Yachting: de Angelis sails back into cup battle

By SUZANNE McFADDEN

Humble hero Francesco de Angelis is being hailed on the streets of Auckland again.

While he achieved hero status from Kiwis during the last America's Cup, the Prada skipper says he has lived a quiet, almost anonymous life in Italy.

But Prada team-mates say de Angelis is being modest - he has been mobbed in Milan and jostled in Genoa by a fervent new breed of sailing fans.

De Angelis, back for a summer of training on the Hauraki Gulf, downplays the new attention.

"People will only run to you in the streets if you are a soccer player," he laughs.

"Sometimes people will recognise me. They will ask, 'How's the boat going?' - that's it."

Now he is back in New Zealand, he will finally receive his Queen's Birthday honour as an honorary officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit. It was awarded to him for his sportsmanship and for enhancing Italian-New Zealand relations during the last cup battle.

Despite the accolades, de Angelis admits he has struggled to come to terms with the 0-5 crushing from the men on black boats.

"For me, the final wasn't easy to recover from. It took a long while," he said.

"You have to try to rationalise everything - it isn't that easy.

"But it left a lot of desire to get back into the sailing as quick as I could."

Fresh from his first days off since last March, de Angelis says he has become a new man since the cup.

"My life from a sailing point of view has changed. If you forget the result, it was great to join a group of really good people," he said.

"The America's Cup gives you the opportunity to work in a very high level environment. You are involved in organisation, really good technology, sailors and managers - it's very interesting.

"They have been demanding years. It takes a lot from you but it gives you a lot."

There have been changes in the crew around de Angelis - enlarged by 10 to 35 men. Brazilian tactician Torben Grael is missing and there are three Kiwi faces in the crew for the first time.

Two of the New Zealanders - Gavin Brady and Rod Davis - could even take the steering wheel off de Angelis, but he would still remain on the boat as skipper.

Both de Angelis and Prada's fashion billionaire boss, Patrizio Bertelli, were determined that the crew of Luna Rossa would return to Auckland stronger and more determined for the 2003 cup.

So the team went back to work in earnest - in Milan and the seaside resort of Punta Ala - the week they flew home.

Now de Angelis has had his first holiday since the cup final ended, spending three weeks with his wife and two young sons in their home city of Naples.

"Last Christmas I was so involved with the cup, I didn't have much time to give to my family," he said. "The Christmas before I was in New Zealand as well. This is the first time in a long time we got to stay home. I think it will be the last time for another two years."

Prada have just finished a Northern Hemisphere summer sailing their collection of cup boats in Punta Ala, the two Luna Rossas and the two Young Americas. They have brought two boats to Auckland for three months' training.

The Prada family have moved back into their home away from home, the Heritage Hotel.

Although Prada are already ahead of other challengers in preparation for the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series in October next year, de Angelis does not like to speak of favouritism. But still a quiet confidence comes through.

"This time will be different for us. We have been through it all now. Hopefully we have learned from our mistakes."

Prada should be out on the water again this week, sharing the gulf with six other boats from American syndicates Oracle Racing and OneWorld, and Team New Zealand.

Herald Online feature: America's Cup