America's Cup: Team demons are laid to rest

By JULIE ASH


It's not for the faint-hearted, this America's Cup yachting.

A fully loaded cup yacht hurtling through the ocean in a decent breeze is exhilarating, if not a little frightening.

I'm on Emirates Team New Zealand as 18th man for the last match of the day, against Italian challengers +39. They're hardly heavyweights of the competition, but in fickle weather anything is possible.

The mood on Team New Zealand is good. Their previous win over Team Luna Rossa has elevated them to the top of the table in the second pre-cup regatta in Valencia ... a position they are desperate to keep.

Before the start, the brains trust - Ben Ainslie, Dean Barker, Kevin Hall, Adam Beashel and Terry Hutchinson - struck a plan with weather expert Roger "Clouds" Badham. It's obviously working, as Team New Zealand power over the line, leaving +39 far behind.

My instructions are to stay at the back of the boat and out of the way. No problem.

There's a maze of ropes and equipment in front of me, some of which can rip fingers off in seconds.

The mainsail looks like a 747 wing perched upright and the continuous creaking is a constant reminder of the load these boats are under.

The racing is very strategic, always planning the next move, always keeping an eye on the opposition. Tactician Hutchinson and strategist Ainslie would probably welcome a pair of eyes in the back of their heads.

At the top mark, the strawberry-coloured spinnaker balloons out and Team New Zealand round the mark 1m 05s ahead.

The heel of the boat is not as dramatic downwind as when powering upwind. How the sailors operate on such a slant without flying into the drink is a mystery.

The team extend their lead around the bottom mark to 1m 51s.

The Italians have no answer for the strength and power of NZL81, a boat that came close to sinking less than two months out from the last cup. Amazing what a bit of strengthening can do.

As the grinders go to work, clenched teeth and all, NZL81 powers up the second beat and rounds the final mark 3m ahead before claiming a comfortable 3m 17s victory.

Team New Zealand pick up three wins from three matches, giving them a 10-win, one-loss record.

Hutchinson seems to have taken on a real leadership role in this team. It's his voice that echoes around the boat during racing and he who debriefs the team at the end of the day. Boss Grant Dalton says little.

With experienced yachtsmen such as Dalton, Don Cowie, Rod Davis, Kevin Shoebridge and Tony Rae, there are enough old heads to see logic. That's matched by enough young blood in the likes of Barker and Ainslie to go forward.

The demons of last year's defence appear finally to have been banished. There is a good feeling about this team, and just maybe the America's Cup could return to Auckland.

Team New Zealand have blasted their opponents out of the water on the seventh day of the regatta, having earlier beaten K-Challenge by 1m 09s and Team Luna Rossa by a staggering 6m 18s.


The latter was pitched as the match of the day.

Team Luna Rossa had beaten the New Zealanders by 57s in round one after their helmsman, James Spithill, cleaned Team New Zealand out on the startline.

Not this time, though. NZL81 won the start and took the right of the course, which won them the match.


"We sailed well and had a lot of luck with the breeze," managing director Grant Dalton said.

"Luna Rossa did not sail badly. They had a lot of bad luck with the breeze.

"Up until now, Luna Rossa had been having a good regatta. What happened to them could have happened to anyone."

The final three matches in the second round were due to be held overnight, with Team New Zealand facing Alinghi, BMW Oracle Racing and Le Defi.

* Julie Ash was assisted to Valencia by Emirates Airline.