Less than 24 hours until rivals square off on Hauraki Gulf

1.00pm

Team New Zealand yachting boss Tom Schnackenberg is hopeful, but not certain, his team will have a small boat speed edge over Alinghi in their America's Cup match starting tomorrow on the Hauraki Gulf.

At a pre-contest press conference today he said it was too early to say whether the defender's boat NZL-82 would be faster in the best-of-nine series for one of the most sought-after sporting trophies in the world.

"We think we understand the design game. If we understand it as well as we think we do, we should have a little edge," he said.

Team NZ's NZL-82 is remarkable for its innovative features, the most talked about of which has been its hull appendage, or hula. But recently interest also escalated in the boat's bulb, which is much longer and narrower than the standard design.

The bulb shape had evolved out of the team's testing programme, Schnackenberg said.

"It has appealing features, a lower centre of gravity and increased stability of the yacht. We had to satisfy ourselves the drag wasn't significantly greater than with the short bulb," he said.

A major feature of this America's Cup is the match-up between skippers -- Russell Coutts for the Swiss-backed Alinghi team after he led New Zealand to two previous cup triumphs, against Dean Barker, previously Coutts' understudy.

Today Coutts said the two of them were similarly determined personalities, who searched for the answers they needed and always looked to improve.

The only difference he could think of on the spot was age "unfortunately".

Barker said another similarity was that they both built strong teams around them.

"I don't think either of us would ever say we could do this on our own," he said.

Barker said he was fortunate to have been involved in the New Zealand team at the last America's Cup, under Coutts' leadership.

"I think from any people you work with you learn a lot of good things, and you try to use those to improve," he said.

"For me at a very early stage of my match racing career it was very beneficial to work alongside Russell."

Barker said Team NZ were greatly looking forward to racing after having to watch the challengers competition for four months.

Racing against Coutts, and the rest of the Alinghi team with several other New Zealanders in it, would be a "very interesting challenge".

"They have been dominant throughout the Louis Vuitton Cup," he said.

Beyond that, the New Zealanders on board Alinghi had shown in the two previous America's Cups that they were right at the pinnacle of yachting.

"If we go out there and beat them, we deserve to keep the cup."

Race committee chairman Harold Bennett was hopeful that after weeks of calm weather a breeze might blow through Auckland around the time of tomorrow's race, scheduled to start at 1.15pm.

A breeze from the south of around 15 to 18 knots, possibly even more, was being forecast, he said.

"Hopefully that will arrive for us."

Bennett, who is also a member of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, is in the hot seat in terms of deciding whether racing should go ahead.

He is under particular scrutiny because many commentators are suggesting lighter conditions will benefit Alinghi.

Bennett today said a good meeting had been held with both teams earlier this week to discuss the conditions in which racing will be held.

Unlike the challenger series, the America's Cup has no set upper or lower wind speed limits.

It had been agreed with the teams that racing would not start in the low wind range if the breeze was inconsistent in speed and direction, Bennett said.

At the other end of the speed range, the decision on whether to race would be based on safety and fair sailing considerations.

Asked whether it might be a good idea to be more specific about the conditions needed for racing, he said that after the discussions with the teams, he was clear in his own mind what conditions would be raced in.

- NZPA

nzherald.co.nz/americascup

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