Coutts savages Team NZ's style

By HELEN TUNNAH

Alinghi skipper Russell Coutts says Team New Zealand are not playing the America's Cup game the way he remembers.

And he has invoked the spirit of Sir Peter Blake to back his claim.

Coutts skippered Team New Zealand when they won the America's Cup in 1995, and again during the successful defence in 2000.

He left the team after that win to join Alinghi.

Yesterday, he said that when he sailed for Team New Zealand under Sir Peter, they steered clear of controversy and protests and wanted to win on the water.

Coutts' barbed remarks came as tensions rose in the regatta after Team New Zealand questioned whether the challengers could switch boats and amid reports that their secret false hull is being emulated by Alinghi and Oracle BMW Racing.

Team New Zealand have also sent a warning letter to Alinghi about breaking the cup's spying rules by getting too close too often on the Hauraki Gulf.

The Swiss have rejected the allegation.

Coutts confirmed yesterday that Alinghi were working on the radical hull design that Team NZ are believed to have already adopted.

But he criticised the New Zealanders for claiming that a rule anomaly meant the challengers could not now introduce a new boat for the rest of the challenger series or the America's Cup races.

"The Team New Zealand I was involved in generally tried to steer clear of these rules challenges," Coutts said.

"The new Team New Zealand seems to have adopted a different approach, and we just have to see if that approach is ultimately successful."

He said he remembered Sir Peter "giving some speeches to the team that said, 'We're going to stay out of all these issues, we're not going to be a litigious challenger and we're going to try and win this event on the water through designing boats better and sailing better'."

Sir Peter, the founder of Team New Zealand, was murdered in Brazil a year ago. He left Team New Zealand after they defended the cup three years ago.

Coutts and tactician Brad Butterworth quit a Team New Zealand under siege from foreign syndicates after the 2000 defence to join Alinghi.

Team New Zealand were reluctant yesterday to comment on Coutts' remarks, which were prompted by a letter to the challengers about the rule anomaly rather than a formal protest.

Syndicate head Tom Schnackenberg said yesterday that the rules were ambiguous and needed to be clarified.

"I think that when anybody sees an anomaly in the rule, writing a letter to the challengers is quite appropriate. I think Team New Zealand might have indulged in that in the past."

He would not comment further, but the team reject suggestions they have become litigious.

Alinghi have approached the arbitration panel at least five times this campaign, and have asked for permission to sue America's Cup Village Limited over a Viaduct Harbour rates dispute.

They have also questioned the nationality rules, the key to a syndicate's makeup and legality.

Alinghi are not the first team to suggest Team New Zealand have changed without Sir Peter.

OneWorld Challenge chief executive Gary Wright made a similar claim this year, saying people should remember the Team New Zealand that won the cup in 1995 and defended it in 2000 were not the syndicate of today.

He talked of the "honourable" days under Sir Peter's leadership.

OneWorld Challenge, like Alinghi, were set up after the last cup and hired key Team New Zealand sailors and designers.

The obvious rivalry between the favourites to win the challenger series and Team New Zealand coincided with revelations that the Swiss were testing the revolutionary appendage.

Schnackenberg will not say what is hidden under his boat's skirts, but Coutts said Alinghi were working on development.

The concept involves a partial false hull, declared as an appendage, which can add waterline length to a yacht and boost speed.

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