From one auld mug to another

By CATHERINE MASTERS

It was a line-up of America's Cup history.

There was Dennis Conner from America (the man New Zealanders remember as Dirty Den), John Bertrand, the Australian skipper who took the cup off Conner, and his colourful bankroller Alan Bond, the convicted fraudster and cup-winner.

There, too, was Sir Michael Fay, the New Zealander who spent millions trying to win yachting's greatest prize.

Sir Michael, who these days lives in Switzerland - Alinghi territory - yesterday left no doubt whose side he was on.

And while the line-up at a press conference celebrating 20 years of Louis Vuitton sponsorship of the challenger series reflected past triumphs, the talk was very much about the future.

The catalyst was the view of Swiss billionaire and Alinghi boss Ernesto Bertarelli on the question of whether syndicates should be national teams or a collection of the best sailors. Bertarelli wants the rules that force Russell Coutts to keep a home in Switzerland relaxed.

Sir Michael, one of New Zealand's wealthiest men, took a different tack.

"Speaking as a New Zealander and as a keen enthusiast and follower of the cup, I would keep it very strongly national first and there's room for anyone who wants to support their country as an individual or corporate or anybody else to get behind it.

"That's been the key to New Zealand's success, I believe, since the first challenges and since Peter Blake and Russell Coutts won it in 1995 and then defended it again successfully in 2000.

"It's a formula that has worked for New Zealand.

"I think it can work for other small countries.

"I don't think it's the prerogative only of big countries or of people with big chequebooks."

Mr Bond said it was difficult for Australians to mount a challenge because of the $100 million-plus cost.

Sir Michael said New Zealand had spent just $75 million to $100 million over five challenges and that was down to national pride, "so the money can be raised in a small country where there were no hugely wealthy people to get behind it but where there was a lot of national pride".

The history of the cup had featured big players and famous names but they and national pride could be put together.

"I think the national pride ... keeping it a national competition ... is important," Sir Michael said, adding that - as Alinghi skipper Russell Coutts sat impassively a few chairs away - he and the rest of New Zealand were "150 per cent behind Team New Zealand."

"Bring in Ernesto Bertarelli and bring in Larry Ellison. These people add a lot of flavour. They pay a lot of big bills for some teams that come to the competition.

"I don't think they're not going to come because they can't put their own name on the yacht and take the cup home and put it on their mantelpiece."

He said the cup had attracted those sort of people since 1851.

Dennis Conner also leans towards keeping the cup for national teams.

While it would be harsh to make people miss out on a whole event to change nationalities, he said it would be nice to see a team that had a crew that represented their country as opposed to 16 people from 15 countries.

Mr Bond later said he may contribute his expertise to a future America's Cup campaign.

The tycoon became an Australian hero when he wrested the cup from America in 1983 but fell from grace when he pleaded guilty in 1996 to Australia's then largest fraud, stripping A$1 billion from public company Bell Resources and going to jail until March 2000.

Asked if he had the money to fund a campaign, he said: "That's not a question one wants to give an answer to."

nzherald.co.nz/americascup

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