Challenge to Catamaran Will Be Heard May 25

An update on the ongoing America’s Cup serial, for those who nodded off between lawsuits and launchings:

New Zealand’s bid to have Sail America’s catamaran thrown out will be heard in the New York Supreme Court on May 25. It was postponed a week at Sail America’s request and because Judge Carmen Ciparick would have been unavailable earlier.

She probably is wishing it could have been postponed indefinitely. When last heard from, a weary Ciparick was urging both sides to quit wasting her time and settle their petty disputes on the water.

Now, she may even have to decide the starting date of the series--Sept. 3, during the Labor Day weekend, as Sail America says, or Sept. 19, as Michael Fay insists, despite a conflict with the Olympics.

Also on May 25, the catamaran is scheduled to sail at San Diego for the first time, the day after a media unveiling. The airfoil wing sail has been shipped from Mojave, where it was built, and is being fitted to the 60-foot hulls in San Diego. The formal christening of the new Stars & Stripes will be June 4.

Fay’s massive monohull, meanwhile, was supposed to have been shipped to San Diego via Long Beach on an English freighter last Tuesday but was stuck in Auckland by British seaman supporting a strike at home.

The Kiwis suspect that British banker Peter de Savary is behind the holdup--miffed that his sailboat was rejected by Fay as a Cup challenger because it was a hydrofoil.

Iain Murray’s Australian challenge also was rejected--after Sail America accepted it--when the Kiwis learned that although his proposed boat equalled their own in basic beam and length dimensions, it was basically a flat-bottomed centerboard skiff without a weighted keel.

Is this all too absurd or what? Wait, there’s more.

You heard that those two Formula 40 catamarans Dennis Conner was practicing on were dismasted? Well, now the masts have been extended from 63 to 81 feet and the boats’ beams narrowed, from 24 1/2 feet to less than 20 feet, to approximate what the new boat will feel like. “They’re really going to be hairy now,” said Bill Trenkle, the crewman who is Conner’s operations chief. “Everything’s right to the edge, but that’s what we’ve got to get used to.”

And just when Conner needed another worry, here comes Tom Blackaller, his longtime antagonist. Blackaller is involved in the ProSail catamaran series that will hit San Diego June 10-12 and, in a talk at Tampa, Fla., last month, challenged Conner to a catamaran match race at that time.

Conner’s response to that was predictable. He said he will ignore it. Blackaller said that if Conner’s catamaran is allowed to sail, the America’s Cup races will be a joke.

“Conner’s boat is at least 25% faster than Fay’s boat,” he said. “At best, the race will be dull.”

For what it’s worth, a much smaller but similarly futuristic New Zealand boat, the one featured in this column recently, was blown away by a stock Hobie 21 as a prelude to this week’s Ultimate Yacht Race competition at Corpus Christi, Tex.

After winning by 10 minutes, catamaran skipper Rick Eddington said: “We were so far ahead we never saw who we were racing.”

Although the America’s Cup mess is ridiculous, it’s no longer funny in the world of sailing.

Olympic contenders have been turned away by potential corporate supporters who are looking for big-time exposure. Now the World Cup of Match Racing finals scheduled for Long Beach in August have been scrubbed and moved to Fremantle, Australia, Oct. 27-31 because the Long Beach organizers couldn’t get a sponsor.

Chairman Hal Lane said: “We talked to 52 different (potential) sponsors and had many near misses. Everybody’s on hold until they see what happens to the America’s Cup. It’s a shame. We had so much going for us. If anything has harmed sailing, it’s this (controversy).”

OLYMPICS--John Shadden of Long Beach and crewman Charlie McKee of Seattle have emerged as favorites to win the U.S. Olympic berth in the 470 after finishing third in the world competition at Israel, first in an international regatta at Sete, France, and second in the European Olympic Classes Regatta at Hyeres. “I don’t want to be the favorite but a lot of people are trying to make it sound like we are,” Shadden said. On the other hand, Shadden pointed out, “We’ve seen everybody now, and the last six weeks Charlie and I have done better as a team than anybody.”

Ron and Steve Rosenberg of Long Beach were a disappointing 14th in the Flying Dutchman class at Hyeres. In the Tornado class, 1984 silver medalist Randy Smyth and crewman Kenny Watts placed 31st. Gary Knapp-Chris Steinfeld were the top U.S. boat in 10th, followed by Pete Melvin-Pat Muglia of Long Beach in 11th.

PROFESSIONAL--The scaled-down Ultimate Yacht Race series started at Corpus Christi, Tex., last week with four boats in the U-30 class competing for $82,000, including a $42,000 winner-take-all purse for the final race Sunday; seven J-24s going for $72,000 and 16 Hobie 21s after $9,250. Competitors include former America II skipper John Kolius in U-30, Ed Baird, Ken Read and Greg Tawaststjerna in J-24 and Randy Smyth, Jeff Alter and Hobie Alter Jr. in Hobie 21. NBC will show an hour of highlights on May 28.

NEWSWORTHY--The Ahmanson Cup series will runs the next two weekends at Newport Harbor Yacht Club and features a maxi-sled class with up to 12 entries. . . . Entry deadline for the Audi Sobstad Race Week at Long Beach is June 1, with a limit of 100 boats. For information, contact Bruce Golison at (213) 438-1166. . . . The Newport Beach Nautical Museum has a historical exhibit of the Star class running to June 30. The museum is at 1714 W. Balboa Blvd. The Star world competition will be at Newport in 1990. . . . Marina del Rey’s 14th in-the-water boat show is scheduled June 8-12 at the Burton Chace Park docks. Admission: adults $5, children 6-12 $2, under 6 free. . . . The U.S. Speedsailing Grand Prix series that was scheduled to start at Long Beach this weekend has been reduced from seven events to only two or three. The opener is now scheduled at Long Beach June 18-19.