Conference unifix::sailing

 
	SAN DIEGO (UPI) -- Bill Koch, a Kansas native dismissed by some
purists as a yachting dilettante, took the first step toward his avowed
goal of unseating America's Cup champion Dennis Conner by winning the
first race of the defense trials Tuesday.
	Koch, head of the America-3 syndicate, sent skipper and cup veteran
Buddy Melges against Conner's Stars & Stripes, and Melges, 61, responded
with a win, leading Conner on all but the first leg and finishing in
three hours, six minutes and 13 seconds; 1:34 ahead of Conner.
	On Wednesday, Koch will sail the 22-mile course with himself at the
helm of Jayhawk.
	At stake in the trials, which run until May 1, is the right to defend
the cup on behalf of the San Diego Yacht Club against the best of a
strong field of foreign challengers.
	The top defender and challenger will compete for the silver trophy
that has been the prize in 28 past regattas dating back to 1851. The
America's Cup is the oldest continuing organized sporting event in the
United States.
	After trailing Conner by six seconds at the first turn, Melges's
yacht Defiant raced into the lead on the second leg, a downwind
spinnaker run, and led by 36 seconds at the second turn.
	The margain was between 36 and 43 seconds until the fifth leg -- a 2.
6-mile reach -- when Conner cut the gap to 22 seconds as the winds
freshened a few notches to 10-11 knots.
	As the wind died to five knots on the seventh leg, Defiant again
pulled ahead and rounded the final buoy 1:07 ahead of Stars & Stripes.
	Koch appointed himself one of the skippers of his America-3
(pronounced America Cubed) team just eight years after taking up the
sport. He will be at the helm of one of the 75-foot International
America's Cup Class sloops that was conceived in 1988 as a high-
performance replacement for the 12-meter boats.
	Koch once said the boats were designed by ``idiots'' because he
believed their lightweight construction made them too fragile and
expensive to be practical at $3 million to $5 million a copy.
	Some sailors took it as a sign that Koch did not have the skill to
sail such a vessel himself and should relegate himself to paying the
bills.
	Koch made his fortune in energy and real estate and is the head of
the Oxbow Corp. of Palm Beach, Fla.
	Koch will sail two boats in the trials, while Conner is limited by
budget constraints to just one.
	Under the round-robin system, Jayhawk and Defiant race each other
Thursday.
	The pairings will be repeated three times in the first round-robin
series that ends Jan. 25. There are three round-robins with the two
boats that earn the most points meeting in the 13-race finals series
starting April 20.
	The winner -- or possibly the survivor -- will meet the winner of the
challenger trials that begin Jan. 24 in the actual cup competion in May.
	What remains to be seen is whether Conner can keep Stars & Stripes at
sea for the entire series without a major breakdown.
	Conner, 48, qualified for the semifinals of last spring's
International America's Cup Class World Championships, but dropped out
saying he did not want to risk damage to Stars & Stripes.
	Conner, who began sailing the waters off San Diego at age 11, has
been the king of America's Cup yachting since the 1970s. He won the cup
for the third time in his career in Australia in 1987 and then defended
it a year later in the meeting between New Zealand's 123-foot sloop and
Conner's swifter catamaran.
	America-3's main strength is Koch's checkbook, which will allow him
to build a fourth boat that will be ready in time for the defense
finals.
	Koch, 51, has strong credentials in maxi boats and Melges, a boat
builder from Zenda, Wisc., had America's Cup experience as skipper of
the Heart of America challenge in 1987.
	If Melges and Koch perform better than expected agaist Conner, or if
Stars & Stripes becomes fatigued in the stretch, or if Defiant and
Jayhawk are just plain faster in design, Conner could find himself on
the dock during the defender trials.

I've heard at French radio that DC has won the second regatta 4 minutes 
ahead Koch, can you provide more infos?
I now wait impatiently for the challengers series results.

. Pierre . Valbonne, France

    START	DEFIANT		2 BOAT LENGTHS
    1st Mark	DEFIANT		:42		Conners loses tacking duel
    2nd	Mark	DEFIANT		:40
    3rd Mark	DEFIANT		:45
    4th Mark	DEFIANT		:42
    5th Mark	DEFIANT		:23		Conners gains using
    						masthead reacher with
    						Defiant using 3/4
    6th Mark	DEFIANT		:45
    7th	Mark	DEFIANT	       1:10
    FINISH	DEFIANT	       1:20
    
    
    DEFIANT's crew work in tacking duels and mark roundings look great.
    CONNER'S crew work poor, two roundings witn next to no boat speed.
    
    (Courtesy of observer from A3 syndicate)

Article: 1749
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 92 10:49:16 PST

	SAN DIEGO (UPI) -- Bill Koch, an ambitious amateur from Kansas, went
to sea in the second race of the America's Cup defender trials Wednesday
to prove he is in the same league as venerable yachtsman Dennis Conner.

	Koch, the wealthy head of the America-3 syndicate, was to be at the
helm of Jayhawk, facing Conner and his Stars & Stripes in light winds
and glassy seas off Point Loma.

	The race was only the second in a series of meetings that will take
place this winter between Stars & Stripes and Koch's two boats to decide
which skipper will defend the cup against a foreign challenger in May.

	But Wednesday was also the first meeting between the men who are the
driving forces behind the two groups vying for the right to defend the
cup.

	A victory by either would likely mean more in terms of prestige and
confidence than it would in the point standings in the long trials.

	``Sprits are high,'' Buddy Melges, the skipper of Koch's newest
yacht, Defiant, said after beating Conner in Tuesday's first race. 
``This gives Bill something to shoot for.''

	Koch and Melges will race each other Thursday with the rotation
repeated three times in each of the four round-robins leading up to the
13-race defender finals in April.

	The challengers begin their trials Jan. 24. The cup finals between
the top challenger and the top American boat run May 9-19.

	Koch, president of Florida's Oxbow Corp., has been dismissed by some
yachting purists as a wealthy landlubber who has the toys but lacks the
saltwater in his veins to be a realistic choice to sail in the finals.

	Conner, however, was defeated soundly Tuesday by Defiant, the other
boat in the America-3 (pronounced America Cubed) fleet.

	Melges took the lead at the start of the 22.6-mile race and
skillfully held off Conner the rest of the way to win by 1 minute, 34
seconds.

	After the race, Conner's tactician, Tom Whidden, congratulated the
61-year-old Melges and Dave Dellenbaugh, the Connecticut tactician who
steered Defiant during the critical pre-start jockeying.

	``They sailed this one perfectly,'' Whidden said.

	There were other factors to be considered Wednesday, not the least of
which was the skippers.

	Conner has been racing off San Diego since he was a kid and has
sailed in five cup finals, four of which he has won.

	Koch took up the sport only eight years although it was with a
passion that carried him to the 1990 World Maxi Boat title.

	Defiant was built only a few months ago while Koch's flagship,
Jayhawk, is more than a year old and placed behind Stars & Stripes in
the International America's Cup Class World Championships last spring.

	Stars & Stripes is the only boat Team Dennis Conner has, so Tuesday
was actually the first true match-racing Conner has seen since the
Worlds.

	``We were a little rusty ... we could have made some better
decisions,'' Whidden said.

                                               
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 Edition : 2495               Friday 17-Jan-1992            Circulation :  8088 

::: YACHTING - The America's Cup
    For the next five months, the yachting world will be looking towards San
    Diego for the America's Cup defence. Racing wil take place over a 22.6 mile
    course, set between a startline and a buoy 3.7 miles directly into the wind
    from it. The yachts, a pair contesting each match, first race up, down and
    back up and then the track takes them round a figure S made by two buoys
    one to the left of the course, the other to the right, before racing back up
    to the windward mark and the final run down to the finish.

    In the first of the Defender trials, Buddy Megles in Defiant beat Stars and
    Stripes. In a race dictated by tactical maneuvres, Tom Whidden, tactician
    for Stars and Stripes opted for the right while David Dellenbaugh went
    left. 

    The full details of dates and boats:

 // The Cup Dates

    Defenders trials: 1st round, 14-25 January
                      2nd round,  8-17 February
                      3rd round,  3-15 March
                      4th round,  1-11 April
                      Finals,    17-30 April

    Chalenger trials: 1st round, 25-Jan, 5-Feb
                      2nd round, 13-25 February
                      3rd round,  8-19 March
                      Semi-Finals, 29 March - 9 April
                      Final, for Louis Vuitton Cup, 20-29 April

    America's Cup: Best of seven race, 9-19 MAy
       

 // The Teams
    The Defenders: 

    Team Dennis Connor            Syndicate Head: Dennis Connor    
    Boat: Stars and Stripes       Budget: $15m                
    Skipper: Dennis Connor        Tactician: Tom Whidden                
    Designers: Alberto Calderon, Bruce Nelson, Dave Pedrick
    Sponsors:  Pepsi/Stolichnaya,Cadillac, American Airlines

    America3                      Syndicate Head: Bill Koch               
    Boats: Jayhawk, Defiant, plus two others Budget: $45m    
    Skipper: Buddy Melges         Tactician: Dave Dellenburgh
    Designers: Doug Peterson, Jim Pugh, John Relechet
    Sponsors:  Digital, Chevrolet, AT&T

    The Challengers:              

    Australia
    Boat: Challenge Australia      Syndicate Head: Syd Fischer           
    Budget: Not declared    Skipper: Phil Thompson   Tactician: David Clark
    Designer: Peter van Oossanen
    Sponsors: Not declared

    Boat: Spirit of Australia       Syndicate Head: Iain Murray
    Budget: $12m             Skipper: Peter Gilmou   Tactician: Iain Murray
    Designer: Iain Murray
    Sponsors: Public subscription, IBM, Holden, Bundaberg Rum

    France
    Boat: Ville de Paris             Syndicate Head: Yvon Jacob
    Budget: $15m              Skipper: Marc Pajot    Tactician: Marc Bouet
    Designer: Phillipe Briand
    Sponsors: City of Paris, Legris Industries 

    Japan
    Boat: Nippon                      Syndicate Head: Tatsumitsu Yamasaki
    Budget: $40m              Skipper: Chris Dickson  Tactician: John Cutler
    Designer: Ichiro Yokoyama
    Sponsors: 30 Japanese corporations

    Italy
    Boat: Il Moro di Venezia          Syndicate Head: Raul Gardini
    Budget: $60m              Skipper: Paul Cayard   Tactician: Tomasso Chieffi
    Designer: German Frers
    Sponsor: Montedison

    New Zealand
    Boat: New Zealand                 Syndicate Head: Sir Michael Fay
    Budget: $25m              Skipper: Rod Davis     Tactician: David Barnes
    Designer: Bruce Farr
    Sponsors: Steinlager, New Zealand Apple and Pear Marketing Board, 
              Toyota NZ, Telecom NZ

    Russia    [participation not confirmed]
    Boat: White Nights                Syndicate Head: Oleg Larionov
    Budget: Not declared      Skipper: Sergei Borodinov  
    Designer: Oleg Larionov
    Sponsors: AgroChim, Stolichnaya

    Spain
    Boat: Espana '92 - Quinto Centenario  Syndicate Head: Eduardo Serra
    Budget: $24m          Skipper: Pedro Campos  Tactician: Antonio Gorestegui
    Designer: Diego Colon
    Sponsors: 500th Anniversary of Coloumbus

    Sweden
    Boat: Sweden                       Syndicate Head: Tomas Wallin
    Budget: Not declared      Skipper: Gunnar Krantz  Helmsman: Olle Johansson
    Designer: Peter Norin
    Sponsors: Not declared

    According to AP, Dennis Conner onboard Stars & Stripes defeated Bill Koch
    on Jayhawk yesterday by 2 minutes 16 seconds.
    As they stand now in points:
    
    1. Defiant              3 pt.
    
    2. Stars & stripes      2 pt.
    
    3. Jayhawk              0 pt.

    The paper says that Defiant's got another point. 
    
    Time: 2:50:11
    Beat Stars and Stripes by 50 seconds.
    
     Geoff

    re. -1
    Who was the helmsman? Melges or Koch?
    Tks.
    A.
    

    Word on the street is that DC is in a little bit of trouble.  Note that:
    Jayhawk appears to be a little bit slower boat,  Defiant and DC appeared 
    to have similar boat speed (with the edge if any going to Defiant), DC
    is sailing with a "marginal" (at best) sail inventory, Koch was driving
    Jayhawk with Andreas as tactician/sail trim, Melges and Dollanback were
    on Defiant, DC and Whidden were on S&S (Defiant and S&S certainly get
    the advantage there - who is going to drive the A3 big gun in round
    2?),  A3 is getting two new boats in the next two months, the wind
    conditions will be different in April and May, DC with only one boat
    and 1 1/2 spars was being very careful not to damage anything, and this 
    round only counts one point per win (as opposed to 5 pts in round 2 
    and 12 pts in round 3).
    
    How (why) did DC let Buddy drive over him and lose a luffing
    match on Wednesday???  I can't believe ifff the AC was on the line that
    that would ever happen.
    
    Are any of these boats competitive in boat speed with New Zealand?

    If Conner loses in the defender trials can he join the Koch group
    for the real races?

    re. -1
    
    I've read somewhere in the press that he could join Koch's
    team as helsman but I think that DC still has some surprises
    left. IMO he's anyway the best on the sea; probably his pro-
    blems rise from the fact that HE is the Syndicate, the Skipper
    the Helmsan etc. etc. and I don't think it be a good business.
    
    I mean: he can't go on doing everything by himself, he still
    is (or should be) only a man (or not?).
    
    BTW: can someone kindly explain the meaning of 'sandbagger'?
         and why is it so often linked with DC?
    
    Tks & bye from Ita (with plenty of envy to San Diego people).
    

    To sandbag means, roughly, to delay.  People think DC is saving
    some trick or breakthrough until late in the series, perhaps so
    he can unveil it and win before anyone has time to react to it.
    Thus, some people say he is "sandbagging", or holding his secret 
    weapon for the last minute.  

    I don't think anyone in the Defender or Challenger trials will be
    showing all of their ability in the first couple of rounds.  (The
    exception being the non-competitive Challengers, who would not have a
    chance to make the final 4 otherwise.)  You do not get a lot of points
    for winning and there is no big penalty for losing.  Everyone is just
    trying to feel everyone else out.  E.G., DC raced Defiant last
    Wednesday and lost because 1) DC "let" Melges roll him to weather on a
    reach and 2) DC doesn't have a "great" sail inventory (even though his
    tactician, Tom Whidden, is the president of North Sails).  Yet on the
    beats, DC was very aggressive and showed very good boat speed.  Then on
    Thursday when DC raced Koch on Jayhawk (a situation where DC had proven
    that Jayhawk was no no real competition), DC flew a brand new $60,000
    main.  Another good example is Freemantle in 1983.  DC's strategy was
    for straight line boat speed, with all other capabilities second
    (manuverablility, acceleration, etc.).  DC did everything he could,
    even in the finals agianst the Kuka's, to hide his boat speed
    advantage.  I don't know if I'd call that sandbagging, I probably would
    call it just good strategy.

    Re: "Sandbagging"
    
    To help with the translation of "sandbagging". It's a term used to
    describe someone who is deliberately doing less than his best.
    One who is holding back. 
    
    In a racing situation like this, it is used to gain a strategic
    advantage by keeping your competition in the dark and is usually
    considered to be within the reasonable bounds of good sportsmanship.
    
    Another common usage is amongst amateur golfers who compete using
    handicaps. Here a "sandbagger" is not considered a good sportsman
    as his deliberate poor play (in situations where it doesn't harm
    him competitively) is intended to raise his handicap to gain a
    competitive advantage at a later time. 
    
    JR

    Thanks you all, I was afraid of something worse.
    
    Bye.
    A.
    

    I think the italian equivalent is "to blow smoke in the eyes"
    meaning to give a different point of view in order to hide the
    true one.
    But this is probably matter for another conference.
    
    BTW: which are the final scores of R.R. 1?
    
    Bye.
    A.
    

    
    I like the assessment a couple answers back. Golf and PHRF both use 
    handicaps. And when a boat starts *really* smoking the fleet, John and
    Bump (etc) start talking, and a change of handicap may be in the air. 
    Unless there are a zillion of the same model production hull in the
    area, the system is unable to deal with it. This is the number one
    stench of PHRF. Ask the newly formed J-24 fleet in Scituate. Or any
    established one-design. The PHRF ex-pats at the helm or in crew will
    probably allude to that. 
    
    Now Dennis does it, but probably would rather blow the competition
    away- I mean, how much fun was that series of catamaran vs. winged
    topside a few years back? Who won? The cable sports channels, maybe.
    
    Any system that allows this sort of thing is by nature self defeating.
    When it's the only show in town, tho, there's not much hope of positive
    change.
    
    Harrumph.

    RE .17
    
    >> And when a boat starts *really* smoking the fleet, John and Bump
    >> (etc) start talking, and a change of handicap may be in the air. 
    
    Of course, it doesn't always work that way.  An example of sandbagging
    in PHRF racing is the boat Claddagh ... an old IOR boat.  This boat
    has a pattern that you can predict from year to year.  From Memorial
    Day to Labor Day they'll win consistently, and usually by huge margins.
    They rate 75, and in a typical mid-season race they'll finish with the
    Taylor 40's and one-tonners (rating 63-69).
    
    From Labor Day till the end of the season they typically finish 3rd or
    4th ... sometimes they even do worse by adopting stupid tactics.  This 
    pattern plays out every year, and they use it to justify their PHRF
    rating by pointing to the results of these races.  And each year the
    rest of the fleet expects to see their rating bumped and it never
    happens.  Of course, it doesn't hurt to have one of the guys who
    determines the ratings on your crew, either.
    
    I think that's why we've seen a steady drop-off in the Marblehead
    A-fleet since about 1987.  Sandbagging in any sport that relies on
    handicaps is unsportsmanlike ... and ultimately it taints the sport
    if it's tolerated.
    
    That said, the America's Cup is not handicapped, and therefore I think
    it's a perfectly legitimate tactic in that case.
    
    ... Bob
    

    Claddagh has been sold so some folks down South (Floriday, Carolina?).
    The Fallon's have taken up a new challenge: E-22.
    
    As far as PHRF ratings go, there's no win.  If you hadicap based
    on subjective criteria (PHRF), then someone (usually more than one!) will
    alwasy complain they've been cheated.  If you handicap based on
    a measurement rule (IMS, IOR) someone will be willing to spend the
    $$$'s to "beat the rule" (e.g., Kock and Matador II, Tripp-40, the
    new NM 44 that hammered the IMS A fleet at Key West).
    
    Marblehead PHRF has too many boats bunched in the 63-75 range.  There
    is lots of open "space" in the 24-60 range.  The Tripp 40's beat
    the Taylor 40's by 20 sec/mile, yet only rate 10 sec/mile faster.
    If they make the Taylor's rate 66 or 69, then there's a big problem
    with the Frers 41's, J-35's, etc.  Yet there is some resistance to
    rating the Trip in the 40's and the Taylors in the high 50's low
    60's.
    
    If you look at the IMS certificates for these boats, its even worse.
    The Tripp 40's rate about 6 seconds faster than the Taylor's in IMS.
    Clearly the IMS rule is busted worse than the PHRF rule.

I wondered if the term sandbagging had anything to do with Sandbaggers, the
skimming dish boats, raced 19th century, that used quantities of sandbags as
movable ballast. I remember reading that you weren't always required to return
with all the ballast you went out with. A possible tactic would be to load the
boat up to slow it down for the initial part of the race to lull your comp
etition then dump the extra ballast on the sprint for home??

Just wondering

Mike H

    
    I understand it was quite a bit worse than that.  They had lackeys
    below who were responsible for *moving* the sandbags during tacks ...
    effectively multiplying the effect of crew weight.  I suppose if the
    skipper was really cruel he'd have them toss the bags overboard after
    the beat, but I doubt it.  In any case, he wouldn't have been able to
    do this unnoticed.
    
    Perhaps the term derived from the fact that the schenannegens were
    going on below decks, out of sight, and so the skipper was not showing
    his true capabilities to his competitors.  Presumably they wouldn't be
    doing this before race time, either, so a sandbagger would suddenly
    seem to have greatly improved performance upwind once the race started.
    
       /Jim
     

    Sandbags below deck: that's one way to get ballast.  I raced with a guy
    down in New Zealand on a mulletie.  Harbor racing.  As I recall this
    class was about 20' overall.  Booms were about 22', so you flew a bit
    of canvas.  Below decks was likened to sleeping underneath the kitchen
    table.  Internal ballast for these boats.  Our preference for ballast
    was cases of beer.  Not too difficult to shift it around at all, or get
    rid of the weight for downwind legs.  

                                                                   
<><><><><><><><>  T h e   V O G O N   N e w s   S e r v i c e  <><><><><><><><>
 Edition : 2499             Thursday 23-Jan-1992            Circulation :  8093 
 
        
VNS UK SPORTS REPORT:                             [Ken Merrick, VNS Sports Desk]
=====================                             [Valbonne, France            ]
 

:::YACHTING
   Defiant beat Jayhawk in the latest round of the Defender series. The points
   total now reads: Defiant 4pts, Stars and Stripes 2pts, Jayhawk 0pt.
 
 
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
     Permission to copy material from this VNS is granted (per DIGITAL PP&P)
    provided that the message header for the issue and credit lines for the
    VNS correspondent and original source are retained in the copy.

::: YACHTING
    The America Cubed syndicate expect to uunveil their third boat this
    weekend. The team already lead the defender series with Defiant taking 
    three victories over Denis Conner's  Stars and Stripes.
    
    In the challenger series, Ville de Paris was beaten by Nippon in the 4th
    round.

    Another naive question.  Is the Defender organization REQUIRED to
    assign the defense to the boat that gets the most points in
    the elimination or are the trials just for information, with the
    final choice to be made in a smoke-filled room?
    
    Doug.

    DC is getting his butt kicked by the new America Cubed boat.
    And DC's boat was considered a match for any boat at the
    Worlds -- maybe even the fastest.  Looks like A-cubed made
    a leap...

    Acording to the paper tonight, which seems oblivious to the fact that 
    the challenger trials are important too, the boat A� beat Defiant by 49
    seconds. A� was driven by Melges and Defiant driven by Koch. A� time 
    was 2:53:19. 
    	All of that sounds good and right to me, but hen they go on to list 
    the standing as A� with 10 points, S&S with 3 and Defiant with 2. I
    thought Defiant was ahead of S&S. But what can you expect from a paper
    that never has any sailing results in it and now gives the defender
    trials less than 15 lines of print that's smaller than the local high
    school basket ball scores? The important details I glean from this are 
    that A� has another boat and it's faster than the already kickin' butt
    Defiant. 
    
    Geoff

    As I understand it, in the 2nd round of defender trials Defiant is
    taking over Jayhawk's points from round 1 and the new America cubed
    boat picks up Defiant's points.
    
    
    L.A. Times Daily Report  2/12
    
    Dennis Conner's slow boat to nowhere will try a quick fix to get back
    up to speed, thanks to Bill Koch's willingness to waive the rules.
    
    "I don't think anybody's benefiting much from this kind of race
    program," America cubed helmsman Buddy Melges said after beating Conner
    by six minutes Tuesday.  "We need to be pushed."
    
    Since making major modifications for this second round of the defender
    trials, Stars & Stripes also has lost to Koch's tandem of America cubed
    by 6:23 and Defiant by 4:16.
    
    Normally, a boat couldn't be altered except between rounds.  But with
    three races remaining for Stars & Stripes in this round, Koch agreed to
    waive the rule.
    
    There wasn't time to fix it before today's race against Defiant, but
    Conner's crew will have Thursday and Friday to work before racing
    Koch's pair Saturday and Sunday.
    
    "We're gonna put it back approximately the way it was before,"
    tactician Tom Whidden said.  That would probably mean scrapping the
    radical underwater appendages installed after the first round, when
    Stars & Stripes was at least competitive.
    
    Since then Stars & Stripes is believed to have been refitted with a
    radical, fore-and-aft-rudder steering system similar to what designer
    Alberto Calderon developed for the late Tom Blackaller's 12-meter USA
    in 1986.  The system was likened to learning how to steer a
    hook-and-ladder fire truck from the rear end: tricky at best,
    terrifying at worst.
    
    For Conner, the main problem has been upwind, at least in the last two
    races.  Off the wind, he has actually sailed slightly faster than his
    rivals.

    Wow, that sheds some light.  They made S&S a slow boat.
    And destroyed the benchmark for A cubed.  What a gamble!  
    Especially when S&S seemed so fast -- to windward in particular.  
    I guess there is no 2nd boat...  
    
    Hopefully they's get S&S back into shape -- or give DC the
    2nd-string A cubed boat.  Guess Koch wouldn't be that generous.
    

    
       Do you think Bill Koch would let Dennis run home and get
    his Cat???    Nahhhhhhhhhhhhh.......   ;>)
    
       It's sad to see Dennis dying by the sword (ie high technology). Sort of
    reminisant of Perth when Dickson tried to do everything himself on a 
    limited budget.
    
       Yes, folks this is AC racing where the motto is
    
    "Money talks and BS walks"    ;>)  ;>)
    

    DC got a sum of $$$'s > $3-5M last Friday from Kodak.  He's:
    1) one heck of a salesman, 2) has something up his sleeve,
    3) Kodak needs an exceptional tax write off for this year, and/or
    4) Kodak is very stupid.
    
    
    BTW - anyone hear about the perils of shipping a large hull constructed
    with Hexcel core via air freight at high altitudes???

    Is there any AC coverage on cable? ESPN?
    
    I keep looking and find nothing.

    ESPN has been covering the event. Look for evening coverage, say 10:30
    est.

    
    	Yes ESPN is doing a 30 minute session once a week.  The bad news is
    that it moves from week to week.  This friday it is at 22:00 EST.
    
    
    Forrest 

 	I have been watching the ESPN shows and have been very disapointed.
	They do lots of talking and recapitulating and interviews which 
	minimizes the on the water coverage time.  They keep reviewing the
	NZ bowsprit trying to stir up some controversy.

	Their coverage, however, is vastly superior to the local newspaper.
	Something is better than nothing.

	The camera shots are very good.  It is the editing that I quarrel
	with.  

	Al

    With strategist John Bertrand at the helm, Dennis Conner's Stars &
    Stripes defeated Bill Koch's Defiant by 55 seconds Thursday for the
    first time in five tries.
    
    Conner was en route Thursday to a scheduled boat show appearance in
    Miami.  Stars & Stripes trailed Defiant by as much as 1 minute before
    coming back to win the fifth race of the second round of defender
    trials.
    
    It was Stars & Stripes' first victory in the second round, having lost
    once to Defiant and twice to America3.  America3 leads the series with
    12 points.  Stars and Stripes has five points and Defiant two.  Today
    is a lay day.  
    
    Stars and Stripes had a new keel, rudder and mast
    combination installed Wednesday night.  The crew, working in shifts,
    labored in the wind and rain through the night to complete a refit
    similar to that on the boat in the first round.
    
    	- Associated Press

    How is the rain/storms in So. California effecting the series ?
    
    Has the broken sewer pipe been fixed yet ?     I bet the city of
    SD wants to see that fixed real fast !!! (typhoid shots for all
    crews after a day on the briney, or semi-briney)

    Re. .36
    
    Glad to hear we aren't alone. TV coverage is randomic and
    unpredictable; few news and lots of old stuff. Paper co-
    verage is totally overridden by b....y soccer and other
    boring matters.
    Hope some improvements towards semi-finals.
    
    Bye.
    A.
    

		The following press kits were released by Digital
	on January 20th 1992 at a press conference held at the 
	America� compound in San Diego.
		
		There are three groups of kits for three audiences
	(Sailing, Computer Press and Business). As a result, the kits 
	for one audience will be similar to that for the others; 
	but, they're all here.

		BEWARE: THIS INFORMATION IS 17 PAGES LONG. SAVE A TREE.



Editorial Contact:

Robert M. Kucharavy
(508) 493-6827

Background: Sailing

                COMPUTERS TAKE AMERICA'S CUP TO 

                NEW LEVEL OF COMPETITION IN 1992

     This year's America's Cup will see new levels of competition
being waged across the entire spectrum of the race, from boat,
appendage and sail, design and testing, to tactical support in the
cockpit -- all dependent on computers.
     The dependence on computers by America's Cup syndicates has
grown substantially since their role in the design and testing of
the innovative keel that helped the Australians wrest the Cup from
the United States in 1983.  Meanwhile, because of the collapse of
rules since the last bona fide race in 1987, it will have been five
years since the full impact of computers has been felt in the race. 
During this time, computer power has increased exponentially, and
the software technology to apply this power to all of the different
aspects of Cup racing has intensified to take advantage of this new
power.  

Sail magazine background -- 2/

     According to William I. Koch, the America3 skipper,
"Technology is the key to the America's Cup race.  You can't win
with a slow boat, and the only way to get a fast boat is to use the
best technology available and to have the best computers you can
get, and the best software."
     In the America3 effort, computer systems from Digital
Equipment Corporation are being used this year in most of the
nearly 40 different areas of computer-based work.  Overall, the
America3 team is using approximately $500,000 worth of Digital
workstation computers (machines that are as powerful as
minicomputers, but only slightly larger than a personal computer),
personal computers (PCs), terminals and networking equipment, as
well as a Digital VAX 9000 mainframe computer located at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to prepare for the
America's Cup races being held from January to May of 1992 in San
Diego, California.

                         Major Projects
     The Digital computers are used in three major areas:
     o    Design engineering, testing and analysis -- including the
          predicted affect of waves on hulls, the drag and lift of
          keels and other appendages, and the shape of sails;


Sail magazine background -- 3/

     o    Performance analysis -- on-the-water testing that
          generates information applied to a range of disciplines,
          from boat, appendage and sail modifications to
          calibration of on-board instrumentation and even
          refinement of computer programs; and
     o    Race management -- during racing, powerful on-board
          computer programs monitor performance, provide a wide
          range of critical data and support tactical decisions.

                New Rules Affect Design, Analysis
     New yacht-design rules promulgated by the America's Cup
Organizing Committee (ACOC) for the 1992 races are having major
impact on several facets of design.  The new rules call for larger
hulls, deeper keels and greater sail sizes than before. For the
first time, the rules also allow carbon fiber composite materials
for hulls, masts, keels and miscellaneous hardware.
     The America3 syndicate will have a total of four different
hulls and will determine which are best suited for the races.  Two
hulls -- USA-9 and USA-18 -- have been tested extensively; a third
is scheduled for delivery in January, and a fourth is scheduled for
delivery in March.

Sail magazine background -- 4/

Carbon Fiber for Hulls and Appendages
     While computer-designed yachts are not new, an innovative
application is integral to the construction of America3's yachts. 
Using finite element analysis (FEA) programs running on Digital
workstations at Stanford University, designers are analyzing the
structural laminates required for the carbon fibers used in the
construction of the hulls.  Carbon fiber laminates can be varied
substantially, both in how the fibers are grouped and in the type
of resin used to bind the fibers together.  The FEA testing helps
designers maximize strength, minimize weight, and stay within ACOC
specifications.
Keel Design and Testing
     Although hull designs are now complete, much design work is
still underway in keel sizes and shapes.  Easily the most secret
physical component of America's Cup boats, the keel is the subject
of intense design and test scrutiny.  For the America3 syndicate,
keel designs are sent to MIT via a computer network for testing on
the VAX 9000 mainframe computer.
     At MIT, designers perform numerical hydrodynamics tests -- a
form of computational fluid dynamics, or CFD -- on the computer
that show the lift and drag forces exerted on the keel or other
appendages.  The state-of-the-art VAX 9000 mainframe computer
permits MIT analysts to simulate larger sections of the hull/keel
assembly, and with finer accuracy than in any America's Cup race
before.


Sail magazine background -- 5/

     Results of the CFD tests are then sent to Stanford within
hours or a day for FEA analysis.  As many as 10 different keel
designs may be undergoing computer testing at any one time.
     According to researchers at MIT, today's level of computing
power, coupled with new, more sophisticated programming, is
resulting in research that is substantially more detailed,
accurate, and quicker than ever before.  One immediate benefit is
vast savings in time and money.  Although tank testing is still
required to confirm certain design characteristics, much more can
be performed by computer alone.  
Sail Design, Testing
     Another outgrowth of the new power of computers is the ability
to apply CFD programs to sail design.  Using computer technology
similar to that used for studying hull and keel shapes, combined
with data gathered in real-world tests, researchers are able to
study sail shapes and their affect on lift.  As with hull and keel
design, the result is proven sail designs in a much shorter time
frame and at much lower cost than would be possible without the
computer.  
     The net benefit of the high speed and low cost of computer
modeling is that designers can afford to experiment with a greater
number of untested, creative, outer-limit ideas, such as the winged
keel that revolutionized the race in 1983.

Sail magazine background -- 6/

                Total Performance Analysis by VPP
     New hull, keel or sail designs are tested either by "scale"
testing in towing tanks and wind tunnels or by computer simulation
via the team's CFD and velocity prediction program (VPP).  The VPP
is a powerful modeling program that can calculate yacht performance
based on all relevant factors: hull shape and size, sail shape and
size, wind speed and direction, crew weight, and so on.
     The program serves several purposes.  In addition to testing
designs through "what if" modeling of different wind and weather
conditions, it also feeds optimum performance predictions into
other on-the-water test programs.  And as new on-the-water
experience is gained, the VPP is correlated and corrected as
necessary.
     The VPP is an extremely important strategic tool, and so is
kept secret -- and is regularly upgraded and refined -- by each
competing team.  
     The America3 VPP was developed at MIT; the program, either in
whole or in parts, can be run on a Digital workstation or Digital
PC at MIT or in San Diego, or on the MIT VAX 9000 mainframe.  In
addition to the program's routine upgrading, a new module has been
added to predict the effect of waves on boat performance --
valuable because of the Pacific Ocean's tendency to produce large
swells that bear little relation to wind direction.


Sail magazine background -- 7/

Sea-Keeping
     Under more normal conditions, when swells run in the same
direction as the wind, boat performance is affected about equally
on each tack of a windward leg.  However, since the big Pacific
swell doesn't necessarily follow this rule, designers and analysts
needed to take the effect of waves into account.  Compounding the
problem is the fact that the new class of Cup boats is lighter,
meaning any wave will have more of an impact on performance.  In
fact, estimates are that because of these two factors, waves may
effect the performance of this year's Cup boats by as much as 50
percent.  
     To be able to incorporate this into the computer modeling and
testing of potential and actual hull designs, researchers at MIT,
using the Digital VAX 9000 mainframe, developed a new math model
that accurately reflects the impact of waves, or sea-keeping, on
America3's hulls.  This model was then incorporated into the VPP,
elevating it to greater levels of sophistication and accuracy.


                      Performance Analysis
     The second major project group, performance analysis, involves
collecting data from sensors mounted on the yachts -- and from
other information, such as weather conditions or wind anomalies --
and using that data for crew training, boat trimming and refinement
of appropriate computer programs.

Sail magazine background -- 8/

     For two-boat testing, the VPP data is fed into a performance
database located on the tender.  During each day's tests, the
performance database is updated every two seconds with actual
information collected by the boat's 16 sensors.
     This updated information is passed to the primary on-board
racing program, called Matasail (named after Bill Koch's Maxi boat
Matador for which it was first developed), to form the basis for
optimum performance predicting and strategic recommendations to the
crew.  The updated information is also put back into the VPP, to be
used for future performance-database input and, even more
importantly, to let on-shore analysts compare variations of
important parameters -- hull or keel shape, sail choice -- in a
range of other design, engineering and analytical programs.
Developing Target Angles
     One example of the use of data collected by the on-board
sensors is to calculate each boat's target angles.  To do this, the
computer program compares the wind speed to the angle at which the
boat is sailing.  This data -- collected every two seconds -- gives
the analysts a graphic display of the "polars" (plots of speed made
good to the mark for different true wind angles and wind speed). 
The analysts can then develop formulas for these polars that can be
translated into target angles for each boat.  The formulas are
fine-tuned over time to improve accuracy and to take into account
changes in keels, sails, etc.
     Matasail also logs data that is later compared to the VPP
predictions.  Based on these results, developers can further
"tweak" the VPP.  


Sail magazine background -- 9/

Race Modeling
     Also, Matasail and VPP data can be used by another program,
run at night in the San Diego compound, called the Race Modeling
Program, or RMP.  This software permits analysts to model sailing
races of two boats in a computer and includes provisions for
phenomena such as wind shadowing.  The results are statistical
probabilities of which boat design (or rig, weight distribution,
sails, etc.) perform better under certain conditions.
Video Sail Analysis 
     Also important to performance testing is sail-shape analysis. 
The America3 team uses video cameras mounted on board its yachts
and, hand-held, aboard the team's large tender.  Video images of
sail shape are captured, then digitized into PC-screen images on a
number of Digital and non-Digital PCs located in San Diego and at
MIT.
     One analysis project at MIT uses video images not from actual
America's Cup yachts but from a "sailing dynamometer" -- a unique
test boat developed at MIT that is able to measure the forces of
wind on sails with utmost precision.  
     The concept is simple: the sailing dynamometer is actually a
boat within a boat.  Sails are attached to the inner boat, and the
inner boat is attached to the outer-boat frame via cables and force
sensors -- hence the name dynamometer.  The outer boat isolates the
inner boat from the forces of the water, so analysis of sail shapes
shows the "true" wind forces.

Sail magazine background -- 10/

     As part of the analysis, video images showing the sail shapes
on the sailing dynamometer are integrated into a precise
measurement program.  This program lets the MIT analyst measure
actual sail size, using a mouse pointer, at any point in the test
video.  By comparing the sail size (or, three-dimensionally, the
sail "shape") to the known dynamometer force at that same exact
moment, the analyst can determine the performance of various sail
configurations and trims.

                  Racing with Computer Support
     Although most everyone agrees that crews, not computers, win
races, it is possible for an on-board computer to assist the
decision-making processes of the navigator, the tactician, and the
skipper.
     Matasail, run below-deck on a powerful Digital PC:
     o    reads information from relevant parts of an on-board
          performance database, 
     o    tracks the exact navigational position via satellite
          feeds (from the standard GPS navigational broadcast) as
          well as the committee boat and mark positions based on
          coordinates input by the navigator at the start and at
          mark roundings, 
     o    monitors a steady flow of data from the on-board sensors,
          and 
     o    produces information that can help the navigator,
          tactician, and helmsman make decisions.


Sail magazine background -- 11/

     For instance, Matasail can show the laylines and the actual
sailing track, superimposed over a graphical representation of the
race course.  The navigator will know when the boat can make a mark
and can run "what if" scenarios to gauge relative advantages of one
tactical move over another.
     Since the on-board program knows how fast the boat should be
going in a given situation -- based on its performance database --
and is monitoring everything from backstay tensions to trim tab
angle, the program can not only tell the crew when the boat is not
going at optimum speed, but can suggest what changes need to be
made.  For example, if the jib trimmer is trying to move the boat
up to what the computer says is target speed, he may notice that
the readout of running backstay tensions "imply" an adjustment he
can make in the sheet tension.
     In order to be most effective, the on-board program is
continually refined and upgraded with newer information from the
VPP and other programs, which are themselves updated via
refinements gathered in real-world test situations.

Sail magazine background -- 12/

Making On-Board Computer "Racing-Friendly"
    But, working with an on-board computer does not necessarily
mesh with everything else the navigator needs to worry about during
a race.  For the America3 boats, a breakthrough technology,
developed in cooperation with Digital, is being tested to help the
on-board computers adapt to the realities of Cup racing.  A voice-
recognition system has been developed to let navigators interact
with the computer without having to use a keypad, or worry about a
joystick getting too wet to work.
     The voice-recognition system from Verbex Voice Systems of
Edison, N.J., lets the navigator run the entire computer, including
inputting data (such as actual position of marks or the starting
line) using only verbal cues.  In addition, the computer could be
programmed to announce certain information the navigator might not
need to read on the computer screen.


Sail magazine background -- 13/

                  Competing Through Technology
     There is no doubt that the level of competition computers
bring to Cup racing means it is a far cry from dinghy racing.  And
so, the question of whether the America's Cup is still definable as
yacht racing is a valid one.  But, what's also clear is that it is
humans who steer the boats, trim the sails, decide when to tack,
and so on.  Computers can help enhance performance -- of the boat
and of the crew -- but they can't replace either.
     As in any modern competitive arena, computers are increasingly
essential to giving humans important competitive advantages.  The
1992 America's Cup is no exception.  In fact, the places where
computers help in Cup racing are places where the sheer
computational power of a computer far exceeds anything humans could
match or where human judgment may fail.  
     For example, seasoned sailors believe they are good at judging
distance over the water, but if compared to measurements taken by
laser-based tools, more often than not, sailors are wrong -- and by
significant amounts.  
     To the extent that a syndicate's budget can support technology
that is more accurate than humans, it is in the best interests of
the syndicate to adopt it.  Unlike one-design competitions, the
America's Cup pits each team's technology against the other's. 
And, if computers provide one team with a winning edge -- either in
design or on-the-water -- that could well make a difference at the
finish line.

Sail magazine background -- 14/

       Computer Technology: A Competitive Edge Everywhere
     Other related uses of computers by the America3 team
demonstrate the similarities between America's Cup racing and any
competitive environment in general.  In both cases, the correct
application of information technology can produce competitive
advantage. 
     For America3, computer techniques are also assisting the
management aspects of its effort.  This includes project management
-- necessary for coordinating the efforts of the many
geographically dispersed America3 computer-based design and
analytical functions -- as well as computerized parts-inventory
management, important to the boat's competitiveness in race
conditions.
     Across the full spectrum of activities that make up both the
preparation and the actual competition, Bill Koch says, "computer
technology will play a determinative role in the 1992 America's
Cup."


Editorial Contact:
          Robert M. Kucharavy
          (508)493-6827

Background: Computer Press

             COMPETING THROUGH COMPUTER APPLICATIONS

               KEY TO AMERICA CUP SUCCESS IN 1992

     Computer systems from Digital Equipment Corporation are being
used this year in major design, engineering, testing and
performance modeling applications by the America3 Foundation racing
team, one of the two United States syndicates vying to defend the
Cup.
     Overall, the team is using approximately $500,000 worth of
Digital workstations, PCs, terminals and networking equipment, as
well as a Digital vector processor-equipped VAX 9000 mainframe
located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to
prepare for the America's Cup races that will be held from January
to May of 1992, in San Diego, California.
     Primary locations for the Digital computers are at the team's
San Diego compound, at MIT, at Stanford University, and on board
the America3 yachts and their support tender.  Additionally,
Digital computers are being used at the locations of America3
vendors and software developers, including Atlantic Applied
Research Corporation, Cordtran Corporation, and Unkel Software.

Computer press background -- 2/

     The computers communicate through several networks.  Wide-area
networking is via the Internet public service and telephone-
connected modems.  At the America3 San Diego compound an Ethernet
local-area network (LAN) is used to connect DECstation 3100 and
5000 workstations to Digital and non-Digital PCs.  At MIT, Digital
workstations, Digital and non-Digital PCs and the VAX 9000 are
interconnected as part of the university's Athena campus-wide
network.  Also, yacht-to-tender communications utilize encrypted
telemetry to exchange data during the near-daily test runs off San
Diego.  Telemetry is further used by San Diego to capture wind and
water-related information from several test buoys. 
     
                      Major Project Groups
     The Digital computers are used for applications in three major
project groups:
     o    Design, engineering, tank and wind tunnel testing and
          analysis -- for hull, keels and other appendages, and
          sails.  Central to this project group (and a contributor
          to other applications) is the team's velocity prediction
          program (VPP), a highly proprietary program developed at
          MIT and regularly updated to reflect test experience.



Computer press background -- 3/

     o    Performance analysis -- data gathered during on-the-water
          testing is used to evaluate yacht performance and to
          confirm and/or update the team's predictive programs
          (such as the VPP), as well as for input into other
          projects, from design to race management.
     o    Race management -- during the race, powerful software and
          innovative hardware that includes a voice-recognition
          command interface are used to monitor actual performance
          and wind/water conditions, to support tactical decisions,
          and to set up target conditions such as speed or back
          stay tension.

                New Rules Affect Design, Analysis
     The new IACC yacht-design rules for the 1992 races are having
a major impact on several facets of design.  The new rules call for
larger hulls, deeper keels and greater sail sizes than before.  For
the first time, the rules allow carbon fiber composite materials
for hulls, masts, keels and miscellaneous yacht hardware.
     The America3 syndicate will have a total of four different
hulls and will determine which are best suited for the races.  Two
hulls -- USA-9 and USA-18 -- have been tested extensively; a third
is scheduled for delivery in January, and a fourth is scheduled for
delivery in March.

Computer press background -- 4/

     Integral to the construction of these yachts is the analysis
of structural laminates of carbon fiber, being carried out at
Stanford using finite element analysis (FEA) programs running on
Digital workstations.  Carbon fiber laminates can be varied
substantially, both in how the fibers are grouped and in the types
of resin used to bind the fibers together.  The FEA testing helps
designers maximize strength, minimize weight, and stay within ACOC
specifications.
     Although hull designs are now complete, much design work is
still underway in keel sizes and shapes.  Easily the most
proprietary component, the keel is the subject of intense design
and test scrutiny.  For the America3 syndicate, keel designs are
sent through Atlantic Applied Research to MIT for testing on the
VAX 9000 mainframe.
     At MIT, designers perform numerical hydrodynamics tests -- a
form of computational fluid dynamics, or CFD -- using flow codes. 
Flow codes are simulations of fluid flow, showing the lift and drag
forces -- the pressure distribution -- exerted on that body.  The
VAX 9000 mainframe is equipped with two vector processors, allowing
MIT analysts to simulate larger sections of the hull/keel assembly,
and with finer accuracy, than ever before.
     Results of the keel CFD tests are then sent back to Stanford
for structural analysis.  As many as 10 different keel designs may
be undergoing tests at MIT at any one time.


Computer press background -- 5/

                         Analysis by VPP
     New hull, keel or sail designs are tested, either by "scale"
testing or by simulation via the team's velocity prediction program
(VPP), or both.  The VPP is a powerful modeling program that can
calculate yacht performance based on all relevant factors: hull
shape and size, sail shape and size, wind speed and direction, crew
weight, and so on.
     The program serves several purposes.  In addition to testing
designs through "what if" modeling of different wind and weather
conditions, it also feeds optimum performance predictions into
other on-the-water test programs.  And as new on-the-water
experience is gained, the VPP output is correlated and corrected as
necessary.
     The VPP is an extremely important strategic tool, and so is
kept proprietary -- and is regularly upgraded and refined -- by
each competing team.
     The America3 VPP was developed at MIT; the program, either in
whole or in parts, can be run on a Digital workstation, a PC at MIT
or in San Diego, or on the MIT VAX 9000 mainframe.  New to the VPP
this year is a module that can measure the effect of waves on boat
performance -- valuable because of the Pacific Ocean's well-known
tendency to produce large swells.

Computer press background -- 6/

                      Performance Analysis
     The second major project group, performance analysis, involves
collecting data from each yacht's 16 sensors -- and from other
information, such as weather conditions or wind anomalies -- and
using that data for crew training, boat trimming and refinement of
appropriate computer programs.
     During on-the-water testing, VPP data is entered into an on-
board performance database, which is referenced by the primary
race-management program, called Matasail.  Matasail is named after
America3 skipper Bill Koch's Matador Maxi-class boat, for which it
was developed.  The program runs under DOS and Windows 3.0.  The
Digital DECstation 425 PC is located below deck.
     Matasail tracks the boat's exact navigational position via
satellite feeds (from the standard navigational broadcast service
called GPS), adds its own wisdom about boat performance, wind and
sea conditions, and produces information that can help the crew
make tactical or sail-trimming decisions in real time.
     As an example, Matasail monitors the wind speed and the angle
(to the wind) at which the boat is sailing.  This data -- collected
every two seconds -- helps analysts develop ideal or target angles
for each boat.  The target-angle formulas are fine-tuned over time
to improve accuracy and to take into account changes in keels,
sails and other components.  



Computer press background -- 7/

     During the day's testing, Matasail also logs data that is
later compared to the VPP predictions.  Based on these results,
developers regularly refine the VPP.  
     Also, Matasail and VPP outputs can be used by another program,
run at night in the San Diego compound or at Unkel Software, called
the Race Modeling Program, or RMP.  This permits analysts to model
races of two boats and includes provisions for phenomena such as
wind shadowing, which occurs when one boat sails in the "bad air"
of its competitor.
     Another valuable performance-analysis project is sail-shape
analysis.  The America3 team uses video cameras mounted on board
its yachts and hand-held cameras aboard the team's large tender. 
Video images of sail shape are captured, then digitized into PC-
screen images.  These images are used by a number of Digital and
non-Digital PCs, located in San Diego and at MIT, that are equipped
with VGA color graphics hardware and special digital signal
processing (DSP) circuits.
     From these images, analysts can measure precisely sail shape
changes -- information helpful in determining sail performance and
deciding when certain sails should be used, and how they should be
recut.

Computer press background -- 8/

              Race Management: Real-time Assistance
     Although most everyone agrees that crews, not computers, win
races, it is possible for an on-board computer to assist the
decision-making processes of the navigator, tactician and skipper.
     During the race, Matasail gives the team a wide variety of
information options on tactics, trimming, sail choice and others. 
It can, for instance, show the "laylines" (routes to the windward
mark), plus the actual sailing track, of the team's boat, super-
imposed over a graphical representation of the race course.  The
navigator can then run "what if" scenarios to gauge relative
advantages of one tactical move over another.   
     New this year to the America's Cup is a special interface
system, jointly developed by America3, Digital, and Verbex Voice
Systems of New Jersey.  This interface, which is currently being
tested, promises to greatly enhance the speed and ease of using
Matasail.  The system incorporates a voice-recognition system for
calling up windows, inputting data, and activating commands within
the windows.



Computer press background -- 9/

     The voice-recognition apparatus currently works through a
telephone-type handset.  The operator first "trains" the system to
respond to his or her voice, and then further trains the system to
"hear" -- and thus learn to ignore -- any background noise.  The
operator can then call up any window by name or can change position
or size; with every command, instant audio feedback through the
handset confirms command completion.  
    
                  Competing Through Technology
     Not only are the computer technologies used by America3 more
powerful -- and, in some cases, more innovative -- than their
predecessors, they are also able to make better use of networking
and distributed computing than ever before.
     In San Diego, for instance, test results are regularly sent
via phone lines to MIT for overnight processing by the VPP;
resulting reports are returned the next morning -- also by Internet
-- in time for use in that day's tests.
     And in the team's San Diego compound, analysts frequently work
at PCs and use the Ethernet-attached workstations as servers.  This
makes the analysts highly productive; they can do most of their
program setup work on their regular Windows or MS-DOS PCs, then
ship the numerically intensive processing to the ULTRIX-based
Digital workstations.

Computer press background -- 10/

     One example: in San Diego analysts often employ the race
modeling program (RMP) in background mode to "race" statistical
boats in wide-ranging weather patterns.  To do this, an analyst
sets up the RMP input files from the DOS-based VPP, then downloads
them to the workstation for processing.  The analyst can turn to
other work, then check the RMP for results a few minutes later. 
     Throughout the America's Cup races, computer technology will
play a critical role in helping the America3 team -- and its
equipment -- maximize performance.  Today, according to Bill Koch,
computer technology is essential to success in the America's Cup.
     "You can't win with a slow boat," he says.  "And the only way
to get a fast boat is to use the best technology available,
including having the best computers you can get, and the best
software."



Computer press background -- 11/

Note to editors:
     Digital Equipment Corporation computers used by the America3
Foundation include Digital PCs running MS-DOS and Windows 3.0
system software, ULTRIX-based DECstation 3100 and DECstation 5000
RISC workstations, and the ULTRIX-based VAX 9000 mainframe, which
employs two vector processors.
     The VAX 9000 and several workstations and Digital PCs are
located at MIT; other Digital computers are located at Stanford
University, at the team's San Diego compound, at several vendor
locations (Atlantic Applied Research Corp., Cordtran Corp., Unkel
Software), and at other locations including its headquarters, the
home offices of William Koch and several of the team's program
developers and analysts.
     All application software is proprietary to the America3 team
and/or the software developers.

Ethernet is a registered trademark of Xerox Corporation.
MS-DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
VAX, ULTRIX and DECstation are trademarks of Digital Equipment
Corporation.




Editorial Contact: 
          Robert M. Kucharavy                     
          (508)493-6827

Background: General Business Press

           THE DIGITAL/AMERICA3 CHALLENGE: TO SUCCEED

            IN THE "BUSINESS" OF AMERICA'S CUP RACING
 
     The virtues of talent, teamwork and aggressive determination
demanded by the America's Cup competition are not unlike the
qualities considered necessary to compete successfully in any
business enterprise.
     And, like other businesses, the America3 Foundation is
striving to use computing technology to maximum advantage. 
According to America3 skipper William I. Koch, "Computer technology
will play a determinative role in the 1992 America's Cup."
     In fact, computers are used throughout the America3 syndicate
in a variety of ways that demonstrate the team's commitment to
information technology as a strategic competitive weapon:
     o    Modeling and simulation are used to reduce the need for
          manually built models and to shorten design time
          substantially;
     o    Powerful computational resources are applied where needed
          most, for example, in keel performance analysis via the
          vector processor-equipped VAX 9000 mainframe;  

Business press background -- 2/

     o    Networking is used to optimize resource allocation over
          geographically dispersed sites, and even within small
          workgroups (via local-area networking); and
     o    New software development and newer technologies, such as
          a voice-recognition on-board interface, are being applied
          to enhance decision support wherever possible.
     Moreover, other computer techniques that can assist the
business-management aspects of the America3 competition are either
in place or in planning stages.  These techniques include project
management, necessary for coordinating the efforts of the many
geographically dispersed America3 computer-based design and
analytical functions, and computerized parts-inventory management,
important to the boat's competitiveness in race conditions.
  
                     A Competitive Microcosm
     "The America3 effort represents an extremely dynamic business
microcosm," says Ralph Dormitzer, corporate liaison to America3,
for Digital Equipment Corp.  "In some ways, it's like a startup
business that's growing very large, very fast.



Business press background -- 3/

     "It has a very tight time-to-market window, and so many things
must be done in parallel -- some designers are still working on
keels, others are refining sails, and others are comparing the
team's three hulls.  Still others are evaluating tactics and trying
out new technologies.  And yet others are pulling in new data,
doing weather analysis, for instance, and wave analysis.
     "Every day brings the development team closer to an
uncompromising deadline," says Dormitzer.  "All data, from hull,
keel and sail design to race management, is considered 'business
critical'; and yet, many of the technologies and concepts are truly
leading-edge in nature. It would be difficult to find such
demanding test conditions in even the most competitive commercial
atmosphere."
     Because of the coordination required by the America3 effort,
networking is critical to helping the team's decision-making,
according to Vincent Moeyersoms, vice president of technical
operations for the America3 Foundation.
     "It's important to note that none of these projects or
applications is isolated from the rest," says Moeyersoms.  "At any
one time we've got dozens of workstations and powerful PCs doing
nearly 40 applications -- as well as new-program development -- at
half a dozen different sites across the United States.  There are
all sorts of information loops, where applications feed into one
another.

Business press background -- 4/

     "We're constantly upgrading our information and predictive
data, and we're refining the computer programs, too," he says.
     "As an example, what we learn from the velocity prediction
program -- the VPP -- can be fed back into our design programs, and
it is also used as the basis for our on-board testing and race
management programs.  Then, when we produce a new design -- say, a
new keel or sail shape -- we feed that information back into the
VPP.  Also, we regularly upgrade the VPP with data taken from our
tests in San Diego."
     Frequently, the day's test data is sent from San Diego to the
MIT campus in Cambridge, Mass., for overnight processing in the
VPP.  Then, the next morning, new VPP results are sent to San Diego
for use in that day's tests.
     "Local-area networking is valuable, too, because we are
constantly having to make the most of our computer resources," 
says Moeyersoms.  "In our San Diego headquarters, for instance,
people are working on a number of different kinds of computers. 
They can prepare programs for processing, then ship them to one of
the Digital workstations via the Ethernet local-area network.
     "And thanks to the network, if one workstation is overloaded,
the user can send the job to another."


Business press background -- 5/

                       Beneficial Alliance
     Overall, the America3 team is using approximately $500,000
worth of computer equipment donated by Digital, as well as a
Digital VAX 9000 mainframe located at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology (MIT), to prepare for the America's Cup races.
     "Digital is pleased to help the America3 team compete this
year," says Dormitzer, "and we're also fortunate to have this
opportunity to evaluate our own products and services under highly
competitive, time-sensitive circumstances.  This will help Digital
deliver better products and services to customers in the future."
     Digital's America's Cup involvement is only one of the
company's numerous research initiatives around the world. 
Currently, Digital spends approximately $1.6 billion on research
and development activities.
     One example is the Data Parallel Research Initiative
established two years ago by Digital to stimulate development of
applications and operating system software for massively parallel
computer architectures.  The project provides funding for a variety
of university and research-lab projects and complements Digital's
own work in developing new software for massively parallel computer
architectures.
     Another example is Project Athena, a long-term project to link
the population of workstations at MIT into a very sophisticated
distributed computing network.

Business press background -- 6/

     One of the project's primary sponsors, Digital continues to
reap important benefits for its products and customers from Athena-
related technologies.  To date, the best-known Athena technology to
gain commercial success is the X Window System graphical user
interface (GUI) protocol.  X Window has become a de facto industry
standard and is the basis for dozens of current software and
hardware products from industry vendors.
     Also at MIT is the VAX 9000 mainframe being used by the
America3 Foundation analysts.  The VAX 9000 mainframe, a gift to
the university as part of a recently announced research grant, is
additionally employed for applications such as econometric modeling
and urban planning and mapping.
  
                       Winning is Foremost
     "First and foremost, Digital wants to help the America3 team
win the 1992 America's Cup," says Dormitzer.  "We're pleased to be
the computer technology sponsor for the team, and we're pledged to
help the competitive effort wherever we can.
     "But we're also pleased to see the potential for longer-term
benefits that may derive from this competition, benefits that can
help us at Digital serve all our business customers more
effectively -- and with better products -- in the years ahead."



Business press background -- 7/

Note to editors:    VAX is a trademark of Digital Equipment
                    Corporation.
                    Ethernet is a registered trademark of Xerox
                    Corporation.
                    X Window System is a trademark of the
                    Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

    L.A. Times daily report 2/17,18
    
    Both boats protested after Stars & Stripes crashed into America3 in the
    pre-start sequence, but the umpires ruled no foul. (How can that be?)
    America3, with Koch steering after Buddy Melges handled the start
    Sunday, took a shift to the left, gained control and won by 4:33.
    
    That was better than previous losses to America3 by 6:23 and 6:00 but
    might have sobered hopes raised by Stars & Stripes' victory over Koch's
    older Defiant last week that a keel change had made it competitive
    again.
    
    Dennis Conner sailed Stars & Stripes to a 47 second win over Defiant
    again Monday in his last race of the second round of the defender
    trials.

    The day's (Tuesday) only surprise was on the defenders' course, where Dave
    Dellenbaugh sailed Defiant to its first victory over its newer,
    unbeaten stablemate, America3, with Bill Koch at the helm, by 1:05.  In
    the first race, Koch had steered his boat to a 38-second victory.
                        
    Don

    I've heard somewhere that DC too is going to use the new carbon
    fybers sails. Any news about?
    
    Bye all.
    A.
    

    I dunno, but the Buddy&Bill show walked him around the course, again.
    A� sans carbon sails. I sure would like to see if these things work.
    I figre they'll ultimately take their place next to spectra and Tedlar,
    tho. But we shall see.
    
    Keep up the good reporting Arrigo!

    Is *anyone* in the US, aside from west-coasties, getting
    decent news coverage?  It's almost a blackout around here
    (Boston).  DC lost his rig?!!  Must just about spell the end
    of the line for them...
    
    Any word on any informal confrontations between potential
    defenders and challengers?  Closest thing I'd seen was the
    old news about S&S having great speed to windward back during
    the worlds.  Wonder how the tides are turning these days.  If
    DC had his boat back up to snuff, and A cubed can whip it, perhaps
    we're still in the game.  
    
    Is Koch doing all the helming on Acubed, or does Buddy get
    a shot now and then?  I just hope they decide who's really the
    best between the two of them, and then let that guy drive...
    
    Cheers,
    Dean

    NEWS...
    
    The ACOC, the Lois Vitton (sic) RC and the Defender RC all send out
    FAX's daily after the races.  These are pretty good.  They contain
    info about the courses, wind, sea state, times for each boat for each
    leg, protests, results from hearings, and general comments about what
    "really" happened out there.  I've got these, but don't really
    have the time to type them in (or know if they are copyrighted...).  If
    someone has a scanner...
    
    A Harken carbon fiber runner block blew up yesterday on S&S.  They
    were going down wind at about 15 Kts in 20 Kts of breeze when it
    parted.  Very lucky no one got hurt.  A lot of people all over the
    place (Mass not excluded) put in a lot of work last night.  I'm pretty
    sure S&S will be on the line today (start was about 1/2 hour ago, so I
    haven't heard yet).
    
    It is my opinion, based on rumor in the industry (but no facts that I
    can/will relate), that DC is far from out of it.  There is not one
    thing I can imagine that could happen that would be a surprise to me.

    L.A. Times 3/11
    
    It was only the fifth race for Stars & Stripes' mast, which was
    installed for this third round of the defender trials.  Scheduled to
    race America3's older Defiant today, the crew planned to work overnight
    to reinstall their original mast, which is heavier and therefore less
    efficient.
    
    They also will have to return to their older and less efficient
    mainsail.  The better one was shredded, further damaging Conner's
    chances for ever catching up to Koch.
    
    "If we're looking for a bright side, the boat was going better than it
    has against America3, and if we keep on target we're still gonna be all
    right," Conner said.  "Our guys are not gonna let a broken mast bother
    'em.  We've been through worse."
    
    Don

    L.A. Times 3/12
    
    Remains of the shattered mast and mainsail piled aside, Stars & Stripes
    crew members, short on sleep but long on pride, shoved off Wednesday to
    meet America3's Defiant.
    
    They had labored until 1:30 in the morning to replace the mast they had
    lost the day before.  They almost pulled it off, but Defiant, steered
    by Bill Koch the last five of eight legs, won by 23 seconds-- about the
    length of a football field.
    
    For the first time, the result dropped stars & Stripes into third place
    in the defender trials behind the two America3 boats--just where Koch
    wants them in his stated goal to put two boats--America3 and the fourth
    one yet to come--in next month's defender finals.
    
    Unless Stars & Stripes (6-12, 11 points) outsails Defiant (4-12, 12
    points) saturday, it will enter the March 28 semifinals down one bonus
    win to Defiant and two to America3 (16-1, 36 points).
    
    Or...Koch can assure himself of that edge by having America3 throw
    today's four points to Defiant.
    
    Dennis said switching to Stars & Stripes' older mast and mainsail made
    no significant difference.  "In no way would I offer that as an
    excuse," he said.
    
    Don              

    I insist in my personal opinion:
    
    "money makes faster boats but doesn't make them faster..."
    
    I think DC has had a bit of unluck. Give him a twin of A3 and
    you'll see him round Bill&Buddy in a shot.
    
    It seems to me as BK feels an inferiority v/s Big Dennis but
    maybe I'm wrong... time will show.
    
    Bye and a nice (sailing) week-end to all.
    

    re: .46
    
    >It is my opinion, based on rumor in the industry (but no facts that I
    >can/will relate), that DC is far from out of it.
    
    What's this "can/will" stuff?  Are you holding back on us? :-)
    
    I have to agree with you.  I can't believe that DC can not afford
    another boat.  If he really felt he needed one to win he would get one. 
    We're talking about a guy who wrote "No Excuse to Lose", someone who
    grew up sailing in San Diego, has won multiple world championships, has
    more Cup experience by far than anyone else, loves to be the underdog
    and is a notorious "sandbagger".  I would never, ever, bet against him
    in a situation like this.  
    
    Don

    RE: .50
    
    >>I have to agree with you.  I can't believe that DC can not afford
    >>another boat.  If he really felt he needed one to win he would get one. 
    >>We're talking about a guy who wrote "No Excuse to Lose", someone who
    >>grew up sailing in San Diego, has won multiple world championships, has
    >>more Cup experience by far than anyone else, loves to be the underdog
    >>and is a notorious "sandbagger".  I would never, ever, bet against him
    >>in a situation like this.  
    
    But is the fire still there in his heart?
    
    Not knowing this weekends results I still wonder what else he has got 
    tucked away or is it the end of DC as we know him and time for someone 
    else to take over with hopefully a little more in the area of subtle 
    communication skills!
    
    In such an intense pressure "sport" you can't keep going for ever!
    
    Dave

>    But is the fire still there in his heart?
>    
>    Not knowing this weekends results I still wonder what else he has got 
>
    
     This weekend, S&S beat A3 by a minute or so. A3 suffered from crewing
     errors, apparantly.
    
     Chris
    

    Friday I got a promo card from Chevy talking about America 3  and the 
    covette. Inside was a CD with a bunch of summer surfer music on it 
    (Beach Boys etc). 
    
    Anyone else get this??
    
       john

    
    	I once donated money to America cubed and since a steady stream of
    stuff from GM.  After watching Mr Koch in opertation and comparing
    action to promises I wish I had kept the money.  Plus the stream of
    junk from GM yuck....
    
    
    Forrest

    
    	DC by about 2 minutes over Kanza with a protest pending.  I missed
    all but the last 20 minutes or so.  What I saw was a light air drifter.
    
    
    Forrest

    Kanza got a bad start, had Dennis luffed up on the boat end of the
    line, then bore off to the pin end with approx. 55 secs to go, and then
    for some reason did a 180 back towards the boat. Dennis, meanwhile,
    reaches down the line and gets a good start. I bet Kanza was 10-12 secs
    late crossing the line. Pretty much Dennis' race from there, though he
    did run into some problems with kelp. Buddy and Bill shared the wheel
    on Kanza. It seems that Dennis lightened his boat with results showing
    in improved boatspeed. Wind conditions were approx 4-8 kts seas were
    2-3 ft. It will be interesting to see how A3 will get it together.

    Kanza?  What is that?  The final Koch boat?

    
    	Yup, it is the latest Koch boat, he is using it and the A3 boat from
    here on out.  It looks like Dennis has found a little speed in the last
    couple of weeks.
    
    
    Forrest

    Well, the questions are:
    
    	Is Kansa a dog in light air (or in any air)?
    
    	Did S&S find a real improvent in boat speed?
    
    	Did S&S just have a great tactical day?  Saturday they won
    	the start by 11 seconds with great speed off the line and with
    	Kansa at an almost dead stop, then S&S was on the correct
    	side of a major right shift, and the rest was history.
    
    	Has DC been holding back on us?  In the last four races they have
    	beaten Defiant twice, A3 and Kansa each once.
    
    By the way, NZL is a rocket ship (in light air, at least).  In the
    conditions they raced in over the weekend, NZL would be drinking beer
    at the Coronodo before any of the S&S or A3 boats reached the 1st 
    weather mark.  I sure hope Bruce Farr has enough time to design my new
    boat.

Date: Fri, 27 Mar 92 23:26:49 PST

	SAN DIEGO (UPI) - Dennis Conner will sail his aging Stars & Stripes
against yet another new member of the America 3 fleet Saturday when the fourth
and final round-robin of the America's Cup defense trials begins. 

	Facing two newer America 3 boats, Conner must hope that Stars & Stripes
reconfigured stern and his own racing guile will be enough to get him through
the 12-day series and into the finals. 

	If he fails, it will be Bill Koch and Buddy Melges who will compete in
an all-America 3 finals for the honor of defending yachting's most prestigious
prize against the foreign champion in May. 

	``We have to assume Bill and his people have made some improvements,''
Conner said Friday. ``It's all a matter of how much we have been able to
improve in relation to them.'' 

	Conner bounced back in the second round-robin from four straight losses
to win the final two races and hang on to second place in the standings. 

	The standings after the first three rounds have been translated into a
new set of points for the fourth round; two wins for the first place boat, one
for second-place Conner and no points for thie third place boat. 

	Bill Koch announced Friday that his new yacht Kanza, named after an
Indian tribe from his home state of Kansas, will be given the the firstplace
points while his other yacht, America 3, will start from scratch. 

	When America 3 (pronounced America Cubed) debuted at the start of the
third round-robin, Koch gave it the points earned by Defiant so that, like
Kanza, it had a cushion in the early races when the crew is still getting used
to the new vessel. 

	Stars & Stripes will race Kanza Saturday and America 3 when the series
resumes Tuesday. 

	The challengers semifinals featuring Japan, Italy, New Zealand and
France begin Sunday. 

	Conner, who has not been able to afford a new boat since launching
Stars & Stripes more than a year ago, has only beaten America 3 once when the
glassy, light-air conditions were more favorable to Stars & Stripes. 

	In order to bring a little more speed to the race course, Conner has
had to make do with alterations rather than being able to put a new boat in the
water. 

	The stern of of the midnight blue yacht was removed by chainsaw during
the two weeks after the third round-robin and carved out to the open ``scoop''
design found on the transoms of the newer cup yachts. 

	The move removed about 60 pounds of weight, and weight was also removed
from the bow. 

	Not much is known about Kanza since it was only delivered to San Diego
earlier this month, but members of the Conner camp believe it may be designed
for winds on the stronger end of the often unpredictable San Diego spectrum. 

Date: 29 Mar 92 01:35:57 GMT
Lines: 48

	SAN DIEGO (UPI) -- Bill Koch's new yacht Kanza will have to wait for
windier weather to show its stuff after losing to Dennis Conner's Stars &
Stripes in its maiden race Saturday. 

	Stars & Stripes led wire to wire in the modest San Diego winds to win
the first race of the fourth round of the defense trials. 

	Kanza, built to handle the windier end of the San Diego scale, strolled
across the finish line two minutes, 27 seconds behind the rejuvinated Conner. 

	It was the third consecutive win for Conner, who is now tied for first
place but still fighting for a chance to sail in the finals against one of the
two newer America 3 (pronounced America Cubed) also in the field. 

	The winner of the defender finals will meet the winner of the
challenger series that moves into the semifinal stage Sunday. 

	Saturday's conditions were suited to Stars & Stripes, the oldest yacht
in the cup and the only one Conner has been able to afford. 

	The winds started out between eight and 13 knots but began to fade as
the boats approached the halfway point of the race. The seas were smooth,
another factor favoring Stars & Stripes over Kanza, which is said to be
designed with windier conditions in mind as opposed to America 3, Koch's
light-air vessel that will face Conner when racing resumes Tuesday. 

	Conner grabbed an 11-second advantage at the starting gun and flew away
from Kanza, which had only been sailed a few times before Saturday. 

	The start was delayed because Conner was having trouble with a sail,
prompting Kanza to raise a protest flag claiming that Conner had no right to
request a delay because he wasn't ready to race. The protest was to be
officialy filed after Kanza reached its dock and would likely be heard Saturday
night. 

	While Kanza tried to build up some speed on the first leg, Conner
tacked back and forth in front in order to rob helmsman Buddy Melges of a clear
breeze. 

	By the time the wind started to lighten, dropping to a little more than
six knots, Stars & Stripes was leading by more than a minute. 

	Stars & Stripes extended its advantage to two-and-a-half minutes as the
midnight blue yacht rounded the third mark and began the three-leg series of
reaches that are generally the fastest. 

	Although Kanza made up 32 seconds on the first reach to cut the lead to
one minute, 58 seconds, Conner picked up speed on the final two reaches and led
by two minutes, six seconds at the end of the Z-shaped reaching series. 

	Kanza was able to close the gap on the seventh and next-to-last leg
when a strand of kelp wrapped around the rudder of Stars & Stripes. 

	Stars & Stripes navigator Lexi Gahagan spent several minutes hanging
over the side trying to clear the stubborn weed. 

	The wind had dropped to six knots by that time and Kanza did not have
enough speed to catch up. 

    	Dennis and Stars and Stripes by 45 seconds over America cubed. 
    America cubed had three different helmsmen the starter (sorry keep
    forgetting his name), Bill and Buddy.  To a large degree it looks like
    he who made best choice of the shifts and puffs won out. 


    	Large lumpy swells and winds in the 6 to 10 range looked more 6
    than 10.  America cubed won the start by about 3 boat lengths and was
    windward and towards the favored side.  Dennis got ahead and lead by 23
    second on the first mark built a large lead and gave most of it back. 
    Got real close on last leg and two poor by their standards let Stars
    and Strips get loose. 

    Forrest

    Saw my first race -- video madness.  It looks like
    S&S had good speed with A-cubed -- almost equal.
    S&S also had superb tactics -- as usual.  There was
    no excuse for A-cubed letting them off the hook, though.
    That race was in the bag at the start, and inept tactics
    gave DC the upper hand.
    
    Connor has said he thinks A-cubed is a superb boat.  Even
    boasted he'd win the shooting match if he had that boat...
    Should be interesting to see the politics of these final
    selection trials.  Connor will win a berth, then
    try to get whatever boat the A-cubed team discards.  
    They'll most likely decline, but maybe not.  Even with S&S,
    the odds on Dennis defending have gone way up.  The master of
    timing and sandbagging seems to have been at it again.
    
    Dean

    	Kanza over A3 by 1:13 all the excitement was at the start and part
    way up leg 1.  Kanza had a controlling position at the start, but not by
    much.  Looked really good until Kanza got called over early.  Not a
    Buddy Melges kind of mistake had commentators wondering if maybe it was
    decided that A3 should win.

    	Kanza caught A3 quickly on leg 1 and forced A3 into a mistake Bill
    Koch tacked too close.  Penalty turn done and race was over at this
    point.  The coverage from ESPN for this race was minimal they focused
    on Italy and New Zeland.
    
    
    Forrest

    
    	Kanza over Stars and stripes by 42 seconds, only got a chace to
    look at couple of seconds of race sorry.
    
    
    
    Forrest

    It looks like one of the reasons they won was that Bill kept his hands
    off the wheel long enough for Buddy to get a big enough lead. I have no
    doubt that Bill is a good sailor (as well as a walking wallet), but IMO
    he's out of his league here.

Date: 3 Apr 92 04:20:56 GMT
 
	SAN DIEGO (UPI) --- Dennis Conner's four-race winning streak was 
stopped by Kanza in Thursday's defense trials. 

	Buddy Melges steered Kanza, the newest addition to the America 3 fleet,
to a 42-second victory over Conner's Stars & Stripes. 

	Kanza now leads the fourth round of the trials with four points. Stars
& Stripes is second with three and America 3, Kanza's stablemate, has no
points. The top two American boats will meet in the defense finals with the
winner racing the foreign champion for the cup in May. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 1 Apr 92 18:48:35 PST

	SAN DIEGO (UPI) -- In Wednesday's defender trials, Bill Koch sailed 
his new yacht Kanza to a one-minute, 13-second win over stablemate America 3. 

	Kanza shares the lead in the fourth round of the trials with idle Stars
& Stripes. 

	America 3 was assessed a 270-degree penalty turn when skipper Buddy 
Melges fouled Koch by tacking too close to Kanza.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 31 Mar 92 21:08:31 PST
 
	SAN DIEGO (UPI) -- Dennis Conner beat America 3 Tuesday to take the
lead in the final preliminary round of the America's Cup defense trials. 

	Conner, a decided underdog going into the fourth round against the two
newer America 3 (pronounced Americ Cubed) boats, has beaten both America 3 and
Kanza and appears in position to make it to the defense finals in April. 

	America 3, guided by Bill Koch and Buddy Melges, won the start on the
choppy race course but Conner and Stars & Stripes, a yacht a year older than
America 3, took the lead on the first leg and won by 45 seconds. 

	Conner has won four consecutive races going back to the previous round
in his campaign to defend the cup on behalf of the San Diego Yacht Club in May.

	America 3 and Kanza race Wednesday while Stars & Stripes has the day
off. 
 
<><><><><><><><>  T h e   V O G O N   N e w s   S e r v i c e  <><><><><><><><>
 
 Edition : 2547            Wednesday  1-Apr-1992            Circulation :  8162 

VNS UK SPORTS REPORT:                             [Ken Merrick, VNS Sports Desk]
=====================                             [Valbonne, France            ]
 

::: YACHTING
    America's Cup
 
    Defender series  : Stars and Strips bt Kanza by 2'38"

<><><><><><><><>   VNS Edition : 2547   Wednesday  1-Apr-1992   <><><><><><><><>

    Dennis does it again or really Bill does it again!
    
    Stars and Stripes by 1:56 as I remember ( 5 hours ago).
    
    A^3 had a 16 sec lead at the start and was with a boat length on the 
    last leg, but Bill (with NO Buddy Melges ONBOARD!!) was 'out knowledged' 
    by team Dennis when S & S found the wind. 
    
    At the next to the last mark, Where they make that 'J' turn,  S&S made 
    a wide smooth rounding and kept good boat speed while A^3 (Bill) made
    a real tight turn and a tack and lost most of her speed. A real goof as
    far as Gary Jobson was concerned. 
    
    Maybe this means that Buddy will have Kansa for the next meeting with 
    S&S.
    
    

    	Kanza over S&S in a gift from the Judges.  S&S ahead on last
    windward leg wind Kanza rolls her but both boats headed and cannot make
    the mark.  S&S tacks and Kanza tacks on top both go just far enough to
    make the mark.  S&S tacks is leeward with overlap Kanza closes door they
    hit and S&S hits the mark.  Even without 3 replays it was pretty clear
    that the overlap existed and that Kanza did not leave buoy room.  The
    judges rule no foul on failure by Kanza to give buoy room.  A minute or
    two later S&S is called for foul not sure if it was for hitting the
    mark, or for the contact.  S&S has penalty turn to do before finish.  

    	They manage get ahead but do not manage to pull it out.  Dennis and
    Tom Whidden and the crew worked overtime trying to get the lead. They
    get ahead and want to gybe over onto starboard and force Kanza to
    over stand. If they pull it off they might have time to do the 270 and
    win.  Early bad spinnaker drop kills off boat speed with no way to
    force Kanza to over stand the finish line.  Great race...

    	On the wrap up show Buddy admits he made a mistake by going for
    mark to early.  Looking at the expression on his face while talking
    about it I got the feeling he was amused by the gift from the judges.
    When it goes to the judges sometime you get justice and sometime you do
    not.  In high winds Kanza is clearly faster then S&S going to windward.


    Forrest

    I watched most of the races on the tube and then caught the wrap-up
    show later.  The call at the 7th mark was that there was no foul due to
    the jury being split about who was at fault, and no clear view of the
    collision.  The 270 turn by S&S was required because what the jury did
    see was them hitting the mark.  From what I saw, S&S was definately
    overlapped on the inside at 2 boat lengths and Kanza bore down on them
    as she was about to round the mark causing the collision (S&S's bow
    crunched the port quarter about 10 ft. from the stern).  This was what
    caused S&S to hit the mark.  The jury green flagged the collision with
    Kanza and red flagged the collision with the mark.
    
    Maybe if they had in-the-air juries rather than on-the-water juries 
    they might have had a better view, because the television camera 
    angle showed Kanza was definately at fault.  Besides, I thought that if
    any boat contact occurred, someone had to be at fault.  I think that if
    this was allowed into a protest room, Kanza would definately be tossed.
    
    Charlie

    The way I see it, KANZA fouled S&S three time on the 7th windward mark
    and S&S probably fouled twice.
    
    1. Kanza sailed well below her proper course when both boats were
    approacing the mark, both on starboard (overalapped, USA-28 W, USA-11 L, 
    USA-28 has mast abeam).  USA-28 boar off at least 10-15 degrees.  It
    could have been a major header, but...
    
    2. Both boats tack twice.  The result was: USA-28 on starboard, USA-11
    on port.  USA-11 tacks underneath USA-28 with an inside overlap (The 2 
    boat length rule does not apply, since this is a windward leg and
    the boats were on opposite tacks, with USA-11 tacking beneath USA-28
    inside the 2 boat length circle).
    
    USA-11, with an inside overlap luffs up to round the mark.  USA-28 must
    give room.  The only restriction is that USA-11 cannot tack (go past
    head to wind).  This was not at all clear on the ESPN video.  You could
    not see USA-11's main.  However, USA-11's jib DID go across (not proof,
    but very suspicious...).  Strong indication of foul by USA-11.
    
    USA-28 did not give USA-11 enough room (she didn't have to if USA-11
    actuall did go past head to wind).  If USA-11's boom did not go across,
    then this is the second foul on USA-28.
    
    USA-28, during the rounding, did not immediately luff around the mark. 
    In fact, she bore off.  This is what, in my view, caused the collision.
    If USA-28 had continued to round the mark or even sailed straight
    ahead, there would not have been a collision.  Instead, USA-28 bore
    off, swinging her bow into USA-11.  I'd call USA-28 for altering course
    so as to prevent a burdened yacht from keeping clear.  Foul number 3 on
    USA-28.
    
    Now then, was USA-11 forced into the mark?  I don't know how many times
    they hit the mark, but clearly (on the ESPN video) they hit after
    rounding and were headed back down wind.  I think this is the 2nd foul on
    USA-11.

    Hi Charlie!  Yeah, Kanza would have been tossed.
    An airborn jury sounds like a good idea!  I couldn't
    beleive the on-board interview with Koch and Melges.
    Koch really doesn't seem to have a clue.
    
    S&S goes against A cubed today.  Will Buddy be driving?
    He's better than Koch, but Dennis is the only one in the
    same class as the challengers.  Can't beleive Nippon is
    out...

    <    He's better than Koch, but Dennis is the only one in the
    <    same class as the challengers.  Can't beleive Nippon is
    
    I want to speak against my revenues and state again that if DC will
    defend then we'll all see the real show of match racing, mainly if BK
    gives him a boat faster tha S&S in strong winds.
    
    But if BK insists on steering by himself I'm afraid (for SDYC, not for
    us, sure) that we'll all not see great racing, such as Nippon over NZ
    at mark # 1 yesterday.
    
    Bye all.
    Arrigo
    
    
    

Date: Tue, 7 Apr 92 18:04:55 PDT
 
	SAN DIEGO (UPI) -- 

	In the defender trials, the America 3 yacht Kanza passed Dennis Conner
on the final upwind leg to take the lead and finish with a 57- second victory
over Stars & Stripes. 

	Conner twice was forced to make 270-degree penalty turns late in the
race after leading the first six legs. 

	The first foul occurred as the yachts rounded the final turn. Conner
tried to squeeze between Kanza and the mark, but bumped into the America 3
vessel and then hit the buoy. Although the judges turned down Kanza's protest
over the collision, Conner was handed a penalty turn for hitting the mark. 

	Conner was still within reach of Kanza on the final run for the finish
line, but the judges again ordered a penalty turn after Stars & Stripes failed
to yield right-of-way to Kanza. 

	Kanza leads the final preliminary round of the defender trials with
five points to Conner's four and one point for Kanza's stablemate America 3. 

 
<><><><><><><><>  T h e   V O G O N   N e w s   S e r v i c e  <><><><><><><><>
 
 Edition : 2552            Wednesday  8-Apr-1992            Circulation :  8135 
 
VNS UK SPORTS REPORT:                             [Ken Merrick, VNS Sports Desk]
=====================                             [Valbonne, France            ]
 ...
::: YACHTING
    America's Cup standings as 7 April:
    Louis Vitton Cup
    1. New Zealand          4 wins, 2 defeats
       Il Moro di Venezia
    3. Ville de Paris       3 wins, 3 defeats
    4. Nippon Challenge     1 win, 5 defeats
 
    Challenger Series
    1. Stars and Stripes    4pts
       Kanza                4pts
    3. America 3            1pt
 
<><><><><><><><>   VNS Edition : 2552   Wednesday  8-Apr-1992   <><><><><><><><>

    Was Wednesday's race S&S Vs A3 cancelled ?

    
    	No just delayed by several hours the T.V. coverage was at 12:00
    last night.  I did not get a chace to look at the tape yet but heard A3
    over S&S by about 2 minutes.  A3 had a new low wind keel and some other
    tweaks.  It was allowed because they allowed S&S to change keels in
    round 2.
    
    
    Forrest

    
    >> A3 had a new low wind keel...
    
    wow, they must be really heeling over pretty far these days  ;)
    

    In spite of the TV's PROMISE that they would give LIVE coverage all
    that the gave us was at (3:15 am) Saturday morning (Friday's race) that 
    S&S beat Kanza by 1 min 11 secs.
    
    
    I know all about the end of the NHL strike, I know all about Tennis and
    the junior Andretti doing something in a car race but I have no idea
    whether the race between S&S and A3 was run on Saturday.
    
    Someone, please tell me what happenend ?

    A3 won.

    According to Tony Chamberlain's account in the Globe, S&S led for the
    first few legs in lighter air.  As the breeze built, A3 pulled ahead
    and stayed there.
    
    In Sunday's intramural scrimmage, one of the boats (Kanza?) broke its
    mast ram and retired.  That leaves a three way tie between Kanza, A3,
    and S&S.  Don't know when the tiebreaker gets sailed.
    
    - gene

    The tiebreaker should be today.
    
    Funny how all of the points that A3 gave to Kanza before the races were
    given back to A3 on the water.  For all the discussion earlier about
    Conner "sandbagging" I feel that this apparent "engineering" of the
    results is much more detrimental to the whole process.  WHat happens
    next, A3 and Kanza in the finals, Buddy gets fired and Bill becomes the
    star ! (although I suppose he did buy the right if it is for sale)

Date: Wed, 8 Apr 92 20:23:41 PDT
 
	SAN DIEGO (UPI) -- 

	In the defender trials, America 3 sailed past Dennis Conner's Stars &
Stripes on the final leg when Conner took an ill-fated tack in a vain search
for fresh wind and wound up losing by 2:08. 

	Conner remains in second place in the round with America 3's
stablemate, Kanza, in the lead by one point. 

	Wednesday's races were delayed about two hours before the wind built to
an acceptable eight knots and then increased steadily to 11 knots at the
finish. 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 11 Apr 92 03:21:53 GMT
 
	SAN DIEGO (UPI) -- Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes defeated Kanza
Friday, moving Conner into a tie for first in the America's Cup defender 
series and within one victory of clinching a spot in the defender finals. 

	Stars & Stripes crossed the finish line 71 seconds ahead of Kanza,
which did not find the light air favorable off Point Loma. 

	Stars & Stripes led the entire distance Friday as the wind started at
about five knots and increased to 10 knots at the finish. Kanza's fate was
sealed on the reaching legs when a gennaker sail was blown apart. 

	The win meant Conner could do no worse than tie the third yacht in the
trials, America3, for a berth in the defender finals later this month. 

	Kanza and Stars & Stripes are tied with five points apiece while
America3 has three points. 

	The winner of the defense finals is the boat that likely will defend
the cup in May on behalf of the San Diego Yacht Club. 

	Stars & Stripes can clinch a spot in the finals outright by beating
America3 Saturday. America3 and Kanza will race Sunday to complete the fourth
and final preliminary round. 

	The top two yachts move into the defender finals. If two yachts finish
tied for second, there will be a sail-off to determine which advances. 

	Kanza is designed to perform best in high end of the San Diego wind
spectrum, and it showed Thursday when it lost to America3 by nine minutes and
59 seconds in breezes that rarely made it to eight knots. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 11 Apr 92 23:13:07 GMT
 
	SAN DIEGO (UPI) -- Dennis Conner failed to clinch a berth in the
America's Cup defender finals Saturday when he was beaten by America3. 

	The older of the two America3 syndicate yachts in the trials beat
Conner's aging Stars & Stripes by 44 seconds in brisk winds that peaked at 15
knots and shifted 85 degress off Point Loma during the race. 

	Conner, who earned at worst a tie for a spot in the finals, will have
to beat Kanza on Monday to clinch a trip to the finals. 

	The winner of the finals will likely defend the cup against the foreign
challenger in May. 

	``Nothing has changed for us,'' Conner said. ``We need one more win to
get in.'' 

	Conner defeated Kanza by 1:11 Friday in light conditions ill-suited for
Kanza. 

	Saturday's race leaves Stars & Stripes tied with five points each and
America3 with four points. Kanza and America3 race Sunday while Conner has the
day off. 

Date: 12 Apr 92 23:51:11 GMT
 
	SAN DIEGO (UPI) -- A broken mast ram forced Kanza to withdraw from
Sunday's race against stablemate America3, forcing a sail-off between Kanza and
Stars & Stripes to determine which boat will advance to the America's Cup
defender finals. 

	Kanza, owned by Bill Koch's America3 syndicate, will face Dennis
Conner's Stars & Stripes Monday. America3, the flagship of Kanza's syndicate,
has already advanced to the defender finals, which begin April 18. 

	Should Conner lose Monday, the defending champion will be eliminated
while Koch's two America3 yachts would battle for the right to race in the
America Cup finals in mid-May against the top foreign challenger. 

	Koch is the skipper of America3, and Bill Campbell the skipper of
Kanza. 

	America3's victory Sunday left all three yachts with five points.
America3 was placed first because it won five of its eight races in the third
round-robin session. Stars & Stripes was 4-4 and Kanza 3-5 in the lastest
round-robin, with Stars & Stripes and Kanza splitting their four races.
America3 won its last five races. 

	Sunday's win moved America3 into a tie for first place with the other
two boats in the series. 

	America3 led almost from the start until Kanza's mast ram began to
break loose about halfway through the race. The mast ram is a device below
decks that adjusts the position of the 110-foot tall mast.

	Although the mast itself did not appear to suffer any damage, the
America3 crew was expected to spend much of Sunday night making repairs for
Sunday's race. 

    	S&S by 2:12 over Kanza the weather did not live up to predictions. 
    S&S went right and found wind and lead by 4 minutes at first windward
    mark.  Kanza came back as the wind came up got lead down to 1:42 or so. 
    Wind died and S&S built lead back going to windward and just covered to
    the finish.


    Forrest

    So, If I understand well, Big Peter Pan Dennis is going to the finals
    against James BK Hook? Anyway I agree with someone else in a previous
    reply about the detrimental effects of swapping points from a boat to
    another; it's simply ridiculous.
    
    Some more details?
    
    Tks & bye.
    
    Arrigo
    

    Swapping points only helped Kanza.  Anyway, things have
    worked out for the best, as now Bill Koch will be forced to
    pick his best boat and crew, and stick with it, to beat Dennis.
    That will work out the kinks.  It's expected Koch will pick America 
    Cubed over Kanza, as she seems more "versatile."  If he wins the 
    right to defend, he could probably swap boats again, conditions
    warranting, but I don't know.
    
    I don't give the defense much chance, as I think the
    challengers have faster boats.  Dennis in "A cubed" would 
    be our best bet, but Dennis in Stars and Stripes will be
    like Dennis in Liberty, and BK/Buddy in A Cubed just won't
    be smart enough.
    
    The New Zealand boat looks the fastest of the challengers,
    but I like Cayard on Il Moro.  A toss up.  Either one could win.  
    
    Challengers 4
    Defenders   2, maybe 3.
    
    Dean

    I don't think all the cards are on the table yet.  I agree that NZL
    and ITA have great programs.  Koch has made a big deal about all his
    technology.  But don't let that fool you.  S&S has IBM, Boeing, SAIC and
    some other heavy hitters that he doesn't talk about too much.  Plus now
    that S&S is in the finals, there are more $$$'s in the kitty.
    
    Melges and the A3 aftergaurd are very good.  In a true match race
    (equal boats) against DC, it would be even money.  Plus the A3 crew
    work is outstanding (great guys, LOTS of practice).  Koch made the
    comment that A3 has 10+ keel combinations they haven't tested yet and
    will not be able to now that they must sail 13 races without a mode
    change.  Is there a break through design there someplace that could
    make the difference against the challengers??? Will we ever know?
    
    I don't think the outcome of either the challenger or defender finals
    is a given, and I don't think the winner of the cup is either.  I do
    think we're in for some real fun in the next month.  It will probably
    come down to the weather and whose boat is best set up for the weather
    that presents itself at the time.  Shifts happen!

    <<   I don't think all the cards are on the table yet.
    
    Agreed. Sure neither Dennis nor Bill have already shown every-
    thing; same for Gardini and Fay. Certainly this is the 1st time
    in the history of the Cup that challengers have done a really
    good work and this means that no result can be excluded "a priori".
    
    My personal opinion:
    
    Dennis over BK 75% (in light airs)
    NZ over Moro   65%        "
    
    (I'm obviously praying for strong winds!)
    
    Bye all and a Good (sailing) Easter.
    
    Arrigo
    

    	Race one abandoned after failing to make time control on leg three.
    Dennis got a gift, major mistake at start had him way behind.  The wave
    conditions favored A3 had him down by about 1 minute after 2 full legs.


    Forrest

    	A3 over S&S by over 2 minutes difference was mostly straight line
    speed.  S&S won the start by helping A3 over the line early.  A3 made
    most of the difference back on the first windward leg.  Passed on
    downwind leg and slowly lengthened it out.

    Forrest

I agree with Arrigo's odds and outcome -- A3 and NZ.

(Now for some Easter Sunday night heresy; Press KP3 to avoid the soapbox:)  

In my own perfect world, Italy would win the LV series and go on to win
the Cup.  (No, I'm not just trying to make friends with a certain noter!) 
But think of the benefits over the coming many years:  First, we get a
series in the Med where it will generate as much popular spectator
interest as probably anywhere on Earth.  Second, logistics for challengers
will be easier, since many will have much shorter distances to
travel--Europe is arguably the most central venue available to those
nations currently and recently involved.  Third, as much as I admire the
Kiwis, having a European win would really get some EC juices flowing, and
we can certainly expect the US and Antipodean nations to continue the
effort anyway.  Of course, the biggest minus for those of us in the US
would be the early morning live TV coverage, but OJ on the reaching leg
wouldn't be too bad.  (Best TV venue for us corporate GMA DECies...Hawaii,
of course, for prime time sailing!) 

In any sport, if one team dominates for too long, everyone gets slightly 
or not so slightly bored, including the winners.  I'd love to see the Cup 
change hands a couple times this century...then winning it back would 
really mean something!  Look how exciting things got when Bond winged the 
Cup away in '87.

Still, my heart tugs a bit for Dennis since he's really horsing a 
second-rate boat around in first-class style.  Koch doesn't appeal to me 
particularly, but I'd have Buddy win the Cup any day.  A nice guy like 
that ought to finish first. 

J.

    A3 over s&s by 1:47
    
    Excellent coverage on ESPN this weekend. Say what you want, but with
    Buddy on the upwind leg and Bill on the downwind leg, I think A3
    is going to do it to Dennis. I expect the A3 boat to start going even
    faster as they settle down the 1st string crew and get used to the A3
    boat. All the teams are have really good crews on those sail changes!
    
    I just hope it isn't a beating so that the local start routing for
    the LV winner.
    
    john

    re: predictions...
    
    Dennis has nothing up his sleeve.  If he doesn't win
    now he's out but out, so there's nothing he wouldn't
    be using.  Down 2 races to none, he's got almost no chance.
    
    As far as Dennis and Buddy in equal boats, Dennis would
    emerge the victor far more often than not.  If nothing
    else, Buddy's age would slow him down.  It aint easy driving
    3 or 4 hours at peak performance, day in and day out.  Dennis
    isn't in much shape either, but he's 49.  Buddy is 62.
    
    NZ is the boat to beat, and A cubed is gonna have a real tough
    time.  I think she'll match up about like Il Moro...
    
    Cheers,
    Dean

    re. .90
    
    Dear J., that certain noter would be very, very happy to provide
    to all of you as much logistic support as possible in the case of
    a certain Cup in Italy (included hosting unfortunately not more than
    2 people at home). This is my true commitment and I hope you'll want
    to accept it as it'll be a pleasure for us (as it always is, undepen-
    dent of the Cup, anyway).
    
    BTW: my best half is getting my same fever watching with me till half
         past midnight these two last races.
    
    O.K. Let's go ahead and see what's due to happen. I'll sign my com-
    mitment and each one of you is authorized to remind it to me.
    
    Signing with blood (of course), Arrigo.
    

    ESPN radio?
    
    They've mentioned radio coverage "when you can't watch
    on TV."  Anyone know the station in the Boston area?
    
    Thanks,
    Dean

    Buddy Melges on A3 has been whipping DC's pants now for months.
    Buddy has two Olympic medals, DC has one.
    Buddy has countless championships in every sailboat class you can
    name plus iceboats.
    Buddy was one of the first to gybe downwind in all types of boats,
    this came from his scow experience.
    Most of Buddy's victories have been one design fleet racing, a test of
    sailing skill. DC has mainly focused on big boat campaigns, a test of
    sailing skill, boat design, and money (I know - DC has won in Star &
    E22s)
    
    Yet despite all this, people still go on about DC's great skill
    advantage over the A3 boys. I've been taping ESPN and watching 
    like a fanatic for weeks now, DC's greatest skill is at the start
    and I'm impressed. Otherwise, I haven't seen any great brilliance 
    on DC's part. In fact, Buddy has been rather good at splitting w/ DC 
    while ahead and coming up with a big gain.  
    
    Let's not forget that Dennis lost the cup in '83 to a John Bertrand,
    a mediocre match racer on the world scene. There's no substitute for
    boatspeed.

Date: Fri, 17 Apr 92 11:50:05 PDT
 
	SAN DIEGO (UPI) -- Bill Koch's hopes of winning the America's Cup ride
on modifications made during the week to his yacht America3 that will take away
what he sees as Dennis Conner's biggest advantage. 

	Koch will sail to the starting line Saturday for the start of the 13-
race defender finals series with a yacht that has been tuned to perform better
in the lighter winds that have favored Conner's Stars & Stripes. 

	``We have analyzed every race that we have lost to Dennis,'' Koch said
Friday. ``One of the things we noticed was that Dennis has the best odds of
beating us when the start is in light air. So if we really want to optimize our
chance of winning, we have to improve our light-air performance.'' 

	The rule of thumb is that going faster in light wind usually means a
racing yacht will be slower when the wind blows harder because the ballasting
and layout of the rigging are different for both conditions, even in as subtle
a weather area as San Diego. 

	``If Bill's performance has gone up in all areas, then we will probably
continue to have problems with his boat speed,'' said Conner, who is seeking to
win the cup for the fifth time. ``But generally when you bring your speed up in
one condition you give something up in another condition.'' 

	The sword over Koch's head is the possibility that the winds off Point
Loma will top 10 knots and erase America3's speed advantage. 

	``We have tried not to give up any heavy-air capability, so let me say
that we are extremely cautiously optimistic,'' Koch said. 

	The clash between Koch and Conner has actually been going on since
January when, as the only two syndicates vying for the right to defend the cup
on behalf of the San Diego Yacht Club, they launched four preliminary rounds
totaling 27 races. 

	Koch sent a total of four boats into the fray, each one costing $5
million and culminating in the fourth round-robin with the debut of Kanza, a
high-tech marvel that logically should have been the America3 masterpiece. But
Kanza was designed for stronger winds and was 2-3 against Conner's 1-year-old
Stars & Stripes. 

	``To improve Kanza's light-air performance we would have had to have
done some major modifications and there just wasn't time,'' said Koch, who has
the option of sailing Kanza in the cup finals against either Italy or New
Zealand should he survive his showdown with Conner. 

	Because he did not have a personal bank account the size of Koch's,
Conner has not been able to build a successor to Stars & Stripes. 

	With one boat and one crew, Conner performed better than many observers
expected while America3 juggled different boats and sailors, often with Koch
and Great Lakes veteran Buddy Melges taking turns steering during races. 

	``We have been in must-win situations several times,'' said Conner, who
needed to beat Kanza in a tie-breaker at the end of Round 4 to make it to the
finals. ``We've known for a year that we would have to beat Bill to get into
the America's Cup. We know we have to win seven races to get to the cup and win
four to win the cup, and that's the bottom line.'' 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 18 Apr 92 23:26:33 GMT
 
	SAN DIEGO (UPI) -- Fading wind forced the cancellation of the first
race of the America's Cup defender finals Saturday, erasing a rare prestart
mistake that had Dennis Conner quickly in the hole. 

	Stars & Stripes was trailing badly on the third leg Saturday when the
race committee called off the match because neither boat had reached the third
mark by the two hour, 13 minute time limit. 

	The race was called as Conner's opponent, America3, tried desperately
to catch enough breeze to round the mark ahead of the time limit and keep the
race going. 

	The two boats will try again Sunday at the same time the challenger
finals begin with New Zealand and Italy squaring off for the right to challenge
either Conner or the America3 syndicate for the America's Cup in May. 

	The challenger finals is a best-of-nine series of races while the
defenders series is best-of-13. 

	Conner began the series with a bad start in the sputtering wind and
lumpy swell off Point Loma. 

	After the race had been delayed for nearly an hour waiting for the wind
to show up, Conner and tactician Tom Whidden flubbed what is considered a
strength of the Stars & Stripes team -- the timing of the approach to the
starting line. 

	Stars & Stripes was well over the line when the starting gun was fired,
forcing Conner to go back and cross the line again 46 seconds behind America3.
[Half a boat length, at least...  Apparently there was quite a current running
_to_ the line.  It took Stars & Stripes two tries to get against the current
enough to get back over the line. dwp] 

	Conner was able to close the gap on the upwind leg to 38 seconds at the
mark, but the wind that had made it to seven knots less than an hour earlier
shifted and turned the second leg from a straight downwind run to a reach,
which gave Stars & Stripes no opportunity to maneuver to block America3's wind
with its massive sail area. 

	The wind by that time had dropped to four knots and the third leg
turned into a slow stagger. 

	With the deadline just two minutes away, America 3 was stalled about
100 yards from of the third mark. Conner bobbed in a spot several boat lengths
away, equally unable to move. 

	The America3 crew swapped its jib for a smaller staysail in hopes of
coaxing some forward movement out of their yacht, but the change was made too
late and it seemed to have very little effect. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 19 Apr 92 23:29:50 GMT
 
	SAN DIEGO (UPI) -- America3 overcame a disastrous start to beat Stars &
Stripes, and New Zealand lived up to its reputation for perfection in beating
Italy Sunday in the first races of the America's Cup challenger and defender
finals. 

	America3 crossed the starting line early, but cruised past Dennis
Conner on the second leg with a half-a-knot more speed and beat the defending
America's Cup champion by two minutes and nine seconds. 

	The 13-race defender finals and the best-of-nine challenger series
resumes Monday. The victors will meet in May to race for the America's Cup
itself. 

	The defender finals had started Saturday, but the race was called off
when the wind disappeared on the third leg. 

	Stars & Stripes had a 31-second jump on America3 at the start Sunday
after Melges wandered across the line early and was forced to turn back at the
gun. 

	Melges chopped the lead to 15 seconds on the first leg and then caught
a slight wind shift and shot past Conner's older boat on the second leg,
finishing the downwind run 40 seconds ahead of Conner. 

	America3's lead hovered around 60 seconds until the seventh leg when it
again displayed better upwind speed in the three-foot swell and increased its
lead to 1:34. Stars & Stripes was left to wallow in the dying wind on the final
downwind run and lost another 35 seconds. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 20 Apr 92 23:39:17 GMT
 
	SAN DIEGO (UPI) -- America3 led the whole race to take a 2-0 lead in
the defender finals against Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes and Italy defeated
New Zealand by a nose Monday to even the challenger trials at 1-1 in America's
Cup competition. 

	Conditions were not to defending champion Conner's liking, and he lost
by one minute and 47 seconds. While the winds were light and seas heavy Sunday,
Monday's conditions were flatter seas and a fresh breeze between nine and 12
knots that brought out the best in America3. 

	America3, sailed by Buddy Melges and syndicate head Bill Koch, led by
nine seconds at the first mark and added an average of 10 seconds per leg to
the advantage. 

	The defender trials are a best-of-13 series, while the challengers
contest a best-of-nine. The winners race in May for the America's Cup. 

    re .96
    
    I don't like Dennis, *most* of the time.  He's been known
    to cheat.  He can act like as arogant ass.  He seems very
    insecure at times.  But he can also be a great skipper.  He's
    most often calm and confident at the helm.  To me,
    having raced with some real nut-cases, there's something 
    redeeming about that. 
    
    Buddy seems to have all the good qualities without the bad,
    and I respect that *very* much.  But Whidden and Conner are
    at the top when it comes to reading the wind, and using the
    rules.  Dennis would have eliminated Kanza outright were it
    not for the new rules disallowing protests.  I agree with
    all the comments I've heard about using instant replay.
    
    Regarding the comment about Bertrand and Australia 2, that's
    a good analogy, although I'd like to think Buddy is better
    than Bertrand.
    
    ;)

    Melges and Conner haven't crossed paths too often in the past.  One of
    the few times was at the Hall of Fame Regatta held in Newport in 1982
    (1981?).  This was held in Etchells which neither skipper had ever
    sailed in.  Melges sailed with his two sons who were both new to the
    boat.  Conner sailed with Don Stockes, who made a livings selling
    Etchells, and another rock star. 
    
    Melges won the first race by a wide margin.  Conner placed about 4th,
    complaining about the light air.  Neither Melges or Conner won any more
    races and I've forgotten how they finished overall.  Some one else won
    the regatta.  Conner took up the boat again about two years ago and, by
    many accounts, has a sixth sense about coaxing speed out of a boat in
    any wind condition.  But it took some time on the boat.  Draw what
    conclusions you will about natural talent vs. hard work.  It would be a
    better match if the boats were closer speed wise.
    
    I think Rod Davis, the Kiwi skipper, was also there but as crew for
    a better known skipper.
    
    - gene  

    Boatspeed seems to be the deciding factor now in the defender series. 
    The newspaper accounts claim a .5 knot delta at 11 knots of wind.
    
    When racers talk tenths of knots, the rest of the world shrugs and
    puts it in the same category as baseball statisticians who calculate
    RBI's and ERA's to the thousandth decimal place.
    
    So, how much boatspeed is enough.  In PHRF, 3 seconds per mile is the
    minimum rating change and people argue to get that added to their
    handicap.  At 7 knots, 3 sec/mile = .05 knots difference.
    
    In one design, if a boat can gain one foot in two minutes of sailing
    side by side with another boat, the faster one will blanket or backwind
    the slower one and pull away dramatically.  1 ft/2 minutes = .005
    knots.
    
    If A3 really is .5 knots faster, that's two orders of magnitude more
    than they need.   Good job Jerry Milgram.
    
    - gene

    I think Conner and Melges have faced each other most in the Star class.
    
    There's the famous Fatso Star Worlds of a few years ago held somewhere
    in Europe (Kiel?). The wind blew very hard the whole series. Dennis
    porked up by 50 lbs and had an elephant for crew. He won every race.
    
    Last years Star worlds was in San Francisco, Buddy beat Dennis every
    race.

    Buddy does Dennis by 4:05 in round Three. Talk about a horizon
    job. Dennis better pull a rabbit out of his hat soon, or the
    Stars&Stripes commemitive Cadillacs are going to be history before
    they hit the dealer's showroom floors.

    Gene,
    
    .5 knots is pretty dramatic, but it highlights how
    skewed the designs really are.  At lower velocities,
    the difference shrinks and ostensibly gets reversed
    in S&S favor.  A few knots higher, and A cubed must bow to her 
    stable-mate, Kanza, by an equal or greater margin.
    What a roll of the dice to pick a wind range to design
    for, especially when the target windows seem to be spread
    in 5 knot increments!!!
    
    Dean
    
    PS:  Hello from Dave J.  He thinks the racing has been terrific!

    Well, at the very end Big Dennis has won a race, mainly in very
    light airs that seems not to be his boat specialization.
    Could it be the beginning of Dennis's revenge?
    TMC is covering some parts of defenders' series too and it's not
    that bad.
    
    Bye all.
    Arrigo.
    

    	Saturdays race was a real tactical battle with winds and seas
    favoring S&S.  Dennis pulled every trick out of the bag on the first
    windward leg and led the rest of the race.  At last windward mark
    Dennis shot the mark and just made it with good crew work.  Good set
    and sailed away.  A3 had a bad piece of crew work and destroyed their
    sail.  I was wondering if they were feeling some pressure.


    	Sunday race was largely won at the start Dennis got them in a
    gybing too close protest.  Similar wind and wave conditions to
    Saturday.  Dennis lead the whole way, it was never real close.  On last
    down wind leg A3 messed up a gybe and got a nasty wrap.

    	Sorry no winning margins for either race ESPN cut away before the
    finish Sunday, and my tape ran out on Saturday.

    Forrest
    

    On the Z-leg jibes, changing the chute seems to work best, rather
    than the awkward around-the-headstay move so often used.  S&S seems
    to have the change-move down pat and almost always gains ground
    at those roundings.
    
    In Saturday's race, I was very surprised to see A-cubed go for the
    duck in the first beat to windward.  If they'd tacked beneath with
    clear air, they could've gased DC with a few good scallops.  Sort
    of what DC did time and again in Fremantle.  
    
    I'm real happy to see S&S push the A-cubed team around.  They
    need more battle hardening.  I still bet they prevail,
    even if Dennis pulls even next race.  The luck will run out.
    
    Cheers,
    Dean

    I going to eat some of the words in my previous note. DC
    was impressive going to windward on Friday and Saturday.
    
    But still, some ESPN bias remains. It's clear that in most conditions
    A3 has a boatspeed advantage and S&S tacks faster. When A3 is gaining
    in a straight line situation, ESPN praises the boat. When S&S gains
    in a tacking duel, ESPN praises DC. 
    
    I must admit that I enjoy DC's comments, it's getting to the point
    when he's the on-water commentator. 

    I have also noticed the bias. I am wondering if Gary Jobson did not
    leave the A3 group as best friends. Perhaps jealous of Melges? Angry at
    Koch for not listening to him? I note a preference for DC. DC is always
    the underdog to the point that I want to thrwo-up.
    
    I wish they had more wind. I long for the action in Fremantle.
    

    	I admire DC as a sailor and actually can stomach him more now than
    I used to.  He has gotten better about dealing with the press over the
    years.  I would much rather have him as a sports hero than many tennis,
    baseball etc. stars.  Yes he still has an ego as big enough to fill the
    mill but he has the wins to back that up.  He has work ethic that is
    impressive, and I notice he gets great loyalty out of the crew. Listen
    to the sound track from the boat, he keeps the crew involved and praises
    them.  Crews know who are good people to sail for and his keep coming
    back.

    	Dennis is lucky, if you call making the most of what you have, luck
    then he is Mr. lucky.  It was up to him and his design team to pick what
    conditions to tweak the boat for.  They did that with a knowledge of
    the prevailing conditions when things were going to count the most. He
    is getting all he can get out of the boat and crew and the weather
    choice is working out to a certain extent.  Do I expect him to win the
    series no, A3 seems to have more speed in more conditions.  I expect
    that he will give 100% and hopefully push A3 hard and make them better.

    	I am very upset to see they types of mistakes the A3 rotating crew
    is making.  They have not taken a many starts off of S&S recently and
    made two pretty large mistakes Saturday and Sunday.  Yes they were
    feeling pressure but getting it right under pressure is critical. I
    remember hearing Buddy in a recent race forcibly reminding the crew
    that they have to work with him while gybing the boat.  From the look
    of the wrap they got Sunday the message has not totally sunk in.  I
    want the best defense and right now A3 crew work is weak, and S&S
    appears slow.

    	Yes more wind would be nice, as would large seas and fast paced
    action.  As long as it is in San Diego we get the current conditions
    which have made for interesting tactical races.  Lets face it most sail
    boat races are conducted in light winds and small seas where tactics
    are critical.  Calling the wind shifts correctly, playing the current
    is a large part of the sport.  Survival sailing is great to watch but
    not the norm..... 

    	I get tired of the ESPN droning at times also.  I just live to 
    hear Gary say something and then be wrong.  He does it often enough to
    that I keep the sound track on while watching.  Is Dennis the underdog
    in terms of money and boat speed probably, in terms of talent and ego
    no way.  Boat speed usually wins most sailing races.....

    Forrest

    Dennis enjoys the luck of competing against
    a slightly rattled foe.  When A-cubed gets it right,
    DC won't be winning, even so he seems smarter and his
    crew work more polished.  Boatspeed, boatspeed, boatspeed.
    DC is lucky A-cubed can't get it consistently.  In their
    tacks, for instance, has anyone else noticed how quickly 
    A-cubed straps the sails?  They can't accelerate like that!
    DC's boys do it *much* better.
    
    Yes, the comments from Jobson are often biased.  I don't
    think he and Koch parted friends.  If Koch would just get off
    the boat, I think they'd settle down.  Does that argument have
    a familiar ring?  
    
    ;)

    
    Well after trashing DC last week, it's time to give him an Atta-boy!
    
    Yes he has been getting better on the line, but more importantaly, his
    afterguard has been reading the wind shifts MUCH better than A-cubed.
    This past weekend the conditions have been absolutely perfect for
    S&S, but this is bound to change. That wrap on A3 Sunday was stupid
    to my way of thinking. With a gennaker, why didn't Bill steer back until
    it refilled and then try it again? Instead, they screwed around for
    40 seconds with zip for a Head sail.
    
    By the way, if one takes the entire race into account, the folks who
    said racing in San Diego would be boring were right on the money. After
    an hour or 2 of drifting around, I get frustrated watching. I cann't
    imagine what the trailing crewmembers feel like! Somehow, I don't think
    this type of racing is getting a lot of attention on Saturdays and
    Sundays with non-sailing types when you can click on Baseball,
    football, auto racing, pro wrestling etc. Who cares about "actual"
    sailing. This is  big time TV rac'n . People don't drive cars at 200
    mph down your street, but you can be sure NASCAR is pushing their
    Chevies that quick.
    
    If you watch the pro-sail venue, it is located in places that are known
    to blow some serious wind. There is a reason for this.
    
       john

    John, I agree completely. Nothing can beat Int 14's planning at
    Corpus Christy w/ two crew on the trapeze, capsizing, and pile ups
    at the gybe mark.
    
    Dean, I've also noticed a lack of discussion on shifting gears and
    windward sail trim in general. Especially on the first beat, the
    boatspeed advantage seems to shift back and forth when the wind is
    5-7 knots. I don't think this is entirely due to shifts, pressure, and 
    waves. I think the trimmers are fine tuning to conditions and leap
    frogging each other in speed. ESPN probably doesn't discuss it because 
    you can't see it and most people would be bored. 
    
    I laugh when lines are called "ropes" and battens are called "sticks".
    Jim Kelly really annoys me. He must say "A3 armada" 50 times every
    race. The only thing worse is when he looks into the camera with his
    beady little eyes.  
    
    

    re .-1
    
      Nope it is worse when he calls it the old Mug. I want to make him
    eat the stupid thing every time!
    
    I do like the way he can instantly take about any sport that happens
    to have a commercial playing during the race. the old jack of all
    trades, master of none....
    
    john

    	All even at 4 races each, pretty even start with slight speed edged
    to A3.  S&S slowly worked ahead up first windward leg and held it and
    won.  Will try and locate a news paper today and find out what was
    wrong with the trim tab on A3.  It now comes down to a best 3 out of 5.
    The light winds and smallish seas are supposed to last a couple more
    days.

    Forrest

    If Dennis wins the right to defend, will Bill Koch offer him
    A3 to sail in the defense?  Will Bill want to sail the reachs?

    I'm a suspicious guy: I wonder if DC has planned very carefully
    each step in order to save money by defending himself the Cup
    with BK's money.
    
    Nice, would it be?
    

    	He was asked that if he won the right to defend would he want A3 or
    Kanza.  The answer was yes he would love to have either especially A3
    but that was up to Bill Koch.  He muttered something about the golden
    rule applying, he with the gold makes the rules.  I am sure that all
    the possibility have been considered.
    
    Forrest

    Bill Koch has repeatedly said he would not give Dennis
    a boat.  I think he means it.
    
    Anyway, A-cubed prevailed yesterday in one of the most exciting
    races yet.  Something like 5 lead changes!!!  One exchange that
    was particularly entertaining: They were coming into the top mark
    after the 2nd beat (think it was second, anyway) and A-cubed tacked to 
    leward and nose ahead.  She powered right up under S&S.  Dennis
    comments were something like, "I can't beleive they ever lose
    a race.  Look at that boat!  She's fast!  That's beautiful.  There's
    nothing I can do.  Let's tack..."  All the while he was gawking, S&S
    was losing speed as the jib progressively backwinded.  It was
    classic!!!
    
    I take back everything I ever said about blow-outs due to technology.  
    This is *GREAT* racing!  Can Dennis win 3 of the next 4?  Nope.  It
    should be over in 3.
    
    Il Moro also emerged the winner -- some bizarre shifts in the
    afterguard of NZ that I'm sure will have people second guessing
    for weeks.  Now it's NZ's turn to dig deep.  I'd like to see
    Il Moro take it, as I love Cayard's style.  He's got some great moves,
    especially at the start.

    I agree. While Dennis was busy acting in front of the camera saying 
    "What a rocketship" he threw away the race. 
    
    First, S&S had the blazing boatspeed at the beginning of the beat,
    pulling ahead in a straight line contest after rounding the mark.
    Second, Dennis overstood the windward mark by several boatlengths.
    Third, the wind shifted left favoring A3 after they tacked to leeward
    before the windward mark. The shift allowed A3 to get her bow out 
    so quickly. And finally, Dennis luffed his boat while staring at A3 and
    making excuses for the camera. Just bad sailing.
    

    I want to say this before the race starts today as I have a feeling
    that Dennis will be out, although I certainly hope not.
    
    Dennis is not only a terrific sailor, he has to go into the Guiness
    Book of records for the most criticized as well.  The criticism is 
    mostly unfounded. 
    He has an EGO ? Anyone out there that is driving one of those boats against
    $ 60 - $ 100 Mill budgets has got to have an ego.  Could anyone of the
    other skippers out there, from Dickson, Cayard, Davis(Coutts!) etc do
    the same job of team organization, fund raising and making an old boat
    competitive ?  Each of the other organizations had a key money man
    there to let the skipper concentrate on the sailing.  Dennis did all of
    those tasks and has still proven that he can drive an IACC class boat
    better than anyone. 
    
    Finally, I'll say this, if Koch is still on the boat in the finals the
    US can kiss the cup goodbye.  A somewhat larger Ego will collect on the
    $ 60 Mill ticket have the world watch him steer the boat and Il Moro
    will sail away with the cup.

    I wonder whether it's possible to make guesses at this point
    which of the two boats (Il Moro and ?) is likely to be faster.
    Even though the semi-finals were on different courses, is there
    a trend one way or the other just from what's known so far?
    
    I was rooting for New Zealand but actually think that having the
    next race in the Mediterranean would be great...
    
    Doug.

    re. .120
    
    I completely agree on Dennis capabilities: he has had to do every-
    thing and did very well. Bad luck on him.
    
    I've read in the press a commento from Buddy stating they were much
    more afraid of New Zealand and now the're relieved that they've to
    race against Il Moro; it seems to me a very stupid statement as, if
    they were afraid of NZ, how afraid should they be of a boat that has
    defeated NZ in such a way?
    Anyway, on 9th we'll start to see how it will be but, IMHO, without
    DC they'll have a lot of hard job, the same hard job we'll have in the
    unprobable event that Captain EGO-Koch will allow him to steer A3.
    
    Bye all.
    Arrigo
    

    Excellant article on DC in the Globe yesterday. He did give it his 
    best shot. Tony Chamberland said there was a story going around about
    how someone came up to Dennis and asked if he was sandbagging until
    the last 2 races. His tactican , Mr Witten, looks at the person and
    said "I wish it were so".
    
    Dennis said he will compete in 95. His short term goals are in car
    racing and a S&S Whitbread entry.
    
    john

    Which boat is faster?  Based on the assumption that
    S&S was the fastest boat at the worlds, and factoring in the
    improvements in the next generation boats, I have to think
    A-cubed and Il Moro will end up closely matched.  They sure
    look very similar.  In that instance, Cayard will eat them
    alive.  I wonder if Koch will invite DC out if they go down
    by 2 races?  
    
    Dean
    

    I'll put my money on A3.
    
    Dennis is the best match race starter around. Dellenbaugh on A3 was
    was able to handle DC, so I think he'll do OK against Cayard.
    
    The tandem keel on NZ is still a big question. Was it really a fast
    design? If not, that brings Il Moro's speed into question. Both
    American attempts at a tandem keel have failed. If you assume the
    tandem keel used on A3 was reasonably good, then A3 is very fast now.
    
    I bet that Koch will win or lose the series w/ his team. No way
    will DC set foot on the boat. Look what happened to NZ when they
    switched skippers at the last minute. 

    Comparison between Moro and A3:
    
    				Moro		A3
    
    l.o.a.			24 mtrs		24 mtrs
    beam			 6  "		 6  "
    weight			24 tons		22 tons
    sail area			690 sq.mtrs	790 sq. mtrs
    
    Data read on an italian paper (not a nautical one anyway).
    
    If they're true it would give A3 a better chance in medium winds
    with a lead to Il Moro in strong ones but I'm not sure about those
    data.
    
    Good point the one about Dellenbaugh v/s Cayard but, I think, we
    should consider also that Cayard has raced v/s various different
    skippers more than Dave.
    Anyway guesses are more or less useless; as a supporter I bet on
    Il Moro but I know that's purely emotional. Well, I think that
    the 1st race will show us, if the situation will not be extreme
    (too much or too little wind), which is the potential winner.
    
    OK, let's wait and see.
    Bye for now.
    Arrigo
    
    BTW: what about continuing the discussion on note # 636?
    

    
     re .125: I thought Dellenbaugh just did starts? Then Buddy works up a
    2+ minute lead, then Bill gets to do reaches };*).
    I gotta go with A�. All these teams are doing fine, but I don't see Il
    Moro getting the onland treatment A� is receiving. Also, NZ _did_ get
    kinda demoralized with the pole thing, then the crew swapping. Ah well.
    I would LOVE to see the cup do more traveling. The Med would be a great
    avenue- not as raucous as Fremantle, yet probably not as dead as San
    Diego. Or Newport.
    
    We shall see soon enuff, huh?
    
    Scott.
    

    Cayard's starting technique is innovative and very effective.
    Dennis is much more traditional.  Dellendaugh (sp?) had his hands 
    full with Dennis.  I just don't think he's is in Cayard's league.
    I'd love to see if Dennis could handle him!
    
    Tandem keels?  Sort of like a traditional keel without all
    the calories.  ;)  
    
    Jobson likes A-cubed.  Isler likes Il Moro.  I'm glad Pete agrees 
    with me.  ;)  Whatever happens, I think it will be great racing -- 
    if the build-up was any indication.  Sure, the conditions in SD
    stink, so the average viewer will flip channels, but for a serious
    racer -- like to think that's me -- it should be great fun.  Not
    to mention educational.
    
    Cheers,
    Dean

    A Dennis basher swears to me that Dennis takes 20% off the top of all
    the funds he raises and that he has personally made $3 million off this
    campaign.  Can this possibly be true?
    
    

    
    If A� does win, where would the next races be held?  /Jim
    

    It's amazing how this competition is shaping up in similar
    fashion to Perth.  We've seen the favorite defender fall
    to a CUP neophyte, and we've seen a tech-no-wiz boat get
    beaten by superior skill.  Remind anyone of the Kookaburras
    on one hand, S&S and USA on the other?  Does me, anyway.
    So, if history repeats itself...
    
    Ciao,
    Dean  ;)

    Bill K. has been quoted as saying he has no intention of whisking the
    cup away from San Diego...at the moment.  cannot say that they have
    necessarily treated him very well if not being outright hostile to his
    efforts.  If he did decide to move the cup somewhere else, I would not
    find his actions inappropriate.  
    
    Brian

    Can he do that?  I thought that being the defender meant you're sailing
    for the club that holds the cup.  You don't win, the defending club
    does.  Else how come it stayed in New York for so long, especially when
    folks like Ted Turner defended it?
    

    If the Cup is defended successfully, it stays in San Diego. It's
    completely up to the SDYC, Koch has no say in the matter.

    From Digital Today ( The European Internal newspaper ) May 1992
    
    WORDS OF WISDOM
    
    Americas Cup defender, the America3 syndicate, has been using the
    latest speeh recognition technology for its onboard Digital PCs at
    this years international yacht races off California.
    
    Engineers from Digitla & Verbex Voice Systems, New Jersy, have
    integrated a voice input module into America#'s onboard computer. The
    verbal ineterface has been programmed to respond only to the navigators
    commands, communicated through a telephone type handset, and ignores
    background noise. The system enables America3's navigator to to run a 
    race management program Matasail wihout resorting to cumbersome
    keyboard and mouse interfaces. Matasail tracks navigational position
    and provides data on data such as wind speed and weather conditions.
    
    Digital has donated �286,000 worth of hadware, software and services to
    the America3 syndicate and has provided access to a Vax 9000 computer
    at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

    I have noticed a couple of things in common between the A� and Il Moro
    teams.
    
    Both are funded out of vast personal fortunes, rather than by a group
    touting around for corporate sponsorship. 
    
    Both owners had recent involvement , and success, in IOR Maxi racing.
    
    Chris
    

    
       If Bill Koch wins the cup, I think he'll do what he wants with it. 
    With his kind of dough, I sure his legal team with make the SDYC's look
    like a bunch of mall lawyers. 
    
       The winds just don't cut it and are doing a disservice to the sport.
    No way there is going to be tons of sponsers lining up to fund a
    rematch on this listless piece of ocean property.
    
       But first there this little matter of winning the cup....  ;>)
    
       As for Dennis, lets not start rumors. 
    
      john

    
    	WRT .137
    
    	A few other similarities between Il Moro and A� is that both
    are skippered by Americans and both are using Digital's technology.
    Everybody knows A� uses DEC laptop PCs, PCs, DECstation 5000s and share
    a VAX 9000 at MIT, but Il Moro also uses DECstation 5000s and many other
    DEC systems in Italy and in San Diego.
    
    Dan
    

    
    	A few days back on the Globe sports page, Tony C. reported Koch
    	saying the Il Moro bankroller welshed on a bet made at a maxi race.
    	Sorry to say these guys are taking cues from politicians...
    	but who knows how serious they are- this may be ESPN fodder.
    
    	Scott(who thinks this is shaping up well, all in all)

RE: -.1, Saturday or Sunday the ESPN crew made reference to this....  

Apparently Bill K. offered to bet Raoul G. 1000 bottles of Lafitte
(supposedly ~$500 a bottle) to the skipper who wins a race *sailing each
other's boat.*  The story as recounted said that RG did not accept the
bet; if true, obviously there could be many rational reasons why he
didn't.  We'll likely never know.  For us, it's another little glimpse
into what rich men do to try to keep themselves amused. 

J.

    Msg for who hasn't already done it and in order to have a easier
    life:
    let's come back to 636, pls.
    More entries more fun.
    Bye.
    A (but not AB if I'm allowed to joke)
    

Some late gossip on the Cup:

That there was a major mismatch in the spending between the
two defender camps is known to all.  Koch's four boats to 
Conner's one says enough.  What isn't generally known is 
how close to insolvency the Conner syndicate was in April
when they were trying to qualify for the finals.  With A**3
faster in all conditions and Kanza faster in the winds
prevalent at that time of year, contributions to Conner
dried up.  Payrolls and creditor payments were missed.
With no help, food, or sails, the time to haul the boat
and go home was approaching.

To hold off the creditors a few more weeks, Conner took
out a loan, using his house and personal assets as 
collateral.  If he didn't make the finals, he'd be broke.
And even if he did, there was no guarantee there'd be
enough contributions coming in to pay back the loan.

The winds did blow the right way and, luckily  for
DC, not too hard.  That last win over Kanza got him 
into the defender finals and precipitated enough new
contributions to repay the loan.  Another couple of knots
and DC would have lost everything.

- gene

    What do you do after you've won the America's cup?
    
    Go sailing of course.
    
    Bill Koch bought two A scows and was last seen sailing off
    into the sunset on Lake Minnetonka with himself at the helm 
    and Buddy Melges trimming main and calling tacks.  It amazes
    me that they can still tolerate each other.
    
    DC, in the meanwhile, has plunged with abandon into E-22 racing.
    He's been down on LI Sound sail testing.  Every major local 
    sailmaker submitted sails for the contest to see which set DC
    would chose to measure in for the upcoming E-22 World championship.
    They've had chase boats with video cameras, matched test boats, 
    and the rest of the A's Cup seige artillery.  Kinda like duck
    hunting with a bazooka.
    
    - gene