Oracle find it's all in the wind

By JULIE ASH

"The shifts were the decider of the day and we didn't get them" is how Oracle BMW Racing skipper Chris Dickson summed up his boat's heavy loss to Alinghi in the opening race of the Louis Vuitton challenger final.

Russell Coutts skippered Alinghi outclassed and outpowered Oracle to win by a comfortable 1m 24s in the first race of the final.

The win means Alinghi are now just four wins away from taking on Team New Zealand for the America's Cup.

The victory was virtually sealed on the first leg when Alinghi managed to get on top of a 30-degree right-hand shift.

Already six boat lengths ahead, Alinghi extended their lead further on the first run when the wind shifted against Oracle, pushing the fancied Swiss further ahead. From there it was game, set, match.

Alinghi conceded it wasn't necessarily good knowledge or better sailing that secured them the vital right-hand shift.

"We were a bit lucky," Coutts said. "But that happens. Hopefully, we keep being lucky.

"We were nervous about losing the start. We were worried about that. In those conditions, in seven knots of breeze and choppy water like that, it's very difficult to do anything else.

For Oracle, whether it was luck or not makes no difference.

They are now 1-0 down and know it is going to take an almighty performance to outclass the Coutts and [Brad] Butterworth show.

Despite the hammering his team took, Dickson was upbeat and confident their fortunes could be reversed.

"I was very disappointed with the result. It's going to be a long series. We still have five races to win," he said.

"We gained on three out of six legs and lost of three out of six legs. We got the side of the course we wanted at the start, and the 30-degree shift put us behind. It was a day when some things didn't go our way."

If Oracle have anything in their favour it is the hope that USA76 is stronger than Alinghi's SUI64.

Both boats showed glimpses of their pace yesterday, but with the conditions so shifty it was too difficult to tell if one had a real edge.

"We certainly weren't unhappy with our boat," Dickson said.

"The shifts were the decider of the day and we didn't get them. We didn't get it on the first beat. We didn't get it on the first run."

Coutts agreed it was too early to judge the performance of the boats.

"It wasn't normal and the course was a long way towards the Whangaparoa Peninsula. It's not a very good area to sail in that wind direction, and that's what made it so shifty.

"I've never been concerned about our relative performance," he said.

Coutts said although it was nice to win the first match, his side were not taking too much confidence from it.

"We got some nice breaks and 1-0 up is better than 1-0 down. But it's early days."

Alinghi syndicate head and navigator Ernesto Bertarelli said: "The first point is a very important point psychologically.

"Also, they changed their boat so we never knew what we could find, and to see the two boats are pretty much the same, and if we sail right we can take the lead, is good."

The second race in the best-of-nine series is scheduled to start today at 1.15pm. Race organisers have predicted nine to 16-knot north-easterly winds.



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