Team
NZ replie to OneWorld
(08/14/02) (source
: Telegraph)
Team New Zealand have reacted strongly
to the latest claims by the Seattle-based OneWorld Challenge.
OneWorld's former employee, Sean Reeves, allegedly sent
hull drawings to the Kiwi team. At the weekend, OneWorld's
Bob Ratcliffe said these were of OneWorld's boat, but
they now appear to have included TNZ design material
as well.
"We received the package unsolicited, and the contents
were under a notary's seal," said TNZ's rules adviser,
Russell Green.
"We immediately delivered them, unopened, to an independent
professional and later instructed their transfer to
the registrar of the America's Cup arbitration panel."
So long in the spotlight for supposedly
illegally holding Team New Zealand's winning designs
from the 2000 America's Cup, the Seattle-based OneWorld
team now believe the reverse is true: that the Kiwi
defenders have copies of their own designs for next
year's America's Cup.
The startling discovery was made on Friday when Sean
Reeves, OneWorld's former employee, met the team's lawyers
in Seattle. Reeves' allegations and evidence are at
the centre of a civil case being heard in the Washington
State courts, and a pending judgment from the America's
Cup arbitration panel.
OneWorld spokesman Bob Ratcliffe alleges that, in a
deposition sworn on Friday, Reeves admitted copying
eight or nine of OneWorld's hull lines drawings and
sending them to Team New Zealand. These are said to
be the same hull designs that Reeves originally claimed
OneWorld had illegally obtained, apparently of TNZ's
2000 Cup winner, NZL 60, and her sistership, NZL 57.
An incensed Ratcliffe believes that, if the Cup defenders
did receive the plans unsolicited from Reeves, they
should have informed the challenger immediately and
returned them, or handed the confidential material directly
to a neutral third party, such as the arbitration panel
or America's Cup Class technical director.
"It is disgraceful that Team New Zealand have failed
to return our calls," said Ratcliffe. "They have not
had the good courtesy to tell us if they have these
plans. The defender is also the trustee of the Cup and
this is shoddy. The trustee should be above reproach."
The line drawings Mr Reeves gave Team New Zealand last
week are believed to be Mr Davidson's initial work prepared
for OneWorld in 2000.
America's Cup syndicate OneWorld Challenge has
rejected suggestions it copied Team New Zealand designs
for mast fittings.
Spokesman Bob Ratliffe said an internal email which
talked about "essentially copying" designs had been
taken out of context.
"This email was one of a series of a half dozen"
Ratliffe explained. "Put into context the other
emails it included advise dealing with the subject matter
between Southern Spars (Omohundro) and OWC".
He said by itself the email looked embarrassing and
it might have contained a poor choice of words but it
had to be considered with other documents which were
evidence in a United States court case and could not
be released.
The email was just sent by a rigging contractor for
OneWorld and copied to key OneWorld staff, including
former Team NZ designer Laurie Davidson, chief executive
Gary Wright and sailing skipper Peter Gilmour.
It said a mast construction company, which worked for
both Team New Zealand and OneWorld, had raised questions
about the ownership of the designs of some fittings,
and Team New Zealand was expected to "aggressively protect
their intellectual property".
"One thing is clear," said Ratliffe, "someone
separated this one email from many and put it in the
public domain as a means of trying to embarrass OWC".
"We remain confident that Southern Spars, Navtec
and OneWorld Challenge have all acted properly and cautiously
with respect to the matter raised in this email",
He concluded. "We also remain steadfast that it
is our intention to stay with our broader mission of
winning sailboat races in the name of the health of
the oceans".
Martin Tasker explained on this week’s
sailnz.tv that OneWorld has found itself offside again
with the rival campaigns after applying to the Arbitration
Panel to recruit illbruck’s Volvo Ocean Race winning
skipper, John Kostecki.
A number of syndicates lodged protests with the Panel
citing concern over Kostecki’s knowledge of illbruck’s
America’s Cup yacht which the German syndicate had
built before withdrawing from the Cup.
Concerning the main Aucklandgate, a document has emerged
suggesting that Team New Zealand designs have been
copied by the OneWorld challenge.
The NZ TV has obtained an email sent to the Seattle
challenge from a mast company executive which says
: "The work we have done to date on our own fittings
(locks and such) has been essentially copying TNZ
designs based on input from ex-TNZ team members."
The email was copied to, amongst others: Laurie Davidson,
the former TNZ designer (now with OneWorld); Gary
Wright, OneWorld's chief executive; Peter Gilmour,
the OneWorld skipper; Phil Kaiko, the former America
True designer; and Sean Reeves, the former OneWorld
and TNZ rules advisor now being sued by OneWorld for
alleged breach of contract and offering design secrets
to other syndicates.
The email's author goes on to ask: "The question is
what happens when these turn out looking exactly like
TNZ or Prada gear. As far as the ancillary bits go
it may be pretty obvious where some of the designs
really originated."
OneWorld's senior staff are currently in the US from
where Gary Wright said the email, sent in October
2000, had been taken out of context. He said it should
be read with several other emails with which it would
be seen in a totally different light.
In a brief mesage held at Tom Leweck's
Scuttlebutt the OneWorld syndicate replied to Oracle
allegations that Laurie Davidson was trying to gather
design and performance information about the newly
built USA 71.
"Visual observation is not a violation of the
protocol. Laurie Davidson is the most recognizable
yacht designer in New Zealand. He is well aware of
the protocol, and would have chosen somewhere less
obvious to view the launch of USA71 if his intentions
had been less than honorable.
With the media in attendance at the Oracle Shore Base,
we are uncertain what Design and Performance information
Laurie could have seen that was not ultimately going
to be in the public forum. If Oracle Racing believes
that Laurie has breached the Protocol, then they have
every right to bring it before the Arbitration Panel.
Laurie is a legend in the Americas Cup, who simply
has a high level of professional curiosity. He was
complimentary of his initial glimpse of USA 71, and
like the rest of the OneWorld team, looks forward
to competing with Oracle and the other challengers
on the stage intended for the America's Cup - the
water".
In spite of this position, Oracle Racing is still
considering whether to take any action against OneWorld
designer Laurie Davidson.
"We think this is a very serious matter which warrants
serious consideration and are looking into all our
options." Oracle spokeswoman Joanna Ingley said.
New
trouble for OneWorld Challenge ? (06/12/02) (source
: NZ
Herald)
Former Team New Zealand designer Laurie
Davidson, who works for the Seattle based OneWorld Challenge,
has been caught observing through binoculars Oracle's
new yacht, USA71, at its official launch in Auckland
yesterday.
As soon as Oracle noticed a rival syndicate designer
was watching, they sent team member Chris Todter to
investigate. Todter said he approached Davidson and
asked him what he thought of Oracle's new boat.
According to Todter, Davidson replied: "It looks very
good to me, very interesting." Davidson then left.
Although the new yacht was covered by a long grey skirt
- to keep hull and keel designs secret - Oracle says
Davidson had his binoculars pointed in their direction.
The use of binoculars is a "grey" area in the America's
Cup protocol, which aims to allow challengers and the
defender to conduct tests in private and limit opportunities
to gain information about other teams.
The protocol says visual observation from ashore of
another syndicate's yacht is permitted provided it is
not intended to gather design and performance information.
Visual observation is largely unavoidable with the proximity
of bases at the Viaduct. But Oracle believe Davidson
was out of line.
"What was Laurie Davidson, OneWorld's principal designer,
doing with his binoculars looking at Oracle Racing's
new boat, if he was not trying to gather design and
performance information - which is not permitted under
the America's Cup protocol?" an Oracle spokesperson
asked.
As OneWorld Challenge are already before the America's
Cup arbitration panel, accused of obtaining some of
Team New Zealand's most sensitive design secrets, Oracle
Racing will discuss the incident further today and examine
whether it is a breach of protocol.
