Auckland--April 21--As the winds built on Auckland Harbour today, so too did the number of wins for Team Caribbean, but in the end it was, like the breeze, too little too late.  Falling one victory short of the number needed to advance to the challenger finals in the 1998 Road to the America's Cup Regatta, Team Caribbean will watch Yaka France and Italy Prada match up for the right to meet Team New Zealand in the regatta final.

Scores after the four round robins were Italy 5, France 4, and Team Caribbean 3.  The four days of round robin racing were sailed in predominantly light, shifty wins that put the emphasis on being in the right place at the right time to catch the shifts.  Skippers and tacticians from all three teams said luck was as much a factor in wins and losses as boat speed and crew work. 

This morning's first race between Team Caribbean and Yaka France was the perfect example of those sentiments.  In a re-sail of yesterday's abandoned-because-of-no-wind race, France took the start, Team Caribbean tacked away and moved ahead momentarily on a windshift, only to lose the advantage back as the next shift favored France.  By the time the two boats reached the first mark, the breeze had died to a zephyr as France rounded first and set the boat up for a run down the middle of the course.  Team Caribbean was 24 seconds behind and the decision was made to "take a flyer" and hope to be in position to first catch any new wind.  The decision turned to disaster as France built their lead to what looked to be an insurmountable 2:47 advantage.

But just as all hope looked lost, Team Caribbean came storming back, now finding the elusive freshening breeze on the second beat to windward.  Sailing higher and faster, the Americans closed the gap considerably, turned the mark on France's stern, and began the run to the finish line. 

Just short of the mark, Team Caribbean had created an overlap with the French boat and called for room to cross the line, forcing their opponent to alter course to allow free sailing.  But it all happened just a little too late and France drifted across the line 12 seconds ahead.

In the next race , Team Caribbean again matched up against Yaka France.  As the wind continued to freshen, the Americans found the conditions to thier liking, leading from start to finish.  Again the windshifts played an important factor, but this time Team Caribbean caught them and France found itself on the wrong side several times.  Team Caribbean's margin of victory was more than a minute.

Now with momentum on their side, Team Caribbean's third and final race of the day was against Prada, which won the start and led around the first and second mark.  But as the Italians rounded the leeward mark, they had difficulties dousing their spinnaker and Team Caribbean came through the transition from downwind to upwind racing cleanly.  Still having equipment problems onboard, Prada was unable to cover the Americans when they tacked and the two boats sailed in different winds up the second beat.  Again the shifts favored Team Caribbean and they passed their opponents, rounded the third mark ahead and sailed a perfect final run to notch victory number three.

"We came to learn, to compete in an international regatta at the highest level, and most of all to gain experience," said Team Caribbean skipper Peter Holmberg.  "All in all, we achieved our objectives, but of course we'd still like to be racing.  We'll take a lot out of this regatta and it will be of great value as we continue to strengthen our America's Cup program.  When we return for next year's Cup, we'll be dealing from a position of familiarity, which should be an advantage."