Stars & Stripes’ Legality Is Questioned

Kookaburra syndicate head Kevin Parry raised a question about the legality of Stars & Stripes’ hull today, even as Dennis Conner sailed the big blue boat to a fourth and clinching victory in the America’s Cup finals.

Parry, viewing the race from the Kookaburra tender, said by radio that he had received an anonymous tip that the aluminum hull of Stars & Stripes also contained lithium, which is classified as an exotic material and is prohibited in America’s Cup 12-meters.

Parry said he was told “that they were supplied with some material that was supplied to NASA and Boeing, and apparently it has a high lithium content. But at this point, I don’t know if it’s true or not.

“I passed it on to our people to discuss with the committee, and I’m not up to speed with what happened.

“Let’s hope to goodness there isn’t anything unfortunate like that in there. If there is, of course, and if it’s substantial, we’ll take it further, but let’s hope that it’s not true.

“On the other hand, if it turned out to be true, we’d owe an obligation to the people who have supported us to follow it through.”