VALENCIA - Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth let rip with an expletive-laden attack today to make plain his displeasure at the wash from spectator craft at the America's Cup.
Another enormous 800-strong fleet was on the Mediterranean off Valencia to watch Team New Zealand come from behind to downthe Swiss defenders by 28 seconds and level the best-of-nine series 1-1.
Alinghi was ahead on the first downwind run when Butterworth used the F-word several times to complain about how regatta organisers were controlling the spectator boats following SUI100 and NZL92.
Butterworth -- who had not been in a losing crew in 16 previous cup races, 10 of them with Team NZ in 1995 and 2000 -- knew he was being picked up by the on-board microphone linked to the television coverage of the race.
"There's no other vehicle for me to give my impressions across but on that microphone," he told journalists afterwards.
"So it's good to use it because I figured you're listening and you can put some pressure on these wallies to get them off the course."
Butterworth said he was all for spectators being able to get close to the action of yachting's biggest event.
But he expected an even sailing environment and said the fleet should have been made to turn off three-quarters of the way up the first windward leg.
"When you go up the first beat, you don't really notice it, but when you gybe around the top mark, you're aiming straight at the spectator boats and in their wake," he said.
"We were actually gybing in a good shift there and thought we were going to make a big gain. We did make a gain, but it was limited by the way were in the washing machine."
Team NZ runner-pitman Tony Rae agreed that the amount of wash being produced did make sailing tough.
"Like Brad said, it's pretty bad out of the top mark," he said.
"It's bad for a while until you gybe back and go into the middle or further down. When you sail out of it, it's okay, but the the first bit is pretty bad."
Rae said the lighter conditions today, compared with yesterday, accentuated the problem and meant crews had to pick their time to gybe.
