In 1983, AmericaOne skipper Paul Cayard and Prada coach Rod Davis sailed together in the America's Cup trials with Tom Blackaller aboard the 12-meter Defender. Cayard trimmed the jib and Davis the main. At the time they were young, feisty sailors ... in a race against Dennis Conner, Cayard came out swinging a sledgehammer over his head. Davis earlier had sailed as bowman aboard the 12-meter Enterprise in 1977.

Since that 1983 event, Cayard and Davis have been at the top of the sailing world.

As an Olympian, Davis has excelled. He won a Gold medal as crew in the Soling class in 1984. In 1992, he won a Silver medal in the Star class, representing New Zealand. The closest Cayard has come to the Olympics was serving as an alternate to the team in 1984 and placing in the top five in the trials two times in the Star class.

During the 1983 America's Cup campaign, both Davis and Cayard married overseas girlfriends. Icka Petterson, the daughter of Pelle Petterson, dated Cayard. Pelle skippered the Swedish entry in the 1977 America's Cup trials and has won many championships over the years. Davis married Liz Schnackenberg from New Zealand. Liz's brother, Tom Schnackenberg, was the design coordinator for Australia II in 1983 and has served brilliantly in this capacity for Team New Zealand.

On the match race circuit, Cayard and Davis have had parallel careers, although Davis again has had the edge in winning regattas like the Congressional Cup and the Bermuda Gold Cup. Cayard doesn't race on the circuit as frequently, but he does win, as at the Steinlager Match Race Regatta in New Zealand last year. The match race circuit has helped both build a solid foundation for their America's Cup quests.

On the offshore circuit, Cayard is the clear champion. He has successfully raced a variety of maxi boats and won the 1997-98 Whitbread Round the World Race.

Since 1983, Cayard and Davis have been intense America's Cup rivals. In 1986-87, Cayard served as Blackaller's tactician on the St. Francis Yacht Club's USA. They lost to Dennis Conner in the semifinal round. Davis was the skipper of Eagle, a boat that was eliminated early that year.

In 1992, Cayard was hired to steer Italy's Il Moro di Venezia and Davis was hired to steer New Zealand. The two skippers met in the Louis Vuitton Cup final, where Cayard successfully protested New Zealand's illegal use of a bowsprit. One of the races was decided in less than two seconds. Cayard's Il Moro won the series 5-4, but Cayard lost to America3 4-1 in the America's Cup final.

Davis was replaced at the end of the series by young a New Zealander named Russell Coutts, the skipper of the current America's Cup holder.

In 1995, Davis was the helmsman aboard OneAustralia; his campaign lost momentum when OneAustralia dramatically sank in a race against New Zealand. That year, Cayard ended up as the helmsman for Conner's Stars & Stripes and reached the America's Cup final for the second straight time, where he lost to Coutts in five straight.

For America's Cup 2000, Cayard has been the highly visible skipper of AmericaOne. Davis has remained hidden from view but is the engine driving the Prada syndicate, the hands-on head coach who has made Prada a front runner.

For this event, Davis raided Cayard's camp for help. Laurent Esquier started as the shore team manager for AmericaOne but left early in the campaign for the well-funded Prada challenge. Cayard's longtime sidekick, Steve Erickson, also departed Cayard's campaign for Prada. Erickson was aboard EF Language during the winning Whitbread run and earned an Olympic gold medal himself back in 1984 as a crew in the Star class. Cayard was very unhappy when Esquier and later Erickson left.

To the Italians, Cayard is big brother. He was the leader of the Il Moro campaign and many Prada crewmembers raced with him. Naturally, they would enjoy defeating their old master. For Davis, he is frustrated at not having his hands on the wheel but would take great satisfaction in defeating his nemesis.

The rivalry between Prada and AmericaOne doesn't stop with Cayard and Davis. Designers Doug Peterson (Prada) and Bruce Nelson (AmericaOne) are also longtime rivals.

Nelson and Peterson have dominated the America's Cup game since 1987. Nelson was a key member of the Stars & Stripes victory in 1987 and designed Young America, which reached the final in 1995. Peterson was a key member of the winning America3 program in 1992 and designed New Zealand in 1995. Both designers are excellent sailors in their own right and both live in San Diego. (Cayard and Davis grew up racing in California.)

AmericaOne and Prada's crews have a lot of experience competing against each other. The races will be tight and, at times, emotional. The final result will be one more chapter in a long story between these rivals.

The intense competition will serve the victor well when they met Team New Zealand to begin the America's Cup finals on Feb. 19, 2000.

Gary Jobson is ESPN's lead sailing analyst.