Designs public, but secret of success still anyone's guess

By JULIE ASH

Forty-eight hours after the unveiling it seems many yachting fans and experts are none the wiser about who has the best chance of winning the America's Cup.

Racing is expected to be close when Russell Coutts' Alinghi lines up against Chris Dickson's Oracle BMW Racing in the final of the Louis Vuitton challenger series starting on Saturday.

But it is anyone's guess as to how those boats will fare against Team New Zealand with their innovative clip-on appendage, four-spreader mast and long bulb.

Alinghi's SUI64 appears to be a good all-round boat that should perform well upwind. Oracle's USA76 is narrower and its strengths most probably lie in stronger winds and downwind.

American sailor and America's Cup commentator Ed Baird said the subtle differences between the Oracle and Alinghi boats meant each one would do a little better than the other in certain conditions.

"I believe Alinghi seems to be a boat that will do really well in many conditions. It looks very powerful and ready to go, and I think it will turn without losing a lot of speed.

"Both of them in straight lines look like they are going to be fast."

Baird said he was impressed with the number of differences between the black boats and the other two.

"It reminded me of the time I visited Team New Zealand in 1994 and Russell Coutts took me to see NZL32 when it was being built.

"It was in the shed next to NZL20. We looked under the skirt of NZL20 and then under the skirt of NZL32, and they were so significantly different. That would be the case if you lined these boats up.

"Alinghi and Oracle are different, but Team New Zealand are completely different. One has got it right and one hasn't."

The question is which one?

"I have no idea," Baird said. "Team New Zealand have always been the ones to look for that edge, to find new places. That has been their style."

Dawn Riley, a former America's Cup skipper who is setting up a French challenge for the next cup, was also impressed with the black boats.

"I had heard the rumours and I hoped that the rumours were true because it is very cool," she said, referring to the clip-on appendage.

"If I were a Kiwi I would be pretty happy right now. Hell, I am happy.

"I love to see the development of the class and these boats are pretty spectacular. It just goes to show the ability to keep thing quiet - this is radical and it was kept under wraps until recently."

Riley doubts either of the challengers could copy the appendage if they tried.

"I don't think they have enough time," she said.

Victory Challenge designer Mani Frers, who helped to design the Prada boats in the last cup, said the three design teams had opted for three different concepts.

"They are three different boats. There are a number of trade-offs in all of them, but certainly Team New Zealand's are different to the others."

Frers said he "wasn't surprised at all" to see something different from Team New Zealand.

nzherald.co.nz/americascup

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