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SCUTTLEBUTT #495 - February 2, 2000LOUIS VUITTON CUP FINALSComing from behind after an early tactical error and holding on for dear life to fend off a last-ditch Prada charge, Paul Cayard's America One syndicate eked out a nine-second victory today to deadlock the series to determine the next America's Cup challenger, 3-3. For the second straight race, Cayard and his mates took full advantage of a Prada sail-handling error that ultimately played a key role in the day's outcome. But the Italians never quit, and Cayard was forced to use every trick in his vast match-racing repertory to carry the day. The boats hit the starting line in unison with Prada streaking off to the right and America One, holding to the tactician John Kostecki's wishes, flying off to the left. Remarkably, Cayard chose to let Prada go. Moments later, both boats were well separated and peeling away on opposite tacks. Cayard and Francesco de Angelis, the Prada skipper, were rolling the dice, both firm in their convictions that their weathermen knew the direction from which the first critical windshift would fill. It was high-risk strategy that could reap bountiful rewards. Or, because both tacticians could not be correct, a wrenching setback. Finally America One came about, and it was obvious who had hit the jackpot. Climbing to windward on the strength of a solid righty, Prada was firmly in the lead. It rounded the top mark 20 seconds ahead. "It was a bad moment for us," Cayard said."We wanted the left, but it wasn't right." Crouched in America One's stern, occasionally gazing aloft to check the trim of the mainsail, was the tennis star Steffi Graf, assuming the inactive 17th-person spot reserved for syndicate sponsors or guests. Graf watched as Prada executed a jibe set and America One followed with a bearaway maneuver. But as so often happened in this back-and-forth series, the downwind legs would hold the keys to victory. The Americans had blown sails and leads on the downwind runs in the series' earlier races, but on this day the tables turned. Pushing hard with the following wind coursing to 20 knots, America One began to chase down the Italians. "We got a big puff and rolled up beside them, which basically locked us in," Cayard said. "They carried us past the leeward mark." Both boats would need to drop their spinnakers and hoist jibs to make it around the mark. America One executed a perfect drop, but Prada's crew could not gather the sail as it billowed downward. As the foredeck crew grasped at the untamed fabric, a huge portion fell into the water and under the boat. Prada managed to round the mark 17 seconds in front of America One, but as they trimmed the sails in to head upwind, they were clearly in trouble. A torn portion of the spinnaker was wrapped around the rudder and the drag had a devastating effect on Prada's boat speed. "We came around the mark and they were slow, and we went right up and over them," Cayard said. An upside-down Italian crewman, his teammates clutching his ankles, was lowered over the side to free the sail. He took more than five minutes but finally the job was done. Meanwhile, America One took full advantage of the situation and patiently pulled into the lead, to which it held around the next three marks. Not that it was much of an advantage. With one leg to go, Prada was only seven seconds behind and in full attack mode. On the final downwind leg, de Angelis threw everything he could at the Americans, first reaching up in an attempt to climb over them, then driving Prada underneath in an attempt to slip below. "They were right on our heels, which is probably a more powerful position than being ahead," Cayard said. His crew, however, would not be shaken, and America One crossed the finish line ahead by a little over a boat length for its third victory of the series. -- Herb McCormick, NY Times Full story: http://www.nytimes.com/ ESPN2 TV SCHEDULE Race 7 - Wednesday, 2/2/00 10:30pm ET (7:30pm PT) Race 8 - Friday, 2/4/00 12:30am (Thursday, 2/3/00, 9:30pm PT) Race 9 - Friday 2/4/00, 11:30pm (8:30pm PT) Full schedule: http://www.jobsonsailing.com/tvsched.html QUOTE / UNQUOTE The following excerpts from yesterday's post race press conference are posted on the Louis Vuitton Cup website. For more quotes, go to: http://www.louisvuittoncup.com/ * Francesco de Angelis, skipper of Luna Rossa, on the bad spinnaker takedown: "Unfortunately part of the spinnaker went in the water and was wrapped around the keel from that point and after a long time around the mark. But apart from that problem we kept the race tight until the end." * Paul Cayard, on Luna Rossa's spinnaker around the keel: "That stuff (Cuben-fiber) is bad when it gets around the rudder. Our stuff just goes away like toilet paper." * Francesco de Angelis, on the effect of the spinnaker on performance: "The boat was not giving the best performance and I think we survived until the bottom mark. But then, when we had to go upwind, it was quite painful. The boat was going sideways." * John Kostecki, tactician on AmericaOne on whether he liked the left at the start: "Obviously we weren't really pleased with it. The right seemed to pay off. It's tricky out there. I think we just got on the wrong side of a cloud." * Paul Cayard, on the presence of Violet in the forepeak: "Boys will be boys. They like it. It's their department down there. Their privacy got invaded (by TV sewer cam) starting with the Semi-Finals. They do what they want. I'm happy with it. They are just young boys who like girls and there is nothing very unhealthy about that. Violet is dressed, so things could be worse, from that standpoint. Bottom line is, she's staying. She is good." * John Kostecki, tactician on AmericaOne on the lack of a tune-up boat: "We're missing our other boat right now. I think it is fair to say that having a second boat out there is nice and does give you the benefit of picking a favoured side. But, I think today was a different day. We had a bunch of clouds coming overhead on that first beat. Whatever you would have found out an hour, or half an hour before the start, you couldn't really apply to that first leg." AS SEEN BY OTHERS * Both crews will be physically and emotionally exhausted tonight as the full significance of today sinks in. Never have we seen such close or such sophisticated racing, pushing international racing rules to the limit and pressing these boats to the limit and beyond. As Prada sailed up the next beat with remnants of that spinnaker dragging from its rudder, Francesco and Torben did the only thing possible, and that was to get on with racing the boat, regardless of the sea anchor. The frustration at this level is immense. After all those years of preparation, how could this happen? Well, it happens when the crew is pushed over the edge and beyond. A link in the chain breaks and there is a chain reaction for the worse. With the intensity of an opponent breathing down your neck half a length behind, a meltdown occurs and the proverbial hits the fan. In these situations, it's about crisis management. It's about extracting yourself from the problems and trying to stay focused on the big picture, regardless of the pandemonium around you. But that's difficult. When the adrenaline is rushing through your veins, no matter how well practised the team is at keeping noise to a minimum, within this environment all hell still breaks loose. This is where experience counts. Most crew training happens in a controlled environment. This is certainly not a controlled environment, as we saw today. This is about pushing a team well beyond its ability to cope with the sails and the rig, and see who comes out of it best -- who can pick up the pieces fastest. You could fill a book with the number of mistakes made today, but again that's a result of how hard and how far these two teams are pushing each other. Physically, one can't push much beyond what we're seeing without the crew work falling apart like a pack of cards. Sixteen men working in perfect harmony all the time is a big ask, regardless of the thousands of hours of practice. -- John Bertrand, Quokka Sports Full story: http://www.americascup.org/ * If I can remind you all, this is the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the sail of this infant century. AmericaOne, underfunded but with all the sailing skills and experience, against Prada, overfunded and with just as much sailing skill aboard. It has been the most enthralling and absorbing battle. If I described yesterday's atmosphere as tension you could cut with a knife, then today it could be best described by the sight of Icka, Paul Cayard's long-suffering wife. She spent the whole of the last run with her hands over her ears as she sat on the TV boat, muffling the sound of my commentary. It was just too exciting for her to bear. The Italians chose a very inopportune moment to use their spinnaker as a handkerchief and wrap it around their nose. Crew members pulled it to one side and crew members pulled it to the other, and finally the Cuben-fibre sailcloth that has been Prada's lethal weapon gave way and split. However, it left a section that quietly drifted aft and wrapped around Luna Rossa's rudder. Up until now AmericaOne had been the laughing stock with its knicker-green spinnakers ripping at every opportunity, and Prada had prided itself on not ripping its vastly expensive Cuben cloth spinnakers. But this was the one moment in the regatta when a ripped sail was desperately needed. With various crew members hanging by their toenails over the side, as much as they pulled and tugged, the Italians could not clear the rudder from the embrace of the offending piece of sailcloth. AmericaOne licked its lips, tried to look the other way to hide its smirks, and then came charging through to lead at the top mark by 16 seconds. The intensity was so great between these two teams, the ultimate battle of man against the elements -- squealing drums, emotions being swallowed so as not to offend, fingers wrapped in spinnaker drums, muscles tearing, bodies aching. Never has boat racing been so exciting, never has there been such a true test of technology and crew work. The race committee, the occasion, the umpires, the wind -- it all added up to a perfect setting for this theatre of sport on the Hauraki Gulf. -- Chris Law, Quokka Sports Full story: http://www.americascup.org/ ETCHELLS MATCH RACING CHAMPIONSHIP Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, Australia -- The Inaugural Etchells World Match Racing Championship was cancelled as the competitors were too tired after the Worlds. LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) Letters selected to be printed are routinely edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude personal attacks. But only one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if people disagree. -- From Charles Wray -- Why is it that appendages must be built in the country of origin or New Zealand, but sail cloth (i.e. the Spectra used on Prada) is exempt from any rules govering the host country of the technology? I assume that Sailmakers in the U.S. benefit from the influx of capital which they can use for R & D and production. The rules specify a mickey-mouse style nationality clause in regards to crew members; they should either scrap all nationality guidelines or enforce them across the board. To bad the regatta isn't a strict, true one-design event. -- From Ian Brown -- I have been interested in a discussion that has been going on at the Sydney Harbour (pre Olympic) events for the last few years about the starting sequence. Initially the argument was that there was not enough time for some individuals to prepare for the next start of the day, or, for teams to return down the track when there was only one minute to go before the five minute preparatory, leaving little time for support boat contact or preparing after relaxing between races. With the ever increasing athleticism in small sailboat racing maybe we should be mindful of the support personnel / athlete interaction and have more tolerance between the warning and preparatory signals. At these events they have decided to fly an answering pennant to give warning of the warning. While in some classes this is not a big issue, in the sailboards particularly, to change out of warm clothes and have the last drink and leave can become awkward and intense. On the courses with two or more disciplines on the same track, the one minute spacing can put competitors from both disciplines on edge when leading into the first signal. Having been a coach at international events where I might have several teams not sitting on the coach boat at the same time this time gap between the warning, and preparatory can become pretty hectic. I am thinking that the preparatory could be at three minutes to go, allowing some extra time for organising. PATRIZIO BERTELLI The latest members of the America's Cup cast of colourful characters are a communist and a counterfeiter. At least that's what Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli were when they met and married 12 years ago, a union which propelled Prada into an international fashion powerhouse and generated the money behind Italy's $100 million America's Cup challenge Prada met Bertelli when she brought an action against his factory that was manufacturing copies of the bags that made the Prada name famous. Miuccia then was "medium rich" but very involved in left wing politics, uncomfortable that the family aggent di lusso - the small, luxury goods business founded by her grandfather - was ticking over making silver and porcelain trinkets, watches and some evening bags rather than doing something more "socially useful." Thanks to Bertelli's business brains and Prada's creativity this small Milanese firm is now an international conglomerate. Between 1998 and 1999, turnover increased 46%. Bertelli estimates the value of the Prada brands is US $7,000 million in sales terms. Whilst the America's Cup costs are not exactly a drop in the ocean, they are a fraction of the company's advertising budget. The company's exposure in Italy is phenomenal, eclipsing anything achieved by Ferrari. Bertelli's shrewdness has the respect of the fashion world, for in an industry where licensing was commonplace, Prada completely controls its destiny from design and manufacturing right through to point of sale. Even the 132 shops around the world are Prada owned. "Our strategy has allowed us to find the right level of pricing for each market," says Bertelli. Translated, this means maximise profits. Other companies such as Gucci are buying back control to emulate Prada. "Now everybody is trying to get back to how Prada does it, " he adds. Bertelli's sailing interest is much longer established than his liaison with Miuccia Prada, going back to childhood. His Tuscany Whisper was runner-up in the 1974 Quarter Ton Cup in Deauville, France. It was a significant performance. That was the year that Bruce Farr's 45 Degrees South won and announced the arrival of the New Zealand designer who would do much to shape race boat design in the subsequent decades. Part of the reason Bertelli has spent close on twice as much as any other team in Auckland is that without an Italian challenge in 1995, he paid a high price in start-up costs. He also hired the best and paid top dollar for them - men such as Doug Peterson, designer of the winning boats from 1992 and 1995, who teamed up with Frers. Also Bill Green and Ian King, whose team of English boatbuilders moved to Milan to create two Luna Rossas for Bertelli. "Those guys don't get nearly enough credit," says Peterson. "Green Marine did an absolutely superb job." Bertelli's passion for sailing means he owns a stable of yachts, including Tuscany Whisper. Besides the philanthropic of the Prada Foundation, Prada is a major sponsor of the classic yacht circuit in the Mediterranean. But he has given up riding on Luna Rossa as the 17th man since the Italian yacht was dismasted in one race and lost another whilst he was aboard. The bringer of ill-fortune, the bearer of extra pressure upon his skipper and tactician? "No. Personally, I prefer to watch the races from the tender rather than on the boat. As to whether I put extra pressure on Francesco (de Angelis) and Torben (Grael) - well, we have discussed this and they don't feel this way because they are really focussed on the race." Peterson says the Prince of Prada is an open-door manager, a shrewd judge of people and every bit as smart as the clothes and accessories his wife designs. Bertelli prides himself with having met with every single employee, interviewing 60% of them personally when they apply for jobs and setting aside an hour a day to talk to his staff. "My production manager jokes, 'Bertelli! When the Cup is over, production will increase by 30%!' Staff are arriving at work completely out of their heads through lack of sleep," muses the Prada boss. "There is no solution to this problem. I hope it lasts right until the end of the Cup." -- Tim Jeffery, Daily Telegraph, UK Full story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ ATTENTION: PROFESSIONAL SAILORS As you plan your summer racing schedule, don't overlook the following regattas:
ON A ROLL Bob McNeil's Reichel/Pugh-designed Maxi sled, Zephyrus IV crossed the finish line first off Copacabana Beach, smashing the record for the 2000 Cape Town-Rio yacht race. Hasso Plattner's R/P IMS Maxi, the 80' Morning Glory, set the previous course record in the last race in 1996. In 1993, Hasso Plattner also won the Cape-Rio Race on handicap in his 50' Reichel-Pugh designed Morning Glory. There is a good chance that Zephyrus will also win overall on handicap, though it will probably be another week before this might be recognized as the rest of the fleet sails into Rio. And don't forget that Zephyrus's lineage enabled the development of Roy Disney's 73' Pyewacket which was launched in 1999 and smashed the Los Angeles to Honolulu TransPac Race record. Reichel/Pugh website: http://www.reichel-pugh.com THE CURMUDGEON'S QUOTATIONS "It's not enough to be on the right track -- you have to be moving faster than the train." -- Rod Davis, Seahorse magazine |
