Americas Cup 2000
Louis Vuitton 2000
Reports from our own Robo.
Links to other Americas Cup info:
Americas Cup 2000
Louis Vuitton 2000
HAMILTON, BERMUDA (October 16, 2000) - Skippers from most of the confirmed teams for the next America's Cup, will attend a press conference in Bermuda during the final event of this year's Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour, the Colorcraft Gold Cup.
The press conference will take place at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club on Tuesday, October 24th at 4:00 p.m. EST, and will feature:-
Dennis Conner
Russell Coutts
Peter Gilmour
Chris Dickson
Dean Barker
Ed Baird
James Spithill
Andy Green
John Cutler
The "State of the America's Cup" press conference will be hosted by the well known "voice of sailing" Peter Montgomery from New Zealand, and will be a suitable curtain raiser to the Colorcraft Gold Cup, in which all these skippers are participating.
Media can place questions prior to the press conference by visiting www.swedishmatchgp.com, the official Web site of the Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour.
Media unable to attend can also log on to the web site to view the event live on-line.
For more information contact:
Shawn McBride at +1 203-352-6323 or shawn.mcbride@octagon.com.
Or log on to www.swedishmatchgp.com for the most recent news and information on the Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour.
Details of participating skippers:-
Ed Baird - United States
Skipper of the New York Yacht Club's Young America in Auckland, 42-year-old Baird is a Rolex Yachtsman of the Year. Baird was part of the winning Team New Zealand for the 1995 America's Cup as sailing coach.
Dean Barker - New Zealand
Last winter 27-year-old Kiwi Dean Barker sprang to public prominence when he became the youngest-ever skipper to take the helm of a boat in an America's Cup race. With the departure of Team New Zealand leader Russell Coutts for Switzerland, Aucklander Barker now heads the hometown sailing team with the job of defending the Cup in 2003.
Dennis Conner - United States
He has won the America's Cup four times and lost it twice. Now, Conner, from San Diego is heading the New York Yacht Club's 2003 challenge for the America's Cup. That campaign will come 20 years after the fateful 1983 loss of the Cup when Conner became known as the man who lost the Cup for the New York YC.
Russell Coutts - New Zealand
Planning and executing a successful defense of the America's Cup for Team New Zealand has kept Kiwi skipper Russell Coutts from the match racing circuit and as a result his world ranking is a dismal 96th. The 38-year-old Aucklander has now moved to Switzerland with his core match racing team where he is skipper and executive director of Ernesto Bertarelli's new Swiss challenge for the America's Cup from the Societe Nautique of Geneva.
John Cutler - New Zealand
He has a home on the north shore of Auckland in his native New Zealand, but Cutler has spent much of the last decade racing under other flags in other parts of the world. He was tactician for Japan's Nippon Challenge for the America's Cup in San Diego in 1992 and 1995 and skippered Dawn Riley's America True challenge in Auckland last winter. Now he will be based in San Francisco for the next three years as Sailing Team Manager of Larry Ellison's Oracle Racing Team challenge for the next America's Cup.
Chris Dickson - New Zealand
Aucklander Chris Dickson first came to international public attention in 1986-87, as New Zealand's feisty young skipper at the helm of the "Plastic Fantastic" Kiwi 12-Metre, sparring against Dennis Conner for the right to challenge Australia for the America's Cup. In America's Cup sailing he skippered for Japan in 1992 and for his own Tag Heuer syndicate in 1995. Now in San Francisco, California, Dickson is skipper of Oracle Racing Team challenge for the America's Cup.
Peter Gilmour - Australia
Now preparing for his fifth America's Cup campaign, Australian Peter Gilmour will lead the Seattle based OneWorld Challenge for the Cup in 2003. "Gilly" made his debut as starting helmsman for the Australian defense in 1987 when the Cup was sailed off Fremantle, which is his home. He was most recently the skipper of Japan's Nippon Challenge during the last Cup in Auckland. He is ranked fifth in the world.
Andy Green - Britain
At the America's Cup in Auckland he was rules advisor to Hawaii's Abracadabra challenge. Later, he organized the purchase of two International America's Cup Class boats for British owners and is instrumental in building interest in an UK challenge for the Cup.
James Spithill - Australia
In 2000 this young Aussie became the youngest competitor ever in the America's
Cup, when he secured funding for his Young Australia challenge. It's a mark
of this 21-year-old Sydney prodigy's prowess on the starting line that American
Paul Cayard fought to have him join Cayard's AmericaOne challenge as a training
partner for the America's Cup after Spithill's Young Australia team was eliminated
from Louis Vuitton Challenger competition in Auckland. Cup rules prevented
the move, but Cayard's bid solidified Spithill's brief but growing reputation
as a match race talent.
Swedish Match Grand Prix AB is an international joint venture company with its head offices in Stockholm, Sweden. Swedish Match Grand Prix AB partners include Swedish Match, Octagon Marketing and the Match Race Association.
Hi Folks,
Herewith my latest offering on happenings here.
Robo
REUTERS/BERTELLI - 8/2/00
It is entirely appropriate that an Italian would believe passion is an essential ingredient in an America’s Cup campaign, and Patrizio Bertelli, head of the Prada fashion empire and America’s Cup challenge, is definitely Italian.
In answer to criticism from Paul Cayard, skipper of AmericaOne, the team
his Luna Rossa defeated in the Louis Vuitton Cup final, Bertelli attributed
his success to "passion and commitment"
Over the thirteen days it took the Prada team to beat AmericaOne, the Italians had faced a barrage of verbal abuse from Cayard, including totally inaccurate figures about Bertelli’s budget.
Eventually the patient Bertelli hit back, "all of Paul Cayard’s campaign has pivoted around saying we weren’t the best challenger, just the richest," he said.
"He even went as far as saying there was not much talent in this team. That was a gross mistake. Money is not everything in this - it’s about passion and commitment."
On the subject of budget Bertelli added, "Paul Cayard has said we have spent $100 million, but that is not true, we spent our money on research and boat activities. Remember, we had to start from zero."
The budget figure the fashion tycoon put on this campaign is $55 million, without doubt the largest of any of the twelve teams involved in this America’s Cup.
However, although passion runs high with the Italians, there is a meticulously planned campaign under the surface, and a ruthless determination to win.
"I think organisation and logistics are just as important as the team and boat design," is Bertelli’s formula for success, "and many times people tend to forget about these two factors.
"Organisation is always of paramount importance to me, and I think that is what we emphasise in this team, so that the team can race in the best possible conditions."
Some have described Bertelli as a "control freak", and certainly the structure of his business empire would lead one to believe this, but members of the Cup team describe him as "an open-door manager."
There is no doubting his management and organisational skills, in the 12 years since he married the fashion designer Miuccia Prada, he has turned her family business into an international empire, with the brand worth an estimated US $7,000 million in sales terms.
He also brings a fresh approach to the sponsorship and management of a sailing team, "I think that we need to try and understand what a sponsor’s role is or should be," he says.
"I’ve been quite unusual in this respect, because I’ve managed to join my personal passion for sailing with some organisational skills I could bring to the team.
"On the other hand, a sponsor who uses the event and uses the races for other purposes and other ends, risks actually wasting money, because he’s become involved in something that doesn’t necessarily fit his capabilities or skills."
Patrizio Bertelli’s sailing history goes back to his youth, but his first significant appearance on the international scene, was when his "Tuscany Whisper" finished second in the 1974 Quarter Ton Cup in Deauville, France.
It must have been difficult for someone as passionate about their sport as Bertelli, to step off the Prada Challenge boat Luna Rossa, but he considered he bought them bad luck.
The 80 foot America’s Cup boats carry a working crew of 16, but are permitted to take a "17th man" purely as a passenger, who can take no part in the sailing of the boat, or talk to the crew during a race.
"The Boss" was on board when the mast broke during a semi-finals race, and on another occasion when they lost, so he stepped down, and now Bertelli’s 73 year old sailing companion, Renzo Guidi, takes his place.
There was some speculation that having Bertelli on board put pressure on skipper Francesco de Angelis and tactician Torben Grael, but this was denied by all parties.
While he doesn’t ride on the race boats, the man with the cheque book is not far from the action, riding on the team tender, an often wet and bumpy ride, while he is paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars for his guest to enjoy his hospitality on luxury motor yachts.
Here is the latest collection of stories.
By Rodney Joyce
WELLINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The crew of AmericaOne were trying to come to terms with a low point in U.S. sailing history on Monday after failing to qualify for the America’s Cup for the first time in 149 years.
Paul Cayard’s AmericaOne lost to Italy’s Prada Challenge by 49 seconds on Sunday to give the Europeans a 5-4 overall win in the best-of-nine elimination series.
Prada will now race holders Team New Zealand for the Cup starting on February 19.
"I’m conscious of the fact that we were America’s last hope," said Cayard. "We definitely did our best. I’m very proud of AmericaOne.
"It’s probably good in the big picture because it’s probably raising the profile of the sport. If it goes to Italy it’ll be huge, it’ll probably be the next best thing for the Cup."
New Zealand syndicate head Sir Peter Blake said: "Everyone’s getting a little bit nervous, there’s butterflies in the stomach, and that’s exactly how it should be.
"They are going to be a very hard team to beat, but we are going to present the fastest team we possibly can. The difference between the teams? Only time will tell.
"When you saw them knuckle down and use conventional tactics, instead of going miles away, their boat speed was obvious," he told the New Zealand Herald.
As holders, Team New Zealand have not had to qualify and have been racing their yachts against each other while studying the form of their rivals.
"All we can do is our best and we think we’ve done that to date," the team’s navigator Mike Drummond told Television New Zealand on Monday.
"The whole mystery of the next few weeks is whether we’re fast or slow and whether we put it together on the day. Well, we’re confident."
Crewman Simon Daubney added: "Prada have a boat that could afford to lose a few starts, but get its nose ahead later in the race."
AUCKLAND, Feb 6 (Reuters) - No American yacht will contest the America’s Cup for the first time in 149 years after Italy’s Prada Challenge beat AmericaOne on Sunday in the deciding race of the challengers’ elimination series final.
Prada beat AmericaOne by 49 seconds in the ninth and last race of the Louis Vuitton Cup finals to win the series 5-4.
It will now attempt to become the first European boat to win the America’s Cup when it challenges holders New Zealand from February 19.
That series will mark the first time an America’s Cup has been sailed without an American boat since the regatta was first contested between the yachts America and Britain’s Aurora off Cowes in England in 1851.
Prada skipper Francesco de Angelis and tactician Torben Grael sailed an immaculate race to lead AmericaOne on each of the six legs of the 18.5 nautical mile course in the Hauraki Gulf.
The Prada crew leaped for joy as their sleek, 24-metre (79 feet) grey-hulled yacht crossed the finish line under spinnaker.
"It’s a great achievement so far but we want to go even further," Grael told Television New Zealand.
Fashion mogul Patrizio Bertelli, who has poured more than US$55 million into Prada’s challenge, clambered aboard from a support vessel to hug de Angelis and spray champagne over the crew as a spectator fleet of about 1,400 yachts looked on.
ITALIANS REACT WELL UNDER PRESSURE
AmericaOne had been within one race of challenging for the Cup after
fighting back from 1-3 down. A crucial mistake by Grael handed Paul Cayard’s boat race seven on Friday for a 4-3 lead.
"We went through some days when things didn’t go our way," de Angelis said.
"We still had to win two races and that’s what we did."
The Italians reacted magnificently under pressure, completely dominating the final two races.
Prada won the final start in southwesterly winds of about 14 knots and pushed AmericaOne away to the right of the course.
The Italians picked the best position on the course in shifting wind conditions and built a commanding lead of 34 seconds by the first mark as AmericaOne vainly went in search of favourable winds further to the right on the first leg.
Prada increased its lead over each of the next four legs and led by 66 seconds at the fifth mark for the run home.
"Today in itself was a tough race," Cayard said. "I’m proud of the team for pulling everything we did out of this."
Prada ended American attempts to win back the Cup New Zealand won from Young America off San Diego in 1995. AmericaOne was one of five U.S. syndicates to contest the challengers’ series, including veteran campaigner Dennis Conner on Stars & Stripes.
A disappointed Cayard said future America’s Cup campaigns should probably be concentrated into one or two syndicates.
"There’s probably something to the fact that there were five American efforts instead of one of two."
By John Roberson
AUCKLAND, February 6 (Reuters) - Months of effort and millions of
dollars came down to a few brief minutes when Italian boat Prada Challenge and AmericaOne lined up on Sunday for the decisive ninth race of the America’s Cup challenger finals.
The boats, the last two of 11 which began the Louis Vuitton Cup back in October, were locked at 4-4 in the first-to-five finals after the tightest racing the elimination series had seen since the current format began in 1983.
Paul Cayard at the helm of AmericaOne appeared a little over-eager in pre-start manoeuvering, anxious to gain an early advantage after the Italians fought back from the brink of defeat to sail a flawless eighth race on Saturday and level the series.
Francesco de Angelis was a little more measured on Prada as the boats twisted and turned in tight circles in a bid to gain the upper hand before the start.
Prada crossed the starting line just one second ahead of AmericaOne but it was enough of an advantage to start building a platform for victory in shifting, southwesterly winds of about 14 knots in the Hauraki Gulf off Auckland.
The two 24-metre (79 feet) yachts then went on sailing’s equivalent of a drag race, sailing bow-to-bow down the right hand side of the course on the first of six legs.
Prada and AmericaOne engaged in a brief and desperate tacking duel as Cayard tried to break clear of de Angelis to windward.
But the Italians would not budge and Cayard and tactician John Kostecki went in search of a wind shift on the right of the course. They found none.
"The key moment was the long drag race out to the right and the fact we were waiting for a (wind shift) there," said a disappointed Cayard.
"But on the first leg the wind actually went left," he said.
Prada, sailing a tighter line inside AmericaOne, built a lead of 34 seconds by the first mark. De Angelis and his crew sailed immaculately to extend their lead to 66 seconds by the last mark.
"We kept very cool the last two days and that was the key to our victory," said Prada tactician Torben Grael.
Cayard and his crew pegged Prada’s lead back to 49 seconds by the end of the 18.5 nautical mile race but they were never seriously in contention since those few decisive minutes on the all-important first leg.
The result meant the Italians, who have poured well over US$50 million into their campaign, will challenge New Zealand for the America’s Cup from February 19.
AmericaOne’s loss means an American boat will not contest the Cup for the first time since 1851.
AUCKLAND, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Racing in the gripping America's Cup eliminator series final was cancelled on Thursday when a light breeze failed to build over the five knots needed for a start.
AmericaOne and Italian team Prada Challenge are locked at 3-3 in the first-to-five finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup, with racing set to resume on Friday.
"The forecast tomorrow is quite promising, with winds of 15-20 knots," a race spokesman said.
AmericaOne skipper Paul Cayard steered his boat back from 3-1 down to level the series with tight wins in exciting racing on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Italians had been looking to put in a better performance on Thursday after costly mistakes in the previous two races.
Crews on both boats however lounged around the decks of their hi-tech yachts waiting for the wind to build while dolphins played under the bows of spectator boats.
The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup will go on to challenge holders New Zealand in the America's Cup from February 19.
AmericaOne and Prada are the last two boats in the Louis Vuitton Cup, which began last October with 11 challengers from seven countries.
Hi folks,
Sorry I’ve been a bit lax in the past couple of days with updates, it seems the fewer boats there are in this regatta, the busier it gets.
Anyway, as of yesterday Reuters have sent me back up. We’ve now got two photographers myself and another journalist on the job.
Herewith the latest collection of stories.
Robo
By John Roberson
AUCKLAND, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Technology can be great when it works for you, but Italian boat Prada Challenge found out on Wednesday it can be an absolute drag when it works against you.
Prada’s hi-tech sail cloth has worked brilliantly for the Italians for most of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the eliminator series for the America’s Cup.
The cloth gave them an edge in reliability and gear strength, helping them to an early lead over rival AmericaOne.
But that advantahe was wiped out after a bizarre mishap during Wednesday’s sixth race, when poor crew work saw Prada’s spinnaker drop into the water and then tear as the crew tried to pull it back on board.
The problem for Prada was that part of the spinnaker tangled around the boat’s keel and rudder.
This time the strength of the cloth worked against them because it wouldn’t tear free, even with a crewman dangled overboard trying to pull it lose.
The effect of the dragging sail was almost like that of a sea anchor. Prada had been leading at the time but AmericaOne sailed past and eventually won by nine seconds to level the series at 3-3.
"The boat was going sideways," Prada skipper Francesco de Angelis complained later.
DELICIOUS IRONY
It was a delicious irony for AmericaOne skipper Paul Cayard, who had
seen his boat shred eight spinnakers made of an inferior cloth during races stretching back to October.
"That stuff’s bad when it gets on the rudder," Cayard quipped after the race. "Our stuff just tears away like toilet paper."
Cayard was quick to turn the screws on the Italians because one of the biggest controversies of the regatta has been the way the Italians bought the entire production lot of the cloth, effectively denying opponents access to any.
Prada has spent at least US$50 million on its campaign.
The cloth was first produced for Bill Koch’s successful 1992 U.S. defender America Cubed and has become known as "cuban fibre".
Bruce Nelson, the designer of AmericaOne, estimated each sail cost about US$60,000 and was made of an ultra-strong artificial fabric known as Spectra with a quarter of a millimetre of Mylar laminate over it.
Cayard and the AmericaOne syndicate have complained long and hard that Prada had bought all of the cuban fibre available, saying on Tuesday it was "probably more than they need".
De Angelis shot back quickly at Cayard after Tuesday’s race.
"Yes, it is a little expensive, but if you buy one it could save you buying six or seven sails," he said in reference to AmericaOne’s constant sail problems.
The first boat to win five races in the Louis Vuitton Cup finals will go on to challenge holders New Zealand in the America’s Cup beginning on February 19.
By Paul Tait
AUCKLAND, Feb 2 (Reuters) - AmericaOne levelled the finals of the America’s Cup challenger series at 3-3 on Wednesday after Italian team Prada Challenge dangled a crewman overboard to free a sail trapped under the boat.
Paul Cayard’s AmericaOne, sailing with retired tennis great Steffi Graf on board, made the most of a bizarre Prada mishap to come from behind and win the sixth race of the Louis Vuitton Cup finals by nine seconds.
The first boat to win five races will go on to challenge holders New Zealand in the America’s Cup from February 19.
The Italians looked set to open a decisive advantage in the series after making the most of a a tense start against Cayard.
Prada led over the first two legs of the 18.5 nautical mile course in southwesterly winds of 15-20 knots in the Hauraki Gulf off Auckland.
But disaster struck for the error-prone Prada, which had been leading 3-1 in the series until Cayard forced a mistake which cost the Italians Tuesday’s race.
Prada was widening its lead until poor crew work while lowering the spinnaker after the first downwind run saw the boat’s huge white sail drag in the water.
Worse was to come for skipper Francesco de Angelis, who watched helplessly as the sail tore over the 24-metre (79-foot) yacht’s bow, slowing the boat dramatically as the sail dragged in the water.
CREWMAN HELD OVER SIDE
Prada rounded the second mark 17 seconds ahead but was soon in obvious
trouble with a piece of the spinnaker snarled around the keel and rudder, leaving de Angelis with little control over the grey-hulled boat.
"The boat was going sideways," a disappointed de Angelis said later.
"When we had to go upwind it was quite painful."
The Italians dangled crewman Michele Ivaldi upside down over the side of the boat, two crew mates holding him by the feet as he worked furiously but with little success to free the cloth.
AmericaOne meanwhile charged past to open a lead of 16 seconds by the third mark. Cayard flew a protest flag against the Italians for having a crew member outside the rails of the boat but the protest was dismissed by race judges on the course.
Prada worked tirelessly to make up lost ground over the final three legs, narrowing AmericaOne’s lead to seven seconds at the fourth and fifth marks.
The two boats then lined up against each other and charged down the final leg under spinnaker, Prada trying desperately but unsuccessfully to find a wind shift to carry it past AmericaOne.
"We hung tough and all the guys did an awesome job," said Cayard, who believes his boat is nearing its potential.
Graf, who is in New Zealand for two exhibition tennis matches, was invited on AmericaOne as its "17th person". Each boat carries 16 crew and one invited observer.
"It was unbelievable just to be up close to that," Graf said.
By Paul Tait
AUCKLAND, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Steffi Graf, one of the great competitors of modern tennis, got her first taste of competitive sailing at the America’s Cup eliminator series on Wednesday and found the experience "awesome".
Graf was invited on board Louis Vuitton Cup finalist AmericaOne and was treated to the closest race so far in the series to decide which boat will challenge holders New Zealand in the America’s Cup from February 19.
AmericaOne came from behind to beat Italian boat Prada Challenge by just nine seconds to win race six and level the first-to-five series at 3-3.
"Awesome. It was as thrilling as it can be," Graf said.
Graf, dressed in yellow wet weather gear, watched nervously from the bare stern as Prada charged down the final leg trying desperately to find a wind shift to carry it past AmericaOne.
Regatta rules prevented crew members from talking to her during the race.
Prada at times poked its bow within feet of AmericaOne’s stern as Italian skipper Francesco de Angelis searched for a way past AmericaOne rival Paul Cayard.
"It was unbelievable just to be up close to that," she told Television New Zealand from on board the boat.
"That race was incredible," Graf said.
Prada had led for the first two legs of the 18.5 nautical mile course until poor crew work saw the Italian boat drag its spinnaker under the hull on the second leg.
That mistake meant the Italians had to hold a man over the side of the boat on the next leg in a bid to free the ripped sail, allowing AmericaOne to sail past and establish a lead it never surrendered.
"She’s a very competitive person and we gave her the best this sport has to offer from a front-row seat," Cayard told reporters.
Graf, winner of 22 Grand Slam titles before she retired last year, toured the AmericaOne compound on Tuesday and was invited on board AmericaOne as its "17th person". Each boat carries a crew of 16 with a 17th person carried as an observer.
Prada does not allow women on board for fear it will bring them bad luck and usually carries 73-year-old Renzo Guidi, a friend of syndicate head Patrizio Bertelli, as its 17th man.
"We have a gentleman who stays with us who we are happy with," de Angelis said.
"We’d like to take girls when we go cruising."
AUCKLAND, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Official results on Wednesday from the finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the eliminator series for the America’s Cup challenge:
AmericaOne (U.S.) beat Prada Challenge (Italy) by nine seconds
Standings after race six of the finals series (each race worth 1 point, the first boat to five points will win the series):
| Prada Challenge | Italy | Francesco de Angelis | 3 pt |
| AmericaOne | U.S.A. | Paul Cayard | 3 |
Cayard snatches defeat from the jaws of victory.
by John Roberson
AUCKLAND, January 30 (Reuters) - Paul Cayard and his AmericaOne team allowed victory to slip through his fingers within yards of the finishing line in Sunday's race four of the Louis Vuitton Cup final.
This puts Italy's Prada Challenge, skippered by Francesco de Angelis, in a comfortable 3 - 1 position in this first to win five points series.
Sunday's race saw AmericaOne from San Francisco, lead around all five marks of the course, only to be penalised for an infringement on the finishing line, giving the point to the Italians.
A defiant Cayard summed up the umpire call, "today we disagreed with the call, it was a quick call for a big money race, it shuffled the deck big time, but that's alright, we don't mind 3 to 1."
In an action packed race, that was full of close incidents, the American had pulled out a 54 second lead at the half way stage, only to have Prada rush up on then at the finish.
When Cayard turned for the final leg his lead had been whittled away to 41 seconds, but de Angelis came from behind on the front of a squall, and gained an overlap within the final 50 yards of the race.
The Italian tried to force Cayard beyond the end of the finishing line, and in trying to escape the American was penalised.
AmericaOne got her bow across the line first, but had to re-enter the course to complete her penalty turn, eventually finishing two and a half minutes behind Prada.
Discussing his current situation, Cayard said, "I've said before, it's going to be a tough series, and each of us is going to win some races we didn't expect to win, and each of us is going to lose some races we didn't expect to lose.
"That probably happened a little bit on both sides today, it's just up to AmericaOne to suck it up, and come out tough on Tuesday, and Wednesday, and Thursday, and Friday, until we get the job done."
The Louis Vuitton Cup is the series to select a challenger that will meet America's Cup holders Team New Zealand starting February 19.
BC-SPORT AMERICAS RESULTS
Sailing-Louis Vuitton Cup results - final.
AUCKLAND, January 30 (Reuters) - Results on Sunday from the finals, of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the eliminator series for the America's Cup challenge (U.S. unless stated):
Prada Challenge, (Francesco de Angelis, Italy) beat AmericaOne, (Paul Cayard)
Standings after race four of the finals (each race worth 1 point):
| Prada Challenge | Italy | Francesco de Angelis | 3 pt |
| AmericaOne | U.S.A. | Paul Cayard | 1 |
Black day for Cayard as Prada take lead.
By John Roberson
AUCKLAND, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Italy’s Prada Challenge, skippered by Francesco de Angelis, has taken the lead after race three of the Louis Vuitton Cup final.
With strong winds sweeping across Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf, the Italian crew sailed a safe and steady race, while Paul Cayard’s AmericaOne team staggered through a series of unforced blunders.
Cayard’s problems began before the start, when broken rigging saw two men at the top of the mast for an hour, with one badly injured and needing hospital treatment.
A replacement crewman was bought to the course by helicopter and high-speed support boat.
Paul Cayard’s San Francisco-based team grabbed the early advantage, rounding the first mark with a 14 second lead in conditions that were on the limit for these boats.
It was on the second leg that things started to go wrong for the Americans, when Prada caught up and then forced them into a penalty.
From then on things seemed to go from bad to worse for Cayard and his crew, who lost sails over the side, shredded a spinnaker, and often rounded marks in disarray.
The American skipper commented later, "I think in large part, what we saw today was the value of a couple of years of preparation by Prada, versus not as much by us."
Meanwhile de Angelis and his crew sailed on, always efficient and in control, building their lead to 51 seconds as they started the last of three laps.
The Italian was as down beat as ever, saying simply, "today was a tough day in the Hauraki Gulf, and the crew did a very good job, the race was hard, the boats were pushed hard."
About two miles into the last lap the final indignity struck Cayard when his mast developed cracks, forcing him to pull out of the race and leaving the Italians to cruise home.
Prada is now leading the series two points to one. The first to win five points will win the Louis Vuitton Cup and the right to face Team New Zealand in the America’s Cup starting February 19.
BC-SPORT AMERICAS RESULTS
Sailing-Louis Vuitton Cup results - final.
AUCKLAND, January 29 (Reuters) - Results on Saturday from the finals, of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the eliminator series for the America’s Cup challenge (U.S. unless stated):
Prada Challenge, (Francesco de Angelis, Italy) beat AmericaOne, (Paul Cayard)
Standings after race three of the finals (each race worth 1 point):
| Prada Challenge | Italy | Francesco de Angelis | 2 pt |
| AmericaOne | U.S.A. | Paul Cayard | 1 |
Cayard levels the score.
by John Roberson
AUCKLAND, January 27 (Reuters) - AmericaOne leveled the score against the Italians on Thursday in the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the eliminator series of the America's Cup.
Paul Cayard and his San Francisco-based America's Cup challenge, AmericaOne, came back against great odds to take the gun by one minute, 33 seconds from Italy's Prada team.
On a day of frustrating conditions on Auckland's Hauraki Gulf, Prada, skippered by Francesco de Angelis, held a one minute, 49 second lead at the first mark.
The lead evaporated on the third leg of the course.
The Italians won the first race of the series and were nearly two minutes up in the second race when they failed to read the fickle, shifting winds.
De Angelis and tactician Torben Grael had sailed a very clever first leg to open up a big lead, which they held on the second leg.
But a determined Cayard and his crew staged a brilliant comeback.
Gavin Brady, Cayard's strategist, summed up the day, "I think it goes without saying, it was a pretty tricky day out there today.
"It was really a day that was so tricky and so shifty, that it was really hard for Prada to even cover us, and we were fortunate that the breeze actually stayed light."
The American team picked the constantly shifting winds on the third leg to close the game up before grabbing the lead on the fourth leg.
From there, Cayard defended his advantage to perfection, despite some of the most difficult conditions seen in this event.
The Louis Vuitton Cup is the series to select a challenger to meet Team New Zealand, the current holder of the America's Cup, starting on February 19.
The Louis Vuitton Cup started in October, with 11 challengers from seven nations, and is now down to the final.
The first team to win five points will face Team New Zealand.
BC-SPORT AMERICAS RESULTS
Sailing-Louis Vuitton Cup results - final.
AUCKLAND, January 27 (Reuters) - Results on Thursday from the finals, of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the eliminator series for the America's Cup challenge (U.S. unless stated):
AmericaOne, (Paul Cayard) beat Prada Challenge, (Francesco de Angelis, Italy)
Standings after race two of the finals (each race worth 1 point):
| Prada Challenge | Italy | Francesco de Angelis | 1 pt |
| AmericaOne | U.S.A. | Paul Cayard | 1 |
Italy beats US on day one of Cup bid final.
by John Roberson
AUCKLAND, January 26 (Reuters) - Italy's Prada Challenge, drew the first blood on Wednesday in the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the eliminator series for the America's Cup.
Prada Challenge, skippered by Francesco de Angelis, took the gun by just 24 seconds from the San Francisco based AmericaOne team, in the hands of Paul Cayard.
In his typical modest style, the Italian skipper commented, "it is just the first race, it is good to start this way, but it is just the first one, and we know that all the races will be tough until the end, so we just think about tomorrow."
The aggressive Cayard got the better of the start, and managed to force the Italians into a rule infringement that saw them carrying a penalty off the line.
But in the light southerly breeze, de Angelis soon grabbed the advantage, and was 25 seconds ahead at the first turn.
At the end of the third leg, Prada had a big enough lead to complete their penalty turn, and still be 25 seconds ahead.
Although at one stage the Italian advantage was as much as 34 seconds, by the finish Cayard had narrowed the gap to just 24 seconds, after a furious battle down the final leg.
Talking about his comeback on the final leg Cayard said, "I think we were getting some puffs, and picking our moments, and made it a little closer.
"We still probably made a mistake somewhere down the line there, because I think the race was winable for us."
The Louis Vuitton Cup is the series to select a challenger to meet the America's Cup holders, Team New Zealand, starting February 19.
The first team to win five points, will face Team New Zealand for the America's Cup.
BC-SPORT AMERICAS RESULTS
Sailing-Louis Vuitton Cup results - final.
AUCKLAND, January 26 (Reuters) - Results on Wednesday from the finals, of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the eliminator series for the America's Cup challenge (U.S. unless stated):
Prada Challenge, (Francesco de Angelis, Italy) beat AmericaOne, (Paul Cayard)
Standings after race one of the finals (each race worth 1 point):
| Prada Challenge | Italy | Francesco de Angelis | 1 pt |
| AmericaOne | U.S.A. | Paul Cayard | 0 |
Frustration on the docksides.
by John Roberson
AUCKLAND, January 25 (Reuters) - Strong winds and high seas on the Hauraki Gulf, forced the postponement of the first day's racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup final.
The conditions left the two crews, Paul Cayard's AmericaOne from San Francisco, and the Prada Challenge of Italy, skippered by Francesco de Angelis, frustrated on the docksides.
It is twelve days since the two finalists finished the semi-finals, and they are eager to go back into battle, straining in the stalls like two racehorses.
On Tuesday morning both boats were launched and prepared for action, though the weather forcast wasn't good, then came the news that there would be no racing.
Both boats were removed from the water, hosed down, and packed up again, while the two crews looked for ways to burn off some adrenalin.
Winds gusting to 35 knots, and rain squalls that reduced visibility to a few metres, continued to lash Auckland and the Hauraki Gulf as the day progressed.
Race director Vince Cook said the waves were expected to get worse during the afternoon, with a strong ebb tide of up to half a knot pushing against the wind.
He concluded, "this is the kind of sea conditions in which you could break boats."
The final series, decides who meets holders Team New Zealand in the America's Cup series starting February 19.
Copyright © London Corinthian
Sailing Club, 17 Oct 2000