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What will the naughty Aussies do next? Alan Bond may have been away on a brief visit to Australia but his fellow countrymen continued their assault on the crusty New York Yacht Club.
"You guys are no different from the Watergate fellows," said Bob McCullough, manager of the defender Courageous syndicate, after members of the Australian squad had sneaked aboard Courageous at Newport Shipyard and prowled the deck of the sleek racing machine.
They were checking, the Australians said darkly, to make sure that the installation of Courageous' big sheet winches did not violate America's Cup rules. Newport salts particularly enjoyed this gamesmanship ploy on the challenger's part because this year for the first time a delegation from the International Yacht Racing Union was checking to see that the complex 12-meter yachting rules were upheld. On the eve of the first race, Courageous was declared legal, and Brian Leary, Southern Cross syndicate manager, put the squall behind him. "Listen," he said, "the Americans have pasted Courageous stickers all over the inside of our boat."