AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Tom Schnackenberg is the head of the design team for Team New Zealand. Therefore, he calls the shots for the 2003 match.

ESPN's Gary Jobson and Adrian Karstan caught up with Schnackenberg for a frank discussion on Team New Zealand, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, crew changes and the future of the cup.

ESPN -- Is Team New Zealand in regular communication with the race committee to decide whether to race or not?

Schnack -- Only occasionally. They call when they need to consult people, so in the morning and today for example, I think the race committee chairman called each syndicate. So it's sort of a tri-part decision, although it was made by the race committee chairman.

ESPN -- Has the race committee made the proper decisions over the last nine days?

Schnack -- I'm quite sure they have. When you look at the circumstances and the decisions rationally, it is quite clear that they have been made correctly.

ESPN -- Has Team New Zealand benefited by the weather delays?

Schnack -- Time will tell, but I think that having a couple of days rest between the last race and the next squall is very beneficial, but from now on, I don't think there is any benefit to be gained by delays and our team is keen to race.

ESPN -- Is TNZ reluctant to race in the light winds?

Schnack -- Well I would say any rational team is hesitant to race where the outcome of the race could be determined by the toss up of a coin. As long as there are fair conditions, they don't have to be fresh (winds). Life is fine.

ESPN -- The America's Cup uses an international jury (umpires) and international measurers. Is it time for an international race committee?

Schnack -- It's traditional in the America's Cup (that the host yacht club runs the races) and it's always worked well and there is no real reason to change it.

ESPN -- Do you think this whole "international free agency" has gotten out of hand, with so many people skipping borders?

Schnack -- Well in my opinion, it's a national contest, so it should be considered that way.

ESPN -- When you read the "Deed of Gift," it's "a friendly competition" between foreign countries. Do you think the America's Cup should go back to that?

Schnack -- I think that it should. Yes. And I think that it will. This is just a bit of a hiccup in my opinion. Yes.

ESPN -- So, If Team New Zealand keeps the cup, is that something you can see to try and get back on track that way?

Schnack -- A little bit. Yes. I think the rules…the way they are now… have been difficult. The residency thing is vague. It's caused a lot of grief.

ESPN -- What do you hope to receive with the new tactician, Bertrand Pace?

Schnack -- Ah, it's a very subtle thing. In the end it may not be very significant, but Bertrand is a very good tactician and he has worked very within the team and he knows all the strategies and all the tactics and we feel that he might add a bit of strength to the team.

ESPN -- You have a lot of experience racing in the cup. Why aren't you on the boat?

Schnack -- Well, it's more than experience required on the boat. You need skills and sharpness and strength and so on. So Mike Drummond, who is the navigator in my place is also very experienced. He's been with New Zealand right from the very beginning even though he's not so visible and he's been a very good navigator for 10 years now and he's been getting better and better as time goes by so he is the logical choice as navigator.

ESPN -- Is skipper Dean Barker maturing through this cup?

Schnack -- No. I think he has been mature for a while. But of course having said that every single person in the world learns something every day and Dean is like that. So the group as a whole has been learning from mistakes that occurred. Outside events weren't too good, but like the rest of us I think we are a little bit better than we were a week ago. I imagine the Alinghi guys are a little bit better than they were a week ago too.

ESPN -- Is skipper Dean Barker maturing through this cup?

Schnack -- No. I think he has been mature for a while. But of course having said that every single person in the world learns something every day and Dean is like that. So the group as a whole has been learning from mistakes that occurred. Outside events weren't too good, but like the rest of us I think we are a little bit better than we were a week ago. I imagine the Alinghi guys are a little bit better than they were a week ago too.

ESPN -- Considering that TNZ is down 0-3 at this point. What is the confidence level of your boat?

Schnack -- Our boat has shown a lot of promise. We've struggled, we passed them once quite successfully and in difficult conditions we looked comfortable upwind and we seemed, the boat's performance fits in with our understanding of the way it should be so we have quite a bit of confidence in our performance predictions. So we believe that our boat can do the job and we just have to sail.

ESPN -- What has to happen at this point for you to keep the cup?

Schnack -- Well, we just have to win five races, that's all that has to happen and we'll take it one at a time and that is what we have to do tomorrow, that is the way we see it and having won tomorrow we then have to win the next race and then we continue that way.

In 1977, Gary Jobson served as tactician to win the America's Cup for Ted Turner. ESPN's lead sailing analyst, Jobson will be providing ESPN.com with daily analysis throughout the America's Cup. E-mail him at garyjobson@cs.com or check out his Web site at jobsonsailing.com.