N.Y. Yacht Club’s Image Founders

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — “We can’t race here. If we blow the boat we’re all done, man. Where’s that crack, where’s that crack? We’re dead. We’re done. . . . We’re risking it. This is just dumb. It’s dumb. Let’s get the jib down, get on home, get out of here. If we risk it . . . it’s not worth it. It’ll go, it’s cracked.”

Frantic?

You might be too, if eight days earlier you had jumped off another boat as it broke up beneath you. The words were from an unidentified senior crew member aboard the New York Yacht Club’s second Young America, and in light of subsequent developments, they were damning.

It was a few minutes before the scheduled start of a race against Young Australia in the second round of the America’s Cup challenger trials to select the boat that will take on Team New Zealand in February.

The wind was blowing 16 knots from the north by northeast, promising big waves.

Young America won eight of 10 races in the first round-robin and four of six in the second when its first boat, designated USA 53, nearly sank in similar conditions.

Would Young America risk USA 58, which was built for milder weather?

Syndicate president John Marshall had said after the shipwreck, “We know our competitors will be well prepared in tough conditions, so we have to be as well.”

But then Marshall said, “We’ll take each day as it comes.”

After switching to USA 58, Young America apparently had no desire to race in rough conditions. The near-sinking of USA 53 launched a pattern of strange behavior by the New Yorkers.

Four days later they defeated France’s mediocre Le Defi in winds as strong as 16 knots but from the southwest, which means relatively smooth water because the race course is protected by land from that direction. Then, in winds of no more than 11 knots, the New Yorkers beat Hawaii’s Abracadabra and lost to Italy’s Prada.

Then came Young Australia, an opponent with a young crew and an old boat they would be expected to beat easily.

About 10 seconds before the five-minute preparatory signal, Young America radioed the committee to request a postponement for repairs, which is permitted any time up to five minutes before the signal.

About eight seconds after the signal, race boss Vince Cooke radioed back refusing the request. Young America subsequently withdrew from the race and later explained that its gooseneck--the metal fitting that attaches the boom to the mast--was damaged.

But that night a syndicate official, Jim Marshall (John’s brother), faxed a letter to supporters explaining that “disquieting noises were heard where new structures had recently been added,” that is, where the similarly constructed hull of USA 53 had broken and where USA 58 had been reinforced.

“[Skipper] Ed Baird . . . chose to withdraw from the race rather than jeopardize USA 58 in the 20-knot northeasterly [winds] and cresting seas,” the letter said.

It ended with an appeal for more money.

So, which was it?

At a news conference the next night, Baird said, “Yesterday we had some noises in the gooseneck.”

A reporter asked, “Not in the hull?”

Baird: “That’s right.”

Later, the audio would indicate otherwise.

Meanwhile, Young America claimed it was wronged by not getting time to fix its problem, and the event’s international Jury agreed. It even threw Young America a bone: one point in a four-point race. Young Australia kept its four.

The next day the wind was 20 knots from the northeast. Young America started its race against Dennis Conner’s Stars & Stripes without a main sail. Baird said later that the sail track in the mast was broken.

The “race” was a sham. Young America, already 7 minutes 40 seconds behind, dropped out after the first of six legs.

Ashore, meanwhile, rivals AmericaOne and Prada protested, resulting in a closer look at the circumstances of the previous day’s breakdown.

“New York’s performance in today’s race further undermines the credibility of their submissions in this matter,” AmericaOne’s paper stated.

The jury reviewed videotape containing the audio from the crew--sailing’s version of a “black box.” Still photos showed crewmen on hands and knees inspecting the deck, not the gooseneck.

From the evidence, the jury concluded that Young America couldn’t have repaired the boat in the allotted 45 minutes and, in fact, never intended to race at all.

The jury took back the point but stopped short of pursuing Racing Rule 69, which involves misleading race officials about such things and could result in being kicked out of the event.

That would be the ultimate disgrace for the New York Yacht Club, which held the Cup for 132 years until 1983 and has a proud tradition in yacht racing.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Current Standings After Round 2:

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No. Boat W L Pts 1. Prada 19 1 46 2. America True 14 6 38 3. Stars & Stripes 13 7 *36.5 4. AmericaOne 15 5 36 5. Nippon 12 8 *19.5 6. Young America 12 8 24 7. Spain 8 12 17 8. Abracadabra 7 13 16 9. France 5 15 14 10. Young Australia 3 17 9 11. Switzerland 2 18 8

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* Penalized half a point for not avoiding contact