America’s Cup Trials : British Boat Does It Right--at the Wrong Time
White Crusader was one of the hard-luck America’s Cup efforts that can count its failure in about the time it takes to read this paragraph.
Losses by six seconds to New Zealand and three seconds to USA were all that kept the British out of the challenger semifinals. Both of those boats will be in the semifinals starting Dec. 28, and White Crusader might have been there, too, if it had sailed the way it did in Thursday’s eight-boat fleet race.
With Eddie Warden-Owen instead of Chris Law at the helm, the British trailed New Zealand’s backup boat, KZ5, three times around the 25.85-nautical mile triangular course for 3 1/2 hours, then pulled off some stunning maneuvers within a hundred yards of the finish and won by five seconds, about a boat length.
The event was for 12-meters that had dropped out, been knocked out or had just been hanging around during the first 2 1/2 months of the America’s Cup competition.
A significant feature was the blatant display of sponsors’ logos on spinnakers for the first time under International Yacht Racing rules. The logos of two breweries, a communications firm and a battery company flew boldly in front of several boats, reflecting the IYRU’s recent relaxation of Rule 26 prohibiting advertising during a race.
The crews also were relaxed. Most of the skippers and hands were collected from people who happened to be standing on the dock Thursday morning.
One exception was semifinalist Dennis Conner, who sailed his older Stars & Stripes ’85 to seventh place. Conner went to the left side of the course all by himself on the first beat, a strategy that left him dead last.
After rejoining the fleet, he clawed his way back to seventh on the fourth of nine legs and was only seven seconds behind Azzurra and two behind White Horse Challenge at the finish.
Otherwise, it was a perfect day--warm and clear, with smooth seas and moderate winds of 9 knots building to 18--for some people who had seen less than perfection in the trial rounds.
The British especially might want to re-think their starting lineup. Warden-Owen, 30, had been navigator on White Crusader until the middle of the third round, with Law at the helm and skipper Harold Cudmore the tactician, until he was replaced by Phil Crebbin.
This time Crebbin was Warden-Owen’s tactician, while Law and Cudmore sailed on White Horse Challenge, the Brits’ radical boat that was discarded early for being too slow.
Alternate skipper David Barnes steered KZ5 and with a 54-second lead at the last mark appeared to be comfortably on his way to yet another win for the Kiwis, whose fiberglass KZ7 dominated the trial rounds.
When they met on opposite tacks a hundred yards from home, Barnes still had a big enough lead to cross Warden-Owen on port and tack directly in front of him. But Warden-Owen quickly tacked to port, and when they met again Barnes, lacking the right of way, was forced to dip under Warden-Owen’s stern.
Warden-Owen then quickly tacked on top of Barnes--sailors call that maneuver a slam dunk--and sat on him until the lay line, when he tacked back to the finish.
Syndicate president Graham Walker, also aboard White Crusader, said: “It was a tremendous win for the boys after a disappointing elimination, just a marvelous way to start the next stage of our program.”
He meant 1990, when they’ll try to do it right when it counts.