Yacht Racing .com

Challenger Reactions to Team Dennis Conner's Accident on July 23, 2002

We were extremely sorry to hear about yesterdays mishap with USA 77. We were pleased with the report that noone was hurt. Dennis Conner is one of history's great America's Cup campaigners and incidents like this one will never slow him down. We are confident that he and his team will have both boats on the Hauraki Gulf before we know it, and OneWorld looks forward to the opportunity to be campaigning along side a team like Stars and Stripes.

July 24, 2002

Team Dennis Conner
2525 Shelter Island Drive
Suite E
San Diego
CA 92106, USA
Fax: +1 562-799-4361

Dear Team Dennis Conner,

The ORACLE BMW Racing Team wishes to pass on our heartfelt thoughts to the team after hearing the news of your misfortune off Long Beach, CA today.

We hope that no one was injured during the incident, and that your team will be back to full strength soon.

ORACLE BMW Racing would like to extend a helping hand in this time of need, and if we can be of assistance in any way, please contact me at +64 9 359 9246.

Kind regards,

Bill Erkelens
Chief Operations Officer

We were sorry to hear the news, and feel for the Team of S&S. We had a similar incident a year ago, off Sète (South of France). We were lucky to save our boat.