America's Cup

Telecommunications billionaire Craig McCaw announced yesterday the formation of a yachting syndicate to challenge for the next America's Cup.

McCaw's group, OneWorld Challenge syndicate, is sponsored by the Seattle Yacht Club. It is the second Seattle group to announce a run at the Cup, joining the Seattle Challenge, which has teamed up with the Corinthian Yacht Club.

McCaw's syndicate has attracted sailors from a number of past America's Cup winners, including six members of New Zealand's winning crews from the past two Cup competitions.

The challengers will race in Auckland, New Zealand, in October 2002, for the Louis Vuitton Cup and the right to challenge New Zealand, which makes the 31st defense of the America's Cup in 2003.

There likely will be a dozen or more challengers, perhaps a half-dozen of those from the United States. Dennis Conner and his Stars & Stripes team announced earlier this month they would team up with the New York Yacht Club.

McCaw's team will build two yachts in Pacific Northwest shipyards.

McCaw, who has a net worth of $6.1 billion and is 66th on Forbes magazine's list of the world's 400 richest people, and future underwriters will directly pay for the syndicate's efforts.

Corporate sponsorships will still be encouraged, but any money from those sponsors will go directly to environmental efforts.

"Through the OneWorld Challenge we want to focus attention on the global environment with emphasis on the world's oceans," McCaw said in a release.

McCaw, who made his money as a cell-phone pioneer, has long been interested in environmental issues. He was the prime backer of efforts to return Keiko - the orca who was the star of the movie "Free Willy" - to the wild.

American Laurie Davidson, a designer of past America's Cup-winning boats and a member of Team New Zealand, whose Black Magic successfully defended the Cup earlier this year, is the syndicate's chief designer. Australian Peter Gilmour, who skippered the Japanese challenge in this year's Cup, has been selected to be sailing director.

Brothers Jonathan and Charlie McKee, longtime Seattle-area sailors, also have joined the new venture.

Russell Belden is the CEO of the other local group, the Seattle Challenge.

"The Corinthian Yacht Club and the Seattle Challenge share a vision of bringing honor, dignity and spirit to the America's Cup," Belden said in a statement.

The Seattle Challenge purchased an Italian boat used in the 1992 America's Cup challenge and named it Spirit of Seattle.

Seattle Challenge crew members have been sailing that boat and will continue to use it for local races and training sessions.

The Seattle Challenge group will build two "high-tech boats," according to spokeswoman Heidi Belden.