auckland with new teams preparing for the next Cup.

Reeves said last night that he believed the loss of Team NZ's secrets had badly damaged the syndicate. "Now it's happened, I'm fearful for Team NZ's ability to keep the Cup."

The loss of design information was even worse than the syndicate realised.

Team NZ really owed it to the New Zealand public and supporters to make sure the matter was fully investigated.

He also believed action had to be taken against One World under the Cup protocols, otherwise the rules were worthless.

Reeves also says a senior boatbuilder from America True and a sail design expert from Prada took pictures and design data from their syndicates to One World.

He said the only confidential information he held after he left One World was a copy of the Team NZ designer's $3.5 million package, which was now with a lawyer for safekeeping.

Reeves has accused One World of committing "numerous violations of the protocol governing the 2003 America's Cup competition" by accepting the information delivered by staff it lured from other syndicates.

He claims that during his phone discussion with Dickson, they discussed whether Cup protocol permitted designers and sailors to transfer to other syndicates and take their technical information with them.

Reeves said Dickson seemed "extremely interested" in the concept, but said during a later conversation that it was a high risk.

Reeves said he believed Dickson made the allegations against him to protect Oracle Racing from any suggestion that his discussions had constituted a violation of the reconnaissance rules of the Cup.

One World spokesman Bob Ratcliffe said last night that there would be no comment on Reeves' allegations while the case was before the courts.

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