Yachting: AmericaOne wine some, lose some

By Suzanne McFadden

The wine-box inquiry of the America's Cup did not last more than a day.

AmericaOne skipper Paul Cayard sent the Louis Vuitton Cup umpires a case of white wine before the finals began. Somehow Prada were sent a copy of the thank-you note from chief umpire Bryan Willis.

But Cayard explained it was no bribe: "Last week we were trying a new system with the radios and we asked the umpires to spend the day with us on Saturday. They were very patient with us. So we sent them some wine, and hope they enjoy it."

The umpires had only one major call to make in yesterday's race. But Prada skipper Francesco de Angelis admitted the pre-start crash was his fault - and nothing to do with the vino.