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TEAM CARIBBEAN, ITALY, FRANCE . . .
EVEN AFTER FIRST DAY OF RACING
Auckland, NZ--April 18--Team Caribbean went 1-1 in its first day of racing in the "Mini America's Cup" regatta on Auckland Harbour, beating the Italian Prada team and losing to France Yaka. The first of four round robins in the challenger series concluded with each team posting one win.
In winds of 8-12 knots, the Caribbean team faced the Italians in the opening match of what is officially billed as "The 1998 Road to the America's Cup Regatta". The start went to the Italians, but Team Caribbean skipper Peter Holmberg immediately engaged his opponent in a tacking duel and by the third crossing the Americans had taken the lead.
The tacking duel continued, now forced by Prada, and at the first mark Team Caribbean rounded first by five seconds. Holmberg and crew stretched that into 25 seconds on the first of three downwind legs and when they reached the windward mark for the second time, the lead was 35 seconds.
But the Italians began to battle back, eating away at Team Caribbean's advantage until the final run when they gybed away early, found stronger wind, and came charging towards the finish line. But it was a little late as they ran out of real estate and Team Caribbean notched the first victory of the regatta.
Tom Brunt, president of the St. Thomas and St. John Chamber of Commerce who is with the team in Auckland, sailed aboard the race boat in the 17th man spectator position. "It was a fabulous experience watching the crew work in a very competitive situation," said Brunt. "It was completely different from what I'd imagined. Being aboard was a true thrill."
The momentum built by the win continued into race two, as Team Caribbean beat France Yaka at the start by three seconds. Holmberg chose the right side of the course and extended the lead to 41 seconds at the first mark. But the French clawed back, taking 13 seconds out of the Team Caribbean lead on the downwind run. And then the wheels came off for Team Caribbean on the second beat as Yaka chose the left side of the course, caught several windshifts and pulled in front, rounding the mark 28 seconds in front of Team Caribbean. The final delta was 39 seconds.
"It was a good day for us," said Holmberg. "We had our baby stolen from us against Yaka and that always hurts, but that's yacht racing. Our crew did a good job for the first day of racing. We got better as we went along and I anticipate we'll improve with every day of competition. We led on eight of the ten legs we raced today, but of course I would have been happy to lead on just two, if they were the final runs in both races. The scores today indicate the teams are close and I expect this to come down to the final day."
Three round robins remain to determine the two teams which will advance to the challenger finals next Thursday and Friday. The winner in that best-of-nine series will face Team New Zealand on Saturday and Sunday. Team Caribbean is sponsored in New Zealand by American Airlines and GANT USA. |
