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Race Day Two
ITALIANS SAIL INTO LEAD AT HALFWAY POINT
IN MINI AMERICA'S CUP
By Paul Larsen
Auckland, April 19 -- With two round robins in the history books and two to go, the Italian Prada Challenge heads the leader board with three victories, one ahead of Yaka France and two in front of Team Caribbean. Yaka France split their two races today while Team Caribbean lost to both its opponents.
The Italian's victory against France seemed improbable throughout the race as the Frenchmen led at each mark rounding in the opening match of the day. But on the final run to the finish line, Italy slowly reduced the distance between the two boats by several well-timed gybes which helped them catch fresher breezes and sail lower and faster to a nine second win.
Race two between Team Caribbean and Yaka France started in dying winds, but was abandoned on the first downwind leg and a massive windshift turned the leg into an upwind contest before the breeze died completely. After an interval waiting for the southwesterly wind to fill in, the race was restarted and Team Caribbean edged the French over the start line, but the Americans quickly displayed the Achilles heel that plagued them all day. Repeatedly, Team Caribbean found itself on the wrong side of windshifts as its opponent all too often seemed to be in the right place at the right time.
By reading the shifts correctly, Yaka France turned the first mark with a one minute and five second lead, but Caribbean skipper Peter Holmberg and crew cut that margin in half on the run. But once again, getting into phase with the windshifts proved elusive to the Americans and Yaka France won the race easily.
The final match of the day saw the Italian Prada crew sail away from Team Caribbean early on the first beat to windward, and they stretched it out throughout the race to notch their second victory of the day and third of the regatta.
"It was clearly a frustrating day for us," said Holmberg. "Our starts were good, but the light and shifty conditions were difficult for us. Full credit to France and Italy, they sailed well. We'll make some adjustments and be ready for tomorrow. It won't take a whole lot to get right back into this."
Holmberg was referring to the most immediate goal of each of the three America's Cup hopefuls--to advance into the best-of-nine Challengers Final next Thursday and Friday. The winner of that series goes against Team New Zealand in the 1998 Road to America's Cup final next weekend.
Team Caribbean is sponsored in the New Zealand regatta by GANT USA and American Airlines. For information and photos, visit the Team Caribbean web site at www.amcup.vi.
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