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SCUTTLEBUTT #498 - February 7, 2000PRADA PREVAILSIt ended with Paul Cayard alone at the wheel of AmericaOne, his one-man America's Cup campaign over, and Francesco deAngelis drenched in champagne and surrounded by well-wishers, his run for glory still intact. Cayard's comeback in the America's Cup challenger finals fell one step short of success today, when Prada, the silver-and-red Italian entry that dominated early racing, returned to form and seized the right to sail in the 30th Cup match. The historic outcome means that for the first time in the 149-year history of the Cup, there will be no U.S. boat sailing for yachting's top prize. It will be Italy versus Team New Zealand when challenger and defender square off Feb. 18. Prada's wire-to-wire win by 49 seconds in moderate winds and flat, sunlit seas on the Hauraki Gulf gave the Italians a 5-4 triumph in the winner-take-all finale of the Louis Vuitton Cup. It was a deceptively one-sided end to a two-week-long nautical slugfest in which momentum teetered and no lead seemed safe. "I'm proud of our team," a disappointed Cayard said on the tow back to port as AmericaOne bobbed in the wake of spectator boats mobbing Prada. "We did our job with half the time and half the money of Prada. We were the best U.S. effort." But fickle winds and a slight speed deficit did him in. "The key was the long drag race out to the right" on the first leg, Cayard said. "We were waiting for a right-hand wind shift, but the winds went left." Cayard's hopes to sail in the Cup match for the third straight time sank when his gray-and-green racer could not match Prada's superior upwind speed in 12- to 15-knot breezes. DeAngelis rounded the first turning mark 34 seconds ahead and sailed a flawless race for the second straight day to lift his team from the brink of elimination two days ago. Today's start also was contested bitterly with deAngelis emerging on top, just ahead as the gun fired. He forced Cayard to tack, then followed faultless tactics to stay alongside the swift San Francisco boat, letting Prada's slim speed advantage work its magic. Inch by inch, Prada gained control. Finally Cayard had to tack. Each time he challenged Prada, the Italian boat gained until Cayard was forced to follow meekly into the first mark. Prada's tactics from then on were flawless under three-time Olympic medalist Torben Grael, the Brazilian-born tactician and only non-Italian native on the boat. The gap between boats grew at each mark, from 34 seconds to 39 to 47 at the halfway point, to 52, then 1:06--an insurmountable edge as the boats turned downwind for the run to the finish. Cayard, fund-raiser, syndicate chief, skipper and crew boss of the $32 million AmericaOne campaign, said of his schedule: "I probably had too much on my plate. I didn't sail as well as I did in 1992 or 1995," when he skippered Il Moro di Venezia, then Stars & Stripes in the Cup matches. The win means for the third straight time, California-born designer Doug Peterson will have a boat in the match. His last two, with America3 in 1992 and Team New Zealand in 1995, won the trophy. The rumpled, bearded Peterson was one of the first people fashion magnate Patrizio Bertelli hired three years ago when he decided to single-handedly finance a Cup attempt for Italy. The Milan billionaire, who runs the global clothing empire Prada with his wife, Miuccia Prada, set Peterson and Argentine designer German Frers to work drawing up two boats while deAngelis assembled a crew. They were among the first teams to launch new boats for this regatta and have trained 2 1/2 years and spent more than $50 million on the event. The time paid off as Prada dominated trials from October to December, compiling a 26-3 record. But as time passed, other teams closed the gap. Prada was second-best in December semifinals at 7-3 to AmericaOne (8-2) and lost both semifinal races between the two. But Cayard wound up just short on the boat speed equation in the finals. The tiny edge was all deAngelis needed. -- Angus Phillips, Washington Post Full story: http://washingtonpost.com/ QUOTE / UNQUOTE The following excerpts from the race press conference following Race #9 are posted on the Louis Vuitton Cup website. For more quotes, go to: http://www.louisvuittoncup.com/ * Paul Cayard: "Some of the basic differences are the amount of time we spent training for this, dedicated to this campaign and the amount of money we had available to us. Those are the two big differences. It's not an insignificant coincidence, the amount of money and time that is spent on these campaigns. I've done it the way they did it, with Il Moro di Venezia in 1992, and it's the best way to do it if you can get there. Having said all that, I have to say that it has been very satisfying to do it our way, which was a hard way and wasn't a way for anybody weak of heart, or who wasn't ready to stick to the commitment. There were a lot of times where maybe even a year ago, I wasn't even sure I was going to be here." I think for me personally, looking back on it, I'm probably not as good a sailor today in this Cup as I was in '92 or '95 - just because I haven't spent as much time as I should have done to prepare for this on the sailing side. Again, I think Prada is the model and we did a damn good job with what we had and I'm very proud of it and its very satisfying to me in the big picture of my life. * Francesco de Angelis, on which boat was faster: "Surely we weren't slower! I think the fact that we went up to the ninth race meant that the boats were pretty close. Of course the two teams were really good teams. Each of them could point to some mistakes but at least two races concerning boat speed were very even. I think the boats were close." * Patrizio Bertelli, chairman of Prada Challenge on his approach to challenging: "I think organisation and logistics are just as important as the team and boat design and many times people tend to forget about these two factors. Organisation is always of paramount importance to me and I think that is what we emphasise in this team, so that the team can race in the best possible conditions." * Yves Carcelle, President of Louis Vuitton Malletier, on the outcome: "The Louis Vuitton Cup is now over and we now have a winner, and a magnificent winner. But if we remember 1851 when Queen Victoria was told 'Your Majesty, in this Cup there is no second,' I think tonight we have more than a second. We have two brilliant finalists and I would like to associate them in the success of this whole story." THE EYE OF A GENIUS? The official America's Cup Screen Saver's for your PC are created by Sharon Green. She's on location in New Zealand recording the drama and action of the Challenger Series and the upcoming Cup 2000 competition. Start with the historical 20 image collections and add new packs of 12 exciting images from the current event. New packs are posted with each series. 6 image packs are now available for immediate download. $8.95 each or $22.95 for 6 collections. Ordering and information: http://www.screenthemes.com/americascup/ MORE QUOTES (The following quotes by Paul Cayard are from one of Suzanne McFadden's stories in the NZ Herald, http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sports/) "I've been conscious of the fact that we were America's last hope, and I'm sorry. But we did our best at AmericaOne. "The problem was it was too diluted. With five or six teams from the US, it was not the best way to put our best foot forward. It's not an insignificant coincidence the amount of money and time spent on these campaigns. "Prada was the model campaign, and we did a damn good job with the time and money we had. Cayard admitted that he had taken on too much as both syndicate head and boat skipper for the first time. "For me personally I was not as good a sailor in this Cup as I was in '92 or '95. I haven't spent as much time I could have done on the sailing side to prepare for this." CUP COMMENTARY -- Chris Law The Louis Vuitton Cup was presented tonight on the quayside in downtown Auckland. The noise of the horns from the superyachts was ringing in our ears. The thousand or more spectator craft that had followed this grand finale were crowded outside the basin. Thousands upon thousands of people lined the piers. But one person stood aside when the victorious team held the Cup aloft. He was not on the stage, and it was poignant. He is Rod Davis, a gold and silver medallist and Prada's coach. He really has been the backbone of the success of this programme, and it was totally within his nature to step aside at the glorious hour. Congratulations to him. Now Prada goes through to challenge Team New Zealand. After the most extraordinary and exciting Louis Vuitton Cup finals, the Italians should thank AmericaOne for sharpening their game. Prada has gained significantly from the encounter. We have a winner. Everyone is exhausted. There is little emotion left in me to describe what has been a veritable battle between two great teams. It's been a pleasure to watch, and it must have been so enjoyable to be a participant. Full story: http://www.americascup.org/frameset.fhtml WHAT NEXT? Sir Peter Blake expects a formidable fight from Italy for the America's Cup - but he hopes it will be boring. Sir Peter, the head of Team New Zealand, believes the best team won yesterday in the sudden-death shootout between Prada and AmericaOne. He reckons the New Zealand defenders - without a Cup race yet - are as ready as they will ever be to sail against the match-toughened Prada in 12 days. With a grin, he added: "Hopefully it will be boring." In other words, a 5-0 win to the defenders. Sir Peter is not fazed by Prada's big, $60 million budget, but he was impressed with what they did with the dollars. "Our expenses are far, far less than Prada's but we have everything we need. If we had needed more money, then we would have gone and raised it," he said. "The best boat won today," Sir Peter said. "When you saw them knuckle down and use conventional tactics, instead of going miles away, their boatspeed was obvious. "They are going to be a very hard team to beat, but we are going to present the fastest team we can. The difference between the teams? Only time will tell." -- Suzanne McFadden, NZ Herald Full story: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sports/ 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 Jesse Falsone -- Concerning Bill Koch's comments about competitors not covering the opponent when ahead in the Louis Vuitton Finals, I too am dumbfounded when a competitor rolls the dice and tacks away. I suppose this tactic would be justifiable if you are behind and clearly slower than your competitor. However, when you are equal in speed, the move is highly suspicious and risky. When you are clearly faster, as with A3 in 1992, there is no reason whatsoever not to cover. Prada's tack to starboard in yesterday's race, and subsequent split with AmericaOne through most of the first leg, demonstrate to me that Prada has lost confidence in their ability to win in close quarters with AmericaOne. Prada seems to be late in recognizing that they can no longer rely on superior boat speed to dig them out of a bad tactical call. Having said that, its hard to justify why AmericaOne didn't tack back with Prada earlier, regardless of what they saw coming down the course. -- From Ken Guyer -- It was interesting to read the stats put out in Bill Koch's piece in Butt #497. It is apparent that the racing in NZ is nothing like what it was here in San Diego. Match racing strategy is thrown out the window and it seems most of the time, playing the shifts is the way to go IF you have good WX information, and you are skilled at reading that information. Coupled with pretty equal performing boats it makes for the exciting racing we have been enjoying. However one comment by Koch pretty much outlines why the "cover, cover, cover" strategy is being abandoned in this racing, and a more freestyle approach is prevelant. Koch claims A3 was so fast in '92 that he should have been getting winning margins over Il Moro of more than 2-3 minutes. Instead, by covering and not playing the shifts, he said his margins averaged 1m 5s. But the winds in San Diego were not "equally shifty" when compared to the conditions in NZ. We do not see several 15-20 degree wind shifts here in San Diego on a single leg as a norm. Therefore if you follow his logic that covering rather than playing the shifts resulted in lower winning margins in SD, the shifty conditions in the Gulf demands a freestyle approach to match racing tactics just to stay in the game. Add to that close racing and equal boats, we have truely a "sailors race" going on in this competition, and that is the way it should be! -- From Bob Merrick -- Lady Luck? Here are some pertinent words from an old book written by Paul Elvstrom: "The advice that I would give to a keen young skipper starting international racing is that he must always remember, however hard it is to accept, that the winner almost never wins through luck; there is always a reason for it." -- From Ted Parsons (Re; Classic covering) -- Agree with Bill Koch, and believe if Cayard/Kosteki keep up with this "chasing" wind shifts, it will come back to haunt them! -- From Craig Fletcher -- Millions of dollars have been spent on instruments and data for the AC Cup and it comes down to "my gut feeling or my best guess was to...." What ever happened to starting in front and covering. I had dinner last night with Andy Rose (a famous match racer) his comment: "These tactics do not resemble any match race I am familiar with". -- From Scott Truesdel -- For the last 12 hours I have heard nothing but negative comments on how Prada split so far from A1 in race 7. Hey, it takes two to lay that egg! A1 was equally at risk by letting Prada split. As it turns out, sure, A1 was right, but it could just have easily gone the other way. A1 was the luckier boat. -- From John Sweeney America True (In response to Glenn Magyar's question - #497) -- Glenn you are correct when you made the double take regarding the winches. America's Cup boats are strange in that the primaries do not rotate in the same direction. The starboard side wraps clockwise and the port side counter clockwise. The idea behind that is to have the same lead to the winch on either side. These boats are so narrow, you don't have the side decks to offset the winches for clean leads. Even after sailing six months sailing on these boats, every so often in a tacking duel I would catch myself wanting to load the winch on the port side clockwise. Fortunately it never happened, but the whole concept takes a while to engrave in the brain. For guys and gals who have done many campaigns as trimmers like Steve Gruver or Katie Pettibone, I am sure it is second nature. -- From Mark Michaelsen (re Glenn Magyar's question) -- Load factor tolerances are so tight on these boats that they MUST maintain symmetry in their angles and leads on the control lines and sheets. If the barrels rotate the same direction on both tacks then the loaded sheet and control line angle changes and the loads are therefor not symmetric on the boat from tack to tack. That's why they rotate in opposite directions on opposite tacks. -- From Paolo Sheaffer -- A One's penalty in Race Eight of the LVC was ultimately Paul's responsibility, but does anyone think that he might not have tried to "thread the needle" so closely had A One's spinnaker been drawing? They had to roll Prada to win the race, and it wasn't going to happen without a full kite. It is far too easy to armchair quarterback, but it did not seem to be a hardcore dialup, i.e. there was some warning & time to react (and Prada never lost their kite.) Was there some kind of a gearshift problem on the port primary? The same winch seemed to hurt them in race nine... -- From Mark Bessent -- Here I sit the day after Prada defeated America One. I just can't help but think "what might have been" had America True (Dawn Riley) not sailed against Team Dennis Conner (TDC). It would have meant at least one more race against Prada. I think Paul Cayard summed it up best by saying we had too many syndicates and we should have pooled our resources. I sure would have liked to see that race-off between TDC and Prada. Who knows, we might be watching the USA sail in another Americas Cup final. LOUIS VUITTON CUP FINALS -- RACE #8 A day after a humbling defeat that pushed it to the verge of elimination, Italy's Prada Challenge rebounded to beat America One by 37 seconds and set up a decisive ninth and final race in the challenger finals. With the Louis Vuitton series now tied at 4-4, the winner of Sunday's race will take on Team New Zealand for the America's Cup, which is scheduled to begin Feb. 19. -- Herb McCormick, NY Times, http://www.nytimes.com/ THE PENALTY IN RACE #8 * "From that point on in the race, the whole thinking on board the boat [was that] every time they had a discussion, the penalty governed the discussion. All their tactics and strategy were around that. That's tough." -- Peter Gilmour * "I think [the umpires] probably made a good call," he said. "We're just playing a little too much with fire in the windward-leeward situations. We just have to try to figure out how much room they want to see there. There's a big obligation on the windward yacht to keep clear in that situation." -- Paul Cayard * "Paul is much closer to the match-racing spectrum of yacht racing than Francesco is, so it surprises me he wouldn't be more knowledgeable. Match racing places an emphasis and burden on the windward yacht. I think there is a little bit of an interplay there which Paul [sees as a] master and student relationship, and he's sort of going, 'How in the hell can this student be coming along and kicking me in the shins?" -- Peter Gilmour (These quotes were all pulled from a story by Larry Edwards on the Quokka Sports America's Cup website -- http://www.americascup.org/) COMMENTARY -- RACE #8 I guess it's animal instinct. When cornered, one's basic nature comes out. The more ferocious the fight, the more ferocious the instinct can be in all of us. When it gets tough, the tough get going. Call it what you will, but there's something in all of us capable of the supernatural. Most people observing this match of this infant century would not have predicted the resolute and granite character of Prada, which won today to tie the score at four-all. The stage is once again set on the Hauraki Gulf for an ultimate final showdown. It's Prada versus AmericaOne, one race tomorrow, winner takes all. I couldn't help thinking today that if these two challengers could be combined, Team New Zealand would surely have little chance. The commercial might and the sheer enormity of the Prada programme, coupled with the management and sailing experience of AmericaOne, would produce an unbeatable team. As it is, it's a question of strengths and weaknesses. And the world's media is turning the spotlight on Auckland tomorrow for what is sure to be a thrilling finale. -- Chris Law, Quokka Sports Full story: http://www.americascup.org/) BUDGET TIME Capitalize on regatta apparel -- Call Frank Whitton (619-226-8033) for details on how to offset regatta costs while supplying high quality, affordable apparel for the racers. (pacyacht@aol.com) QUOTE / UNQUOTE The following excerpts from the race press conference following Race #8 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 bouncing back today and winning: "These races have been difficult and it was like a pendulum that went back and forth between the two teams. Today we started on the back foot, but it seems that the pendulum went on our way again. We left the dock very determined to sail well and that's what we did. We will do it again tomorrow." * John Kostecki, tactician on AmericaOne, on whether they should have tacked when they did on the first beat: "They were slowly gaining down there from underneath of us. It would have been pretty risky for us to let them tack and cross ahead. It was a tough call. Like Torben said, it was really close. They may have been able to cross, they may have not. If they would have been able to cross, they would have been way ahead of us at that point." * Paul Cayard, on the atmosphere of the Louis Vuitton Cup: "I think this whole event has been great - all the public that's around in this venue, the stadium type venue we have here. You come in from a race and they're all cheering both boats. I'd say it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, they cheer you equally. All the mega-yachts honk their horns. It's a great thing for our sport." * Francesco de Angelis, on what he expects of the New Zealand defenders of the America's Cup: "Nobody has sailed against the Kiwis, so nobody knows how fast they are. I think everybody has huge respect for them as a team. Of course they know the place so they will be tough. The challengers have been through a lot of races and the series is not over. As I mentioned before, the fact that it will go to the last one (ninth race) has to be good if you want to race them (Team New Zealand)." THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Some succeed because they are destined to, but most succeed because they are determined to. |
