I'm not sure if IRC but there was a big stink in Cowes about this winged wonder. The Aussie boat had a big tarp draped over it as it was craned out and some enterprising bloke dived in a got some 'naked' pictures of it. Not only was it winged but it moved! Deffo not cricket - and what a hullabaloo.
Now, everyone's got one...
There is something to be said for levelling the tech in highly skilled team sports. Although I am not a particular fan of one make car racing, I am certainly not a fan of handicap boat racing either. When I entered my Finn in a Yardstick race for example, I sailed off 85 PY, an impossible mountain to climb unless, or even if, you had the skills of Ben Ainslie. So although I loved just taking part, it was ever ever so hard to bring home some silver, and the fact that I did was due more to luck with the tides and wind than anything.
So, If Oz had a swinging keel then everyone should have had one too because otherwise, what are you looking at?
There's a a major difference between 'rule exploitation' and 'cheating' though and I would say the Aussie keel drove a coach and horses through the 'spirit' of the rules with the wing, but the only thing I remember as possibly being 'cheating' was the
movement of the keel which was explicitly forbidden. A bit like the moving floor and tilting front wings in F1.
Forgive me if I have any of my facts wrong. This is from a hazy memory of a once much loved sport - not from Google or Wiki which are not always correct either...and anyway, I was there and took a photo myself (on land of course - can't find the bloody thing though. Photos never seem to survive divorce - and I have had three.)
PS I'm not sure it was Americas Cup but it would have certainly been 12's nevertheless.