The thing about Paul Allen's other sports toys is that he can't be in the low post or in the passing pocket. But by throwing $10 million at Craig McCaw's America's Cup dream, he'll be aboard the yacht as it races for the longest-contested prize in sports. The Mercer Island owner of the Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers confirmed yesterday a recent P-I report that he would put $10 million into McCaw's $80 million campaign to wrest the America's Cup from defending champion New Zealand in racing that begins in October 2002 in Auckland.

All Cup yachts have 16-man crews, but a 17th seat is provided for the boat owner or his designate. McCaw and Allen figure to alternate in the seat for what could be, if successful, up to 60 races in the challenger series and nine in the finals.

Allen put up his money in the name of one of his media ventures, TechTV, a San Francisco-based cable channel purchased by his Vulcan Northwest investment company in January 2000. It delivers technology news 24 hours, seven days a week, mostly via satellite TV.

“There is no better partner to have in this effort than my friend Paul and the team at TechTV,” McCaw said in a statement released by his OneWorld Challenge syndicate. “Paul is a true sports enthusiast, a man who shares my concern for environmental stewardship, and someone who loves the adventure of boating and being on the water.”

The racing yachts have become increasingly high-tech enterprises that draw investors, designers and engineers from beyond the usual sailing community. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft and owner of a 200-foot yacht, was a natural fit.

In his first Cup bid, McCaw has hired some of New Zealand's top sailors, as well as other international class competitors. The 85-person team, including Seattle Olympic bronze medalists Jonathan and Charlie McKee is headquartered for the summer in Kirkland before it returns to New Zealand in the fall.

The syndicate is building two yachts in Anacortes McCaw is one of nine challengers for the 31st America's Cup, which had been held by the U.S. for the first 132 of its 150-year history. New Zealand won the Cup in 1995 and successfully defended the title in 2000.

The nine challengers will spend nearly three months racing against one another for the right to face the Kiwis in the finals in February 2003 McCaw, who made his fortune in the wireless communications boom, also has picked up sponsorships from Ford/Lincoln-Mercury and a San Diego-based tech-and-research firm, SAIC, and is pursuing others.

P-I columnist Art Thiel can be reached at 206-448-8135 or artthiel@seattle-pi.com
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