By SUZANNE McFADDEN
No disrespect intended, but Russell Coutts was a little thankful that Prada had the race from hell in the America's Cup yesterday. His Black Magic crew had a bad day too.
"It's just fortunate it wasn't a close race, because we didn't sail well," Team New Zealand skipper Coutts
said.
It does not matter that the men in black are 2-0 up in their quest to defend the America's Cup. Coutts is not necessarily a happy man.
Ever the perfectionists, the Black Magic crew were niggled by a few "shabby" moves in the race that turned out to be with themselves.
"In some ways its tough when you're sailing around with a big lead - there are times when you lose concentration for a little bit," Coutts said.
"We almost made a mistake at the bottom mark when we dropped the gennaker [nearly hitting the mark].
"Then the spinnaker pole almost went over the side and nearly broke upwind one time."
They were what ifs, but Coutts is sending the crew back out on to the water this morning for another race with NZL57, before tomorrow's third Cup clash.
Even if the crew-work was a little rough yesterday, the 16-man team performed a brilliant pre-start in trademark Coutts style.
But Tom Dodson, a tactician on the back-up black boat, poured the praise on a man who wasn't even on board NZL60 yesterday - tune-up helmsman Dean Barker.
Dodson reckoned Team New Zealand had been getting tougher battles in races with their other boat, driven by Barker, and the challengers' series had been "a bit soft".
"In the pre-start Prada looked short of ideas," he said.
Downcast Prada skipper Francesco de Angelis took the blame for losing the starting duel with Coutts, on a day where nothing could go right for the Italians.
"Today was my fault - I didn't do the good move," he said.
In the countdown to the gun, Coutts was like a cat batting a mouse, relentless in his teasing.
Team New Zealand chased the tail of Prada round and round, making it impossible for de Angelis to shake them off.
They pushed Luna Rossa up above the committee boat, and kept them there till it was time to make a move to the startline.
Coutts was totally in control, getting the right hand spot and sitting in front of Prada. He forced the Italians to tack twice before they even crossed the startline, half a minute after the gun.
Both boats headed out towards the right, entering into a drawn-out drag race.
Prada was the first to pull out, tacking away when they figured there was something under their boat.
Then the day turned dark for Luna Rossa. As mid-bowman Max Sirena went to fetch the flossing stick from down below, he sliced his bare head open.
As the crew tried to mop up the blood, de Angelis slowed up the boat, and trimmer Piero Romeo dived into the sea to try to clear a mess of plastic and ropes off the nose of the bulb.
It was fruitless, and Prada decided to sail on - with Team New Zealand disappearing over the horizon.
At the top mark, the Italians trailed by 2m 19s but tactician Torben Grael urged the team on: "Come on, let's keep going, we can still catch them."
The Italians made up 24s on the run, but then lost control of the spinnaker just before the bottom mark. They ebbed and flowed as Team New Zealand carried on sailing solo, playing the shifts well.
On the final beat, Prada got in more trouble with their jib and couldn't tack. It was the final straw.
Tactician Torben Grael still had a pinch of optimism. "We were pretty happy with our speed," he said.
By SUZANNE McFADDEN
No disrespect intended, but Russell Coutts was a little thankful that Prada had the race from hell in the America's Cup yesterday. His Black Magic crew had a bad day too.
"It's just fortunate it wasn't a close race, because we didn't sail well," Team New Zealand skipper Coutts
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