Rivals question Team New Zealand's radical design

By JULIE ASH and HELEN TUNNAH

Lawyers for one of the America's Cup syndicates were last night looking hard at the radical new hull design unveiled by Team New Zealand and may question its legality.

Both teams in the challenger finals, Oracle BMW of the United States and Alinghi of Switzerland, have until 3pm today to lodge protests with the international jury or the America's Cup Arbitration Panel.

Alinghi said yesterday that they would not lodge a protest yet, but Oracle rules adviser Tom Ehman told the Herald their staff would continue reviewing the rules overnight.

When it was revealed yesterday, Team New Zealand's spectacular design was immediately dubbed the most innovative leap forward for America's Cup yachts for decades.

To gasps from the public, the two black boats were lifted from the water outside Team NZ's Viaduct Harbour base and their protective skirts dropped for the first time.

Immediately obvious were two faint outlines towards the stern of both hulls - identifying the false hull appendage dubbed the New Zealand "hula".

But not all those watching were impressed, and Oracle's legal team were considering whether questions should be asked by this afternoon's first deadline about whether the radical appendage meets the rules.

The appendage fits snugly against the hull but must not touch it apart from where it is attached.

The aim of the appendage is to increase the boat's waterline length and therefore improve its speed. If Team New Zealand had increased the actual hull's length, it would have come at a cost, perhaps in terms of reduced sail area.

Whoever wins the Louis Vuitton Cup and the right to challenge Team New Zealand for the America's Cup could still lodge a protest during an actual race if they are not convinced the appendage is operating legally.

Team NZ designers believed that with no limits on non-movable appendages under America's Cup class rules, they had the ability to effectively increase the hull length without a penalty.

That innovative thinking has sparked critics to suggest Team New Zealand has worked against the intent of the design rules, while Alinghi and Oracle remain unconvinced the move is legal.

The New Zealand design crew paraded in Hawaiian shirts yesterday to unveil the "hula" - a move which prompted compatriot and Oracle designer Bruce Farr to remark: "The hula - that's the name now, is it? Is that because it's a dance around the rules or something?"

Mr Ehman said last night that Oracle had a team of people looking at the appendage "from a technical standpoint".

Another syndicate this week raised questions with the international jury about the legality of a "hula" device while racing.

The questions are thought to be from Alinghi, and include asking whether the jury can rely on a "simple assurance" from a competitor that such an appendage does not touch the hull during a race.

The jury's answers may dictate whether Team New Zealand's opponent in the America's Cup match next month starts racing with a protest.

Team NZ head Tom Schnackenberg said yesterday that it was the responsibility of his designers to assure officials the "hula" met the rules.

"It was our obligation to prove to the measurers that it doesn't touch the hull and we have proved that."

Alinghi and Oracle also unveiled their boats yesterday, and despite testing their versions of a clip-on, neither will use the innovation in racing for the Louis Vuitton Cup starting on Saturday.

The mysterious device at the stern of Oracle's boat - dubbed "the goose" - will stay there, despite other teams not yet knowing what it can do. Both Oracle and rivals Alinghi have agreed that no radars or even laser-range finder equipment can be used in the challenger finals, leaving crew to use hand-held compasses to track their opponents. No team has yet asked the jury to explore what the goose does, and Oracle is persisting with a "neither confirm nor deny" response to questions about whether it is a radar.

Unveiling graphics:

Oracle BMW

Alinghi

Team New Zealand

nzherald.co.nz/americascup

Racing schedule, results and standings