Race Collision Spawned Multiple Jury Hearings - Stars & Stripes Gets 24-Hour
Delay

The collision between Stars & Stripes and Le Defi caused a late night International Jury session. It was called at the request of Team Dennis Conner, asking for 48 hours to repair its boat, which was damaged in a collision with France's Le Défi challenger.

After hearing evidence about the collision, the Jury also initiated a Rule 14 (Avoiding Contact) protest against Le Défi.

After hearing from the Chief Measurer Ken McAlpine and Stars & Stripes shore boss Mick Harvey, and visiting the Stars & Stripes compound to view repair work already under way, the Jury gave the American team 24 hours to complete repairs.

The Jury said it would consider additional time for repairs if Stars & Stripes was able to show cause before at 1800 hours on Thursday.

The collision occurred at the end of the first spinnaker run, as Le Défi, trailing Stars & Stripes, and already burdened by one penalty, attempted to unload it by luring the American boat into a penalty situation. Instead, the French boat hit Stars & Stripes cracking the outer skin of the hull from the sheerline to the centreline at a point about one meter from the extreme end of the transom.

McAlpine and Harvey each gave evidence that it would take a minimum of 24 hours to make structurally sound repairs to the American boat. It would take an additional 24 hours to finish cosmetic work to return the boat to as-new condition.

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