The case brought by Stars & Stripes against the
Race Committee was based on the fact that using the
data provided by the Race Committee, the moving average
wind speed was below the mandatory seven knots by
as much as 0.11 knots for a period of approximately
28 seconds in the 15 minute lead up to the preparatory
signal.
The hearing started on Thursday evening and when initially
questioned by the International Jury the Race Committee
didn’t dispute the data or the calculated results
but was unable to answer why the alarm hadn’t gone
off.
The Jury was mindful of the fact that the Race Committee
may have made an error but gave leave to the Race
Committee to allow it to consult with the alarm program
writer in an attempt to explain the phenomenon of
the missing alarm.
On Friday the Race Committee, with a member of the
Jury and members of Stars & Stripes, held a conference
call with the alarm program writer who is based in
Florida, to understand more fully the wind measuring
and calculation procedure.
This group heard that although the raw wind data comes
from the same place, the logged data is not collected
at the same frequency or at the same time as the data
used for the alarm calculator. Furthermore the data
used by the alarm calculator was not collected anywhere
and so was not available for comparison.
This was the point at which the Race Committee’s defence
strengthened as it became clear that the Jury would
be satisfied that the equipment and the computer alarm
program provided a reliable method for the Race Committee
to ensure that the requirements of the wind speed
conditions were met, and hence that the RC’s decision
not to postpone was correct.
The Jury denied the request for redress, the race
will not have to be re-sailed and the result of the
match stands.
Team Dennis Conner is seeking redress from the
International Jury after analysing wind data for Wednesday
afternoon. The Americans maintain there wasn't enough
wind to start the match it eventually lost to GBR
Challenge.
There’s little doubt this year’s Louis Vuitton
Cup fleet is highly competitive. Skippers and helmsmen
like Russell Coutts, Peter Gilmour, Rod Davis, Peter
Holmberg and James Spithill have earned aggressive
reputations on the match-race circuit by using the
rules to their advantage, whether faster or slower.
So were these devotees to the match-racing discipline
and others passive or aggressive in Round 1? The answer
might be neither. You could say teams were crying
wolf in Round 1.
According to International Jury statistics, 32 green
flags were flown by the on-water umpires in response
to requests for penalties during the 35 completed
matches of Round 1. The umpires issued eight penalties,
three for right-of-way infractions and five umpire-initiated.
“Green flags don’t mean much. Probably a lot of them
are tongue in cheek,” said Chief Umpire Bryan Willis.
The surprisingly high rate of green flags, 80 percent,
is contrary to what is found on the match-race tour,
noted umpire Luciano Giacomi, who compiled the statistics.
Usually there are far more penalties than green flags.
Giacomi also said that an estimated 90-percent of
the calls were for proper course. He attributed it
to different boat optimisation and the different angles
associated with using an asymmetric spinnaker versus
a symmetric spinnaker. “Usually on the tour we have
one or the other, and not the option,” said Giacomi.
As for the most flag-happy team, the GBR Challenge
is the clear winner. Twenty “Y” flags were flown in
matches involving the GBR Challenge, although not
all by them. Figures released by the umpires are not
attributed to individual boats, just races.
By flying code flag Y, a red and yellow striped flag,
competitors are requesting the umpires rule on a perceived
rules infraction. The umpires either green flag it,
meaning no penalty, or fly a blue or yellow flag,
corresponding to the infringing yacht.
France’s le Défi Areva and Oracle BMW Racing were
the next most active with 14 Y flags in their matches.
Half of each team’s total came in their match against
GBR Challenge.
The French were the most penalised team in Round 1.
Two of the three penalties issued went against le
Défi. One of those penalties came in desperation during
the Flight 9 match against Mascalzone Latino, a match
that the French lost near the finish after leading
down the run.
Jury
warns syndicates against water ballast (10/08/02) (source : NZ
Herald)
America's Cup syndicates have been reminded they
are not allowed to take on water to improve a boat's
performance after two questions were raised with the
international jury.
Chief umpire Bryan Willis told the Herald that taking
water deliberately on board a racing yacht was banned
under cup rules.
The jury answered the questions about water ballast
just days before racing in the Louis Vuitton challenger
series started on October 1.
The two questions related to boats taking on water
before the start of a race and during a race for the
purpose of changing a yacht's sail trim or stability.
In both instances, the jury said deliberately taking
on water broke the regatta's rules.
International America's Cup-class yachts are designed
to particular specifications, but there can be a trade-off
between a yacht's displacement (weight), sail area
and length.
Willis said that if a yacht took on water before or
during racing, the measurement of the yacht could
effectively change, putting it outside the rules.
He said teams would not be breaking the rules if water
accidentally came on board a yacht, provided it was
removed as quickly as possible.
Alinghi
to appeal $10,000 fine (10/06/02) (source : Foxsports)
The Alinghi syndicate of Switzerland will appeal
a $10,000 fine received for breaking America's Cup
communication rules.
Alinghi was penalized Saturday for failing to turn
on on-board microphones for more than six minutes
after the start of a race against Italian challenger
Mascalzone Latino.
America's Cup rules require teams to turn on microphones,
which capture on-board noises and conversation for
television coverage, for several minutes prior to
a start and throughout each race.
Skipper Russell Coutts insisted Sunday that the microphones
had been switched on and that their malfunction was
due to a technical fault.
Alinghi
has been fined $ 10,000 (10/05/02) (source : Alinghi)
Alinghi beat Mascalzone Latino by more than seven
minutes, the largest winning margin in three days
of match-racing, but were immediately protested by
the race committee for a technical rules infraction.
The committee alleged Alinghi’s audio gear was switched
off for the period of six minutes preceding the start
until seven minutes after the start of the race. Regatta
rules require microphones, which capture on-board
conversation, to be turned on throughout challenger
matches.
The protest was heard on Saturday evening after SUI
64 has been examined .
The jury decided that, while the offence was proven,
a $ 10,000 fine was the most appropriate penalty.
Team
DC have breach the Protocol (09/26/02) (source : Scuttlebutt)
Word of out Auckland today is that Team Dennis
Conner, which was docked a point for using an illegal
rudder during the last Cup, is about to submit to
the Arbitration Panel an admission that they have
breached the Protocol by hiring one of the declared
designers and crewmembers of the defunct Illbruck
AC team.
This is explicitly prohibited under the Protocol and
was reinforced by a recent decision of the Arbitration
panel about John Kostecki.
The America’s Cup Arbitration Panel has issued
four more decisions on questions put before it over
the past several months. The most important centred
on a dispute between the Prada Challenge and Oracle
BMW Racing.
In June, 2002, Prada filed a Notice of Proceeding
and Statement of Claim in the High Court of New Zealand,
naming Oracle BMW Racing as the defendant. The dispute
related to a barge belonging to Oracle, which Prada
claimed had been positioned on the boundary line between
the two syndicates' bases, breaching Prada's privacy.
Two days after the lawsuit was filed, Oracle BMW Racing
filed a stay of proceeding. Shortly thereafter, Prada
filed a Notice of Discontinuance, essentially withdrawing
the Court proceeding. In its submission to the Arbitration
Panel, Oracle maintained that by resorting to an outside
Court of Law, Prada was in violation of Article 10.2
of the Protocol, a document governing the Louis Vuitton
Cup and America’s Cup.
Article 10.2 states in part: Any Challenger who resorts
to any Court or tribunal, other than the Arbitration
Panel…will accordingly be ineligible to make the declaration
provided in Article 6 and to be the Challenger for
the Match.
In its ruling, the Arbitration Panel determined that
while Prada had breached the provisions of Article
10.2 of the Protocol, no such penalty was automatically
provided for, and that the Panel would determine what
penalty should be applied.
The Arbitration Panel ruled that by taking into consideration
the “various aspects of the infraction, its seriousness,
the impact the violation might have had on the outcome
of the Challenge and Match, and how the incident reflects
on the condition stated in the Deed of Gift…” the
Panel would fine Prada US$10 000 plus costs.
In its other rulings, the Arbitration Panel ruled
on a nationality issue for sailing crew, determining
that a GBR Challenge crew member had fulfilled the
nationality requirements and could sail for the team.
The Panel clarified that ‘’fabricated and assembled’’
in the context of the Protocol meant that “the hull,
the deck and each appendage are each fabricated and
assembled in the relevant Challenger’s or Defender’s
country. It is not necessary that the hull, the deck
and the appendages be assembled into a complete yacht
in such country.”
Finally, the Panel ruled that a person submitted as
a designer by a challenging syndicate that had subsequently
withdrawn from the Match could not be submitted by
another team as a crew member.
