Yachting: Conditions put match-racing field to test

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Conditions made tricky by the outgoing tide played a big role in a predictable opening day of the international match-racing regatta yesterday.

Too often it was first across the start line, first home 12 to 15 minutes later.

Barely a handful of the 30 races were won from behind.

Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker, well buried in the 12-boat Steinlager Line 7 Cup field with just two wins from five starts, was making no excuses, but acknowledged the part the conditions played.

"We have had better days, for sure," said Barker, who had wins over Stars and Stripes' Ken Read in his third outing and Britain's Ian Walker in his last.

"We did nothing too stupid, but there were others sailing a bit better than us.

"The problem with this venue [out from Hobson Wharf] is that it is very one-sided.

"That places much more importance on the start. Overtaking once you are behind is very difficult."

With an outgoing tide and a constant west-southwest breeze of 12 to 14 knots, there were few opportunities to break clear.

Only once did crews veer away from the accepted shortest route.

In that clash, Briton Andy Green pushed world champion and Swedish Match tour leader Magnus Holmberg (Sweden) all over the harbour, heading at one stage towards Bayswater as they searched for the top mark.

Both skippers incurred penalties, with Holmberg eventually getting home by five seconds.

Holmberg, beaten first-up by Italian Paolo Cian, one of four skippers to win through to the main event from the qualifying regatta, bounced back, taking his remaining three races to trail early pacesetter Luc Pillot (France), who won four from five.

Pillot's only loss came in his penultimate outing against Ed Baird (United States).

New Zealander Gavin Brady, who sails these days for Italy's America's Cup syndicate Prada, began strongly with a comfortable 35s victory over Barker.

He followed that with an equally impressive win over Dane Jes Gram-Hansen.

Brady then lost to Cian and Walker, but came back for a much-needed third victory over Baird in the last of the day's six flights.

"One tiny mistake can cost you dearly," Brady said.

"It was important to win that last one. Three and two [wins and losses] is much better than two and three."

Brady - who later confirmed that he had rejected an offer to sail in the Star class for Singapore at the 2004 Athens Olympics, even though there would have been a US$1 million ($2.3 million) bonus for winning gold - faces Holmberg first-up this morning in a crucial match.

Organisers hope to sail at least six of the remaining flights in the round-robin today.

The top eight skippers will then go into the sudden-death quarter-finals - a first for this regatta, which started in 1979.

Of this year's skippers, only Rod Davis (1983) and Baird (1991 and 1995) have won before.

nzherald.co.nz/americascup