I just wanted to offer Dickson a job, says Reeves

By TONY WALL

The New Zealander accused of offering veteran yachtie Chris Dickson secret America's Cup design plans worth $6 million now says his motive for calling Dickson was to lure him to a proposed new syndicate being backed by a British millionaire.

The Herald revealed that 40-year-old Devonport lawyer Sean Reeves is the man at the centre of the latest America's Cup espionage scandal, having been named by the One World syndicate in a civil action lodged in the King County Superior Court in Seattle.

Reeves, who helped lure a clutch of top New Zealand sailors to the One World team last year, is accused of turning double agent by trying to sell design and technical plans to Dickson's rival Oracle racing team.

The case comes down to Dickson's word against Reeves' and an international telephone conversation on July 17 in which Dickson alleges his old sailing partner told him he got less than he hoped for when he parted company with One World this year and wanted to recover his losses.

Reeves denies offering information to anyone and says he will sue One World for defamation.

On Friday, Reeves told the Herald that the July 17 conversation - he was at home in Devonport, Dickson at home in California - was prompted by a magazine article he had read on Dickson.

Yesterday he said his motivation for ringing Dickson was to recruit him.

"Someone had approached me from a wealthy corporation in another country and said they wanted to get involved in the America's Cup," Reeves said.

"The real reason I called Chris was to find out if he was still involved with Oracle, because there was a rumour he had been sacked."

He said the proposed new British syndicate, backed by a millionaire he would not name, was hoping to be accepted as a challenger if it paid the late entry fee of $US300,000 by next March.

He said Dickson seemed the perfect option for skipper as he satisfied the nationality requirement by holding a British passport.

But Reeves said Dickson would not be able to verify the story because he never put the proposal to him, as Dickson made it clear from the start of the conversation that he was staying with Oracle. Instead the two men talked about the magazine article and their babies.

Reeves said the proposed new syndicate had "faded away", mainly because it had struggled to find a designer, and he was now focusing on his career as a professional tennis coach.

Dickson, who is now in Auckland, told the Herald yesterday: "I've made the [court] declaration ... there's nothing further to add. It's an issue between One World and Sean Reeves."

Reeves parted company with One World, headed by billionaire Craig McCaw, this year.

* tony_wall@nzherald.co.nz

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