SPECULATION is rife that 'another' compromise could be struck in the defenders' camp - for the benefit of seeing that the America's Cup remains under American custody. At the moment, sailing's grandest prize is under threat from the New Zealanders. To confront this serious challenge, there has been talk that the three teams in the defenders' camp could close ranks once it has been decided who will carry forth the defence in next month's final. But let's backtrack to set the picture right. On Tuesday (Wednesday morning Hong Kong time), the weather earned oneAustralia a reprieve in the challenger series for the Louis Vuitton Cup.
Both races in the defender and challenger series were abandoned due to rough seas and heavy winds off Point Loma. Team New Zealand, just one win away from booking their berth in the America's Cup final, were forestalled by the weather, which till now seems to be the only thing able to stop the powerful Black Magic boat. The Kiwis lead 4-1 in the best-of-nine challenger series, their only loss coming last Saturday when oneAustralia snatched a 15 second win. That has been the only defeat for the awesome New Zealand boat on the water since their America's Cup campaign began in January. In the defender series, three boats are in contention.
PACT 95's Young America, Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes and the (mostly) women's team of America3 on Mighty Mary. At the halfway stage of this round robin competition, all three yachts are tied on three points each, although Conner had registered the most number of wins (three), followed by Mighty Mary (two) and Young America (one). The fact that the latter two are equal with Stars & Stripes is simply because a behind-the-scenes compromise was struck, which saw three boats competing for the first time in history and with Young America and Mighty Mary (both of whom had qualified by merit for the final) getting the tangible rewards of bonus points. That compromise has been the subject of much heated debate in the defenders' camp. And now there is talk of another deal being done, once the final is over.
It is said that, once the defender finals end - which weather permitting should be by the end of this week - the fastest boat (the winner) with possibly Dennis Conner's team aboard could confront Team New Zealand in the best-of-nine grand finale. This is because it is felt that Stars & Stripes is not the fastest boat amongst the three defenders although its crew is one of the best sailing in the competition. In Dennis Conner, you have a man who has won four America's Cups in an unprecedented seven attempts. And under his umbrella, there are leading luminaries like Paul Cayard, who skippered Il Moro, the losing finalist in 1992, and superb tactician Tom Whidden. The vastly experienced crew are probably the best sailors as a unit overall. Team New Zealand are the runaway favourites of everyone here including Conner himself.
He said: 'My heart feels we can pull it off, but my head says New Zealand will win.' And a groundswell of opinion among American patriots, including their vocal media, is that there is only one way to fight this growing fatalism - pool all available resources. Does that mean that 'another' backroom bargain will be reached?
