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To: abuelita who wrote (20139)	12/19/2002 2:14:02 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 104216

OneWorld making 'major' modifications Associated Press Wednesday, December 18 AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Seattle's OneWorld Challenge made major modifications to its race yachts Wednesday, preparing for the start of its series Friday against Oracle. Spokesman Bob Ratliffe said the syndicate of mobile phone pioneer Craig McCaw hadn't decided whether it will sail USA-65 or USA-67 in the best-of-seven series from which one team will join Switzerland's Alinghi in the January challenger final. "We've made some major modifications to our boats and the team are out there testing them today,'' Ratliffe said. Ratliffe would not say whether OneWorld was experimenting with the innovative false hull revealed this week as defender Team New Zealand's secret weapon for February's Cup match. "We're certainly aware of what others are doing and we're doing our own research,'' he said. OneWorld advanced when it eliminated Prada of Italy 3-2 Tuesday in a shortened semifinal series. In advancing to the second-to-last stage of the challenger series, OneWorld managed to overcome a one-point penalty imposed on it by the Cup Arbitration Panel last week for possessing its rivals' design secrets. OneWorld will carry the same penalty into the series with Oracle and into the Cup match, starting Feb. 15, if it advances that far. Chief executive Gary Wright said OneWorld was determined to overcome the disadvantage of its pre-race handicap. "These last couple of years have been quite tough for us, and we've had quite a few hurdles put in our way,'' Wright said. "But the team just seems to keep rising to the challenge and dealing with it once again, so I have every confidence that they'll do it next time, too.''

To: abuelita who wrote (20139)	12/19/2002 2:26:41 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 104216

New Zealand wants to protect its design edge Reuters Tuesday, December 17 AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Leading America's Cup challengers Alinghi of Switzerland have complained that Cup defenders Team New Zealand were trying to exploit an apparent rules loophole to stop them from using their best boat. Regatta officials confirmed that Team New Zealand had written to them saying they believed that teams could not change boats between the challengers semifinals and final. Alinghi crushed Oracle 4-0 on Monday to become the first team to reach the Cup challengers final next month. The winner of the best-of-nine challengers final will take on New Zealand in the America's Cup in February. "I'm intrigued that somebody else wants to choose what boat we race," Alinghi skipper Russell Coutts told a news conference. "It seems strange that somebody would prevent us from using a boat at this stage with off-the-water antics," he said of his former New Zealand teammates. Biotechnology billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli lured Coutts, tactician Brad Butterworth and several other team members from New Zealand to Alinghi two years ago, a move labeled a defection and caused widespread disappointment in New Zealand. Local and international media have speculated that Team New Zealand have devised a radical new hull design in their attempt to keep the America's Cup and that the rules challenge is an attempt to stop Alinghi and others from using similar designs. Cup officials said late Monday that Team New Zealand had questioned Article 6.2 of the America's Cup Protocol that says "the finals of the challenge section will be between the top two yachts in the semifinals." Team New Zealand argue that the protocol means that only the boats that sailed in the semifinal can sail in the final and that it would have said "yacht clubs" if it was intended that syndicates could change boats before the final. There is an apparent contradiction within the rules. The conditions of race for the Louis Vuitton Cup challengers series state that boat substitution is allowed between stages, provided boats are measured, inspected and approved. In such cases, the America's Cup Protocol normally overrides the conditions of race. Dyer Jones, the regatta director of the challengers series, said that he believed challengers could substitute boats because such an interpretation was "a good faith reading" of the rules. No definitive ruling was expected before the America's Cup. Alinghi has dominated the challengers series in its first boat, SUI-64. While Coutts did not confirm it, it is widely expected the Swiss will unveil an even better boat, SUI-75, for the challengers final. Many believe New Zealand has a revolutionary new hull with a long round elongation near the stern. Their two boats are shrouded in skirts from deck to waterline to ward off would-be spies. A series of articles on the official Louis Vuitton Cup website over the past two days have speculated that Alinghi and Oracle, which is in a semifinals repechage against OneWorld, have come up with a similar hull design. America's Cup class yachts are limited to a bow-to-stern length of 24 meters but such a "bustle" would add to a boat's "waterline" length. A general rule of thumb is that length equals speed, with designers always looking for ways to extend the "waterline" or actual length of their boats.