Bananas and Other Exotic Devices

As Oracle BMW pushed OneWorld to the end of the plank in the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger semifinals, the spotlight fell on two old warriors and rivals, Chris Dickson and Peter Gilmour.

They first found international attention in the America's Cup at Fremantle in 1986-87. They weren't opponents then. Dickson sailed New Zealand's "Plastic Fantastic" 12-Meter among the challengers, while "Crash" Gilmour was the hell-bent starting helmsman for Iain Murray's defender, Kookaburra II. But they have had many intense encounters since.

So when these two heavyweights of sailing sat together at the post-race press conference Saturday, discussion turned to . . . secret tracking devices and bananas.

Dickson was asked about "a huge bunch of bananas" seen on board Oracle Saturday. If the bananas had been on OneWorld, that would explain its plight. As all sailors know, bananas bring nothing but bad luck.

Dickson explained, "I am very superstitious, [but] they were actually on the chase boat and did not come onboard the boat until after the finish of the race."

On a darker note, Dickson was asked about the "teardrop-shaped thing at the back of your boat where the cameras are. What is it and what does it do?"

Dickson: "We have a number of pieces of equipment on the boat and we don’t comment on what any of them are."

Gilmour picked up the cue and ran with it.

"All I know is that it is a radar for tracking the speed and performance of the other yacht, and I understand that’s what they use it for," he said. "They don’t have to use a [handheld] laser rangefinder at all. I guess our question is, what other information comes through the same system?

"The rules are quite strict on that and, as I understand, radar can both send and receive information. So our question is, are you allowed to receive information onboard the yacht on the performance of the other yacht?"

Q: "Do you have any comment, Chris?"

Dickson: "I am not actually sure what Peter’s talking about . . . we are fully within the rules in every way."

Helm Hopping, Part 3

Finally, media had a chance to question Dickson directly on the helm hopping aboard Oracle, with Peter Holmberg starting and Dickson driving the first upwind leg, then handing it back to Holmberg the rest of the way.

Dickson: "The first beat is everyday always a little bit different. The conditions are different, the breeze is different. It lets me get my head around the wind pressure, what’s working, what’s not working with the boat, the way we’re sailing it and setting up the sails, the technical side of it. It gives me a good grasp of it for the rest of the race."

He said that doesn't mean he lacks any confidence in Holmberg.

"I am confident enough to have Peter driving all the time, he is doing a fantastic job for us. He’s a fantastic helmsman."

It's Never Too Late

You could feel this one coming. After OneWorld botched Saturday's start not only with a penalty but by starting about an inch early, was James Spithill's job on the line?

Gilmour: "We probably really hung up a bit too long in the luffing situation and it was pretty obvious from 30 or 40 seconds before we got the penalty that it was going to be tight. I think then being OCS at the start was just a fundamental error we made that we shouldn’t have. It’s a little frustrating because you haven’t seen the best of us yet on the race course, and I certainly hope the best is yet to come."

Any day now would be good. But OneWorld will go down in the hands of Spithill, Gilmour promised.

Gilmour: "The little bugger won’t let me have a go!"

It was good to see Gilmour's humor, so close to elimination. There haven't been a lot of laughs in the Seattle camp while sailing under a one-point handicap from the start of the last two series. But he has total respect for Spithill's skills, which he has demonstrated repeatedly.

"James often gets up here and suggests how old I am and I’ve very much wanted to tease him and rib him about how young he is," Gilmour said, "but he is a superb talent and I have complete faith and trust in him. Mistakes get made in this game and they get made by anybody at any level. I think James is a talent for today and tomorrow and he’s got my complete commitment."

But was it too much pressure for a 23-year-old?

Gilmour: "James is extremely mature for his young years, and under fire and heat he excels time and time again. If the bow of that boat had been one meter in a different position you would all be saying what a superb job he’s managed to do starting."

So good, in fact, that it must remind Gilmour of another young upstart at Fremantle 15 years ago.

Forget Reevesgate

Gilmour's mood darkened momentarily when he was asked if the weight of the dispute over stolen design secrets had hurt OneWorld's performance.

"I think the reflection of somehow trying to connect all this together with the 'Reevesgate' business is just baloney, and there you have it," he said. "A disaffected employee is turfed out a year and a half ago and it means nothing to us. On the contrary it is a major motivating factor in the team."

No Time to Lighten Up

So, how is Dickson's mood these days? Sometimes a seemingly innocuous question brings a very revealing answer. He was asked, "Are you having fun, Chris?"

"No, I’m not having fun," Dickson said. "It’s hard work out there. Peter and the OneWorld team are doing a very good job they are always right there. They are quite capable of coming back and we’ve seen time and time again and we know that we can’t put a foot wrong.

"It’s tough racing and this week we have had very shifty conditions which complicates it further and we’ve got to keep working hard and doing what we’re doing. The last run today being able to match gybe for gybe for gybe it took all the tactical options out of it. It was a crew-work race to the finish, and we know we have to win another race."