America's Cup 2002

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Friday, November 15
 
Prepared teams mean close races
By Gary Jobson
Special to ESPN.com

AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Finally, the challenger trials for the America's Cup are getting interesting. The races are close and there have been lead changes. It's hard to think when, over the 151-year history of the America's Cup, sailing teams have been so well prepared. Unlike 1999 when we saw frequent breakdowns and little passing, the eight quarterfinalists are all well-oiled machines. At no time over the history of the America's Cup have teams spent two and a half years training full time.

Oracle
Oracle looks like it is the only team that could beat Alinghi.

One can only imagine the disappointment felt by the Italian Prada team that lost three races in a row to Switzerland's Alinghi by only one boatlength. The unnerved Italians withdrew from their final race to prepare for a repechage round that begins Nov. 23. This might be a good move because the Italians have made impressive progress since their dismal performance in round robin one. The two afterguards were the America's Cup finalists in 2000. Prada never got close that year. The Italians have to be somewhat encouraged by their recent progress. The question is: Can Prada take the next step?

  • For all the good racing on the water, the size of the spectator fleet is modest. A count found approximately 80 boats on each course daily. Three years ago, there were hundreds of boats. There are two behemoths on the water. Larry Ellison's 245-foot Katana and Paul Allen's 250-foot Tatoosh. Another count spotted a total of 22 guests on the two boats during Friday's race.

    Each day the teams head out onto the water three hours before the start to spend time tuning up with their trial horse. The Haruaki Gulf gets crowded quickly with eight pairs of boats tuning. The routine includes practice starts, sail selection tests, boathandling drills, tacks, jibes, spinnaker sets and takedowns.

    When the boats depart Viaduct Basin, most teams play their favorite theme music. But the crowds on the dock are small. One senses this will change when Team New Zealand heads for the race course for the first time.

  • Between 1870 and 1995 there were multiple defense syndicates. But the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron has decided to enter only one team concentrating this small country's limited resources with one group. The strategy worked well in 2000, but there is definitely something missing on the water with only the challengers racing.

    For its part, Team New Zealand is on the water every day. And it looks great. Spending one week watching the Kiwis is enough to convince on that it's going to be difficult to take the America's Cup away.

  • The daily press conferences lack pizzazz. This sport desperately needs someone like Ted Turner to give it color. The speakers appear to have been well briefed by their public relations managers. It's reminiscent of the movie Bull Durham where the veteran baseball player made the rookie write down what to say to the press.

    At one press conference, Louis Vuitton moderator Bruno Trouble´ introduced the four speakers. Three of them Jesper Bank, Jochen Schuemann and Torben Grael collectively have won six Gold medals (ten medals overall) in the Olympic Games. By comparison, Trouble´ pointed out that Stars & Stripes' representative, Terry Hutchinson, was a J-24 World Champ.

    A closer look
    Alinghi, Switzerland
    Is this team slowing down? The Swiss might have made a measurement change that isn't working. But Russell Coutts and crew are sailing great. Three races in a row they have found a way to win ugly. They've been behind twice and have made big comebacks.

    Prada, Italy
    Forfeiting the final race seems like a weird move, but the extra time will be helpful as it prepares for the next round. The 2000 Louis Vuitton Cup Champions now face a fate that must have seemed unthinkable during the past two years of its preparation for this event -- win now or be home before Christmas.

    Oracle/BWI Racing, USA
    Skipper Chris Dickson is sailing great. Three times he has found a way to pass OneWorld. Even with a broken spinnaker pole in race 2, Dickson managed to keep OneWorld behind. Dickson is hungry. So is the Farr yacht design team and owner Larry Ellison. They have a second boat waiting and look to be the only team that could defeat Alinghi.

    In 1977, Gary Jobson served as tactician to win the America's Cup for Ted Turner. ESPN's lead sailing analyst, Jobson is writing a weekly column during the Challenger Trials. E-mail him at garyjobson@cs.com or check out his Web site at jobsonsailing.com.




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