Hotline to Milan fashion show for Italian team

By Suzanne McFadden

On the catwalks of Milan, they wait eagerly for news of the Road to the America's Cup regatta in Auckland.

It is not that boat shoes and peaked caps are about to become the fashion trend of winter 2000. But the chief of fashion house Prada, Patrizio Bertelli, is taking a very keen interest in the Waitemata Harbour event as boss of the Italian Cup challenge.

Bertelli had planned to be in New Zealand this week to watch his team in the final America's Cup dress rehearsal, but the regatta clashes with Fashion Week in Milan.

There would have been cheers at the Prada office last night - not only for the release of their winter collection, but news that Francesco de Angelis' crew had taken a decisive lead in the challenger series.

The Prada team, who keep in daily contact with "Mister Bertelli," won both their races on the Waitemata Harbour yesterday.

Even though the last race of the round, between America True and Le Defi France, was abandoned when the black boat had more gear failure, the Italians are the top crew after three round-robins.

It was a turnaround from the day before, when they trailed the field. But a win yesterday was worth three points (today's final round will be four) and they catapaulted back to the front. Prada have eight points, True four and the French three.

Said tactician Torben Grael: "It wasn't such a different day on the water for us - but more things went our way. One day we lost our spinnaker, the next day America True lost theirs."

The Italians reached the final of last year's mini-cup event but the crew, new to matchracing, were whitewashed by defenders Team New Zealand.

Since then they have had an intensive year of matchracing tuition from a team of New Zealand coaches, and Grael believes they are a much better crew these days.

"We still feel we don't have the experience of some of the others, but we are a lot more confident on the boat than we were a year ago," he said.

De Angelis, at the wheel for Prada, pushed the French on to the wrong side of the start boat in the first race of the day yesterday - the start of a classic Continental duel complete with yelling and arm waving.

On the first beat, the Italians were penalised for tacking too close. They managed to edge further enough ahead of the pesky Le Defi crew to do a penalty turn upwind, taking advantage of the outgoing tide, and still win by 16s.

As the winds picked up and the sea chopped up, Dawn Riley's America True team got the better of the Italians at the start of the second race.

There was so little between the boats in the second downwind run that the Italian boat's spinnaker twice hit the True's backstay. Both boats incurred a penalty which cancelled them out.

But within a minute, the True's spinnaker exploded, letting Prada sail on by to a 1m 44s victory.