AMERICA’S CUP
New Zealand, Italian protests put permits in doubt, director says
New Zealand, Italy protesting over safety; ongoing controversy jeopardizes racing on San Francisco Bay, director says
SAN FRANCISCO — On the eve of the America’s Cup opening ceremonies, the regatta director on Wednesday defended himself against accusations that he is favoring Oracle Team USA with his list of safety recommendations and said he couldn’t vouch for the safety of the regatta on the high- tech catamarans if the protests from the New Zealand and Italian teams are successful.
The conflict has thrown the regatta, already riddled with controversy and tragedy, into further confusion and leaves open the possibility that the U. S. Coast Guard could yank the America’s Cup permit to race on San Francisco Bay if the agency believes the regatta is unsafe.
The protest from Emirates Team New Zealand and Italy’s Luna Rossa will be heard by an international jury of sailing experts Monday. If the jury agrees with the protest, regatta director Iain Murray said he has “no choice but to go back to the Coast Guard and inform them that the safety plan hasn’t been met and a discussion will have
to be had whether the permit to race stands or doesn’t stand.”
If the jury sides with the two teams, Murray said, he will contact the Coast Guard immediately, “as soon as I can tap their number into the phone.”
“Without a permit to race on San Francisco Bay,” Murray said, “there will be no racing.”
However, the first race scheduled for Sunday between Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa will proceed as planned because both teams are in compliance at this point, with all 37 safety recommendations imposed after the May 9 tragic capsize of Sweden’s Artemis Racing, Murray said.
But both those teams — which have been verbally sparring with Oracle and Artemis for weeks — are protesting two of those recommendations as having little to do with safety and more to do with enhancing the performance of defender Oracle’s boat. At issue are the new rules to increase the weight of the boat as well as alter the size and shape of the T- shaped rudder wings that help lift the 72- foot catamarans out of the water, thereby reducing drag and greatly increasing speed.
Luna Rossa recently said the rudder rules are “a clear attempt to make illegal our boat just days before the start of the event, with the excuse of safety.”
On Wednesday at San Francisco’s Pier 27, where opening festivities begin at noon Thursday, Murray fired back: “The claims that they have been done to suit a team are farcical. Performance is not what my job was and it certainly isn’t any part of my recommendations. This is about safety. This is about control of the boat.”
The Italian and New Zealand teams were already upset that the Swedish team was being given a pass on racing in the round robin of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series because neither the team nor its second boat under construction would be ready to compete until August. That threw off the schedule for July, which was supposed to be 21 days of racing among the three teams, but now is only five races between New Zealand and Italy.
The $ 100,000 daily penalty for not racing was waived as one of the safety measures, so teams could decide not to race in rough conditions without penalty. But that rule is being used by Artemis, which says it would be unsafe for them to race an untested boat. They expect to join the Louis Vuitton Cup semifinals as the third- place boat Aug. 6.
New Zealand’s Grant Dalton has already accused Artemis of taking advantage of the death of Andrew “Bart” Simpson, who was trapped and died under the wreckage of the Artemis boat during a practice run. But Wednesday, Murray accused the teams of the same: “I’m really offended that New Zealand and Luna Rossa are taking advantage of the death.”
The Artemis capsize came seven months after Oracle capsized and nearly destroyed its boat . On Wednesday , Murray chided the teams for not improving safety enough after the Oracle capsize, criticizing them for “gross inaction.”
Safety is paramount in these speedy 72- foot catamarans, with their 130- foot wing sails, he said, adding, “Luna Rossa spun out twice doing 36 knots, ending up head to wind. How is that not a safety issue?”
Murray’s new safety rules require better safety gear for the crew and lower wind limits on race days, among other requirements.
“Is any sport safe? That is the big question. But certainly what we have done is make the situation safer,” Murray said. “There’s a lot of things that can happen on the racecourse. I can’t control the teams once they let loose. Their destiny is in their own hands.”