AMERICA’S CUP UPDATE : NOTEBOOK : Challengers Will Use One Course
With only eight boats in four daily matches--even if the Russians make it--the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger trials will use only one race course when they start Saturday.
“I’m quite delighted from an organizational point of view,” said Stan Reid, chairman of the Challenger of Record Committee. “I’m putting 100 people in 25 boats out every day, and I’ve drawn San Diego’s volunteer base right down to the rock bottom.”
He said he would need 180 people and 35 boats to run races on two courses.
“We had two courses in mind when we had five pairs,” he said.
Then Slovenia dropped out. Even with the Russians, the ninth boat would simply have a bye every day. The four pairs will start 10 minutes apart.
“In match racing events around the world you get four pairs off without many problems,” Reid said.
Reid, an Australian, is a popular source of opinions and information for the America’s Cup media because he says what he thinks, articulately and without sugar coating.
One Reid opinion, in reference to the Russian debacle: “I don’t believe that the America’s Cup is about a lot of challengers. I think the America’s Cup is about one on one. If others are permitted to get there, their seriousness should be evaluated much earlier than it was this time.”
If that sounds like Reid would prefer to keep the riff raff out, that’s exactly what he means.
“There are all sorts of other events where boats can enter, but this is a unique event. It’s kept its uniqueness and its mystique for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that it’s been attended by people who have been prepared to spend a lot of money.
“And it’s also been characterized by the failure of those who haven’t been prepared to spend a lot of money, going way back, way back, to the time America went over (to England) and tried to win whatever it was--a $10,000 bet--and no one would come out.”
America 3 mogul Bill Koch, who is building four boats, says they are too expensive.
“I haven’t heard anyone supporting Bill,” Reid said.
On the chances of challenger winning the Cup: “I think we have 50-50 chance of taking the Cup away. I wouldn’t say it’s any greater than that because we have to overcome the home-ground advantage.”
On the irony of the America’s Cup Organizing Committee’s reversal in position, in urging that the feuding Russian factions be given more time to merge: “If you’d like to cast your minds back to the Trustees’ meeting, the San Diego Yacht Club ordered these boats to be ready for measurement by Dec. 20.
“In fact, I believe it was suggested at one stage that the boats should have been here back in July.”
That was when ACOC executive vice-president/general manager Tom Ehman said Dec. 20 was generous because the challengers were already getting a break for not having to adhere to the 10-month stipulation in the Deed of Gift.
The Trustees’ Committee voted to extend the date to Jan. 24.
It was business as usual for Age of Russia at Knight & Carver boatyard Monday. A handful of crew members were hanging around the boatyard. Others were dispatched to the airport to pick up supplies to finish a multitude of work on their IACC boat.
Maybe no one told them they won’t be on the starting line Saturday come challenger trial time. Or maybe someone did and they have other plans.
“We are staying,” syndicate co-spokesman Marina Kopel said. “We’ve been through too much to leave now. We couldn’t disappoint the crew.”
Knight & Carver representative Chris Haver is already thinking about other available options. Haver hopes corporate sponsors will adopt and finance Age of Russia for the remainder of its San Diego stay.
“What we’d like to see is someone like Bud or Coke come on board,” he said. “It would be a great opportunity to keep the Russians involved. It would be something like the Olympics where they could have a demonstration team for the Russians.”
Another possible participant in this mini-exhibition regatta is Slovenia, which withdrew its challenge 11 days ago but plans to have its boat here in February.
The Russian soap opera alone has been enough to coax Reid into early retirement, at least in his America’s Cup position.
“There’s not enough money in the world for me to repeat this,” Reid said. “ . . . If anyone wanted to write a book about all this, it would take up at least eight volumes.”
Any pre-applicants for 1995?
Speaking of money, to avoid another potential fiasco like the Russian situation, Reid suggested increasing the amount of money challengers initial post to enter the Cup.
“The hurdles need to be much bigger,” he said. “First, I would increase the $25,000 considerably. That way, you can evaluate their seriousness much better.”
