The 3 Boat Finals: A3's Reply

Over the past two weeks there has been a substantial amount of press concerning the protests between our Foundation and Pact 95 against Team Dennis Connor, all of which culminated in the recently negotiated resolution of April 4, 1995. In view of the fact that there has been widely disseminated disinformation, created in part by a biased and uninformed press, and fueled by misleading and incorrect press releases by Team Dennis Connor, we want our sponsors, supporters and friends to be aware of what occurred and what was involved in our decision to enter into the 3-boat Defender Finals agreement.

By Way of background, on Sunday, March 26, 1995, while out on the race course, Stars and Stripes apparently sustained damage, which was later determined to be to her keel fin. There is no surveillance permitted in the 1995 America's Cup and, therefore, America3 trust rely on an independent inspector for any information concerning a competitor. Matters of measurement and inspection are reserved to an independent International Measuring Committee, with technical directors who are qualified engineer and yacht designers. The defenders also entered into an agreement before the competition began in which they agreed that during any series of races, there would be "no change" to the appendages (keel and rudder) of the boats. Furthermore, there is a yacht racing rule which prohibits moving the forestay during a series of races, with a penalty of being potentially disqualified. The defending competitors all agreed that changes could be made between the series of races, called the "change period," so long as the boat was re-certified under the IACC parameters. The Technical Directors or measurers would recertify the yacht once any change was made during the change period, Stars and Stripes was damaged during a "no change" period.

An exception to changes during the "no change" period would be where a yacht, through no fault of its own, sustained damage that was irreparable. As both a competitive and safety factor, the rules require that the syndicate are to be responsible for the yacht, should the yacht break. This is to discourage syndicates from designing yachts on the outer edge of the design envelope, which would cause them to fail if unexpected conditions arose. In other words, if you cannot make it to the next race because the yacht or a material part of the yacht malfunctions, then you have simply forfeited the race.

Returning to March 26, 1995, apparently during that evening, Team Dennis Connor requested an inspection of their keel and asked for the right to replace the keel, with a "similar" keel. The experts have testified that the word "similar" is the same to them, as "identical" except that as engineered, it is virtually impossible to have an identical piece of equipment. The measurer determined that the damage could be repaired, and refused to give Team Dennis Connor permission to replace the keel. The evidence during the protest hearings was that the damage would have taken anywhere from 5 to 10 days to repair. Team Dennis Connor would have undoubtedly lost all of the races scheduled during that period, which would have effectively put them out of the semi-final series and, therefore, out of the America's cup. As a result, they appealed to AC 95, who designated the Defense committee to review Connor's request. Three persons from the Defense Committee, totally unqualified, inspected the yacht and determined that the keel was so severely damaged, that it should be replaced and thereby overruled the independent measurer.

Team Dennis Connor then replaced the keel on Stars and Stripes with a previously-used keel and summoned the measurer to recertify the yacht. Upon inspection, the measurer refused to recertify the yacht stating that, in his opinion, the keel was not "similar." Once again, Team Dennis Connor appealed the matter to the Defense Committee, who overruled the measurer and instructed the measurer to certify the boat.

Beginning on March 28, 1995, the race results became wildly skewed depending on the weather. The same Stars and Stripes that lost to Mighty Mary immediately beat us by almost 5 minutes in light air. Stars and Stripes, with its refitted keel, obviously had a substantial performance advantage in light wind. America3 Foundation and Pact 95 were aware that there was an unseasonably light wind and calm seas predicted over the next two weeks: and, from discussions with the measurer, they became suspicious that the changed keel was "dissimilar." As a result, we protested the reconfiguration of Stars and Stripes and were referred to the Defense Committee, who not only denied our protest without a hearing, but stated that they were the "ultimate authority" on measurement issues and refused to permit America3 Foundation to take its protest to the International Jury.

The International Jury is a group of individuals from throughout the world who are the ultimate rulebody in the America's Cup. With no other alternative, America3 Foundation prepared a lawsuit for injunctive relief and was about to seek court intervention to force the issue before the International Jury. The San Diego Yacht Club reconsidered its position and the lawsuit was never pursued, as the matter was assigned to the International Jury.

After several days of hearings before the International Jury, America3 Foundation learned that not only was there a dissimilar keel put on Stars and Stripes, but that it was put in a new location forward of the keel it replaced. The technical designers testified that, notwithstanding the fact that Stars and Strips' "new" keel was not "similar" even an identical keel, mounted in a different location, rendered it dissimilar. The Jury eventually ruled in favor of America3 Foundation, and determined that the keel was in fact, dissimilar; however, based an performance, they made the determination, independently, that the replaced keel did not give a performance advantage to Stars and Stripes. The Jury ruled that the race of March 28, 1995 would be re-raced, but that Stare and Stripes Would not be disqualified, nor did she have to move or replace her keel.

Team Dennis Connor immediately issued a press release stating that the only difference in the keel Was 7 millimeters (approximately 1/4 inch), Which caused the local press to snicker, that America3 had used a hypertechnicality to set aside the race that Stars and Stripes beat Mighty Mary an March 28, 1995. Unfortunately, we ware unaware of the press release issued by Team Dennis Connor and, as a result, the press locally and nationally, received only part of the truth. The press has never published the fact that the keels were substantially different and that the keel, in fact, was moved.

On April 2, 1995, upon receiving the written International Jury decision, the technical team at America3 Foundation noticed that the Jury determined that although there was a dissimilar keel used, the yacht was certifiable, because the measurement numbers on the certification "had not changed." That meant no ballast had been added or taken off the vessel. Our technical crew could not figure out how thousands of pounds could be moved forward on Stars and Stripes and that Stars and Stripes still floated properly under the certification. That in turn, caused the technical crew to consider that major "deadweight" was moved topside. The only thing large enough and moveable enough, was the mast, and so media photographs were obtained of Stars and Stripes of March 26, 1995, when her keel was damaged and their first race after the damage against Mighty Mary on March 28, 1995. Upon inspection, it was clear that Team Dennis Connor had moved the entire mast and rigging approximately eighteen inches aft. The mast weighs close to 1800 pounds. This then provided Stars and Stripes with a very effective light wind configuration. And, the forecast for the next five days was smooth seas and winds between 5 and 8 knots. Upon the discovery of the massive weight movement topside, America3 Foundation again petitioned the International Jury to reopen its protest. That petition was denied. The technical reason given was that once the boat was reconfigured, the technical designer ordered Stars and Stripes to be floated properly for certification purposed. The Jury then determined that by issuing such an instruction, the technical director had in effect, ordered Stars and Stripes to move its mast. They reached this conclusion notwithstanding the fact that the technical director testified that he never gave such an instruction; but, in fact, when he came to remeasure the vessel, he discovered that the mast had been moved. The International Jury's decisions are final.

Recognizing that Stars and Stripes had been reconfigured for the lighter air, and that Mighty Mary was configured for much heavier air normally expected for late March and early April, it was clear to our design team and sailing team, that our boat was at a material disadvantage over the next several days, in its sailing against Stars and Stripes. In fact, it appeared that as a result of Team Dennis Connor taking advantage of a technical loophole, supported by San Diego Yacht Club, by reconfiguring their yacht during the "no change" period, when we could not, that Mighty Mary and our Foundation stood a material chance of being eliminated from the America's Cup. In essence, our fate was in the hands of the weather, with one race deciding the issue. We considered that unacceptable, and immediately began negotiating a resolution for what later became the "3-boat Defense Finals. "

It was decided that our Foundation and our goal to defend the America's Cup was best served by negotiating a resolution. Also, we believed it to be in the best interest of the sport, for the America's Cup, and to ensure the best defender boat, that all three syndicates would go into a final series similar to the semifinal series. Fifteen points were awarded, with two points going to Young America because of their performance in the first series of races, as well as the semi-finals; and, one point going to whomever won the race-off which wad scheduled far Tuesday, April 4, 1995. As you know, we fortunately had higher winds than forecasted and Miqhty Mary handily defeated Stars and Stripes in that race, and now goes into the finals with a bonus point. We believe that the boat and our crew are both beginning to perform towards their potential. The three-boat concession was, in fact, viewed by our syndicate as insurance to guarantee that we would have the opportunity to win the defenders series and represent the United States in the 1995 America's Cup. Mighty Mary will race eight races between now and April 26, 1995, as will the other defenders. The first defender which is mathematically eliminated, will retire after a series, and the remaining two boats will race-off to determine who will represent the United States. We have every reason to believe that it will be our team.

We hope that this explanation will debunk some of the false and misleading press that have been issued and will cause you to appreciate the soundness of the decision to enter into the agreement.

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For additonal information please send e-mail to: Rick Wrightson

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