Yachting: Oracle ship-shape as old rivals take to the Med

By JULIE ASH

Oracle boss Larry Ellison vowed they would be back and now, 20 months after Alinghi bundled them out of the America's Cup, BMW Oracle Racing have returned with a vengeance.

With key personnel on board and around $200 million at their disposal, Oracle have barely sat still since bowing out to Alinghi in the Louis Vuitton Cup final.

While most teams will take to the seas off Marseille tomorrow in the first pre-regatta having spent little if any time together, Oracle will leave the dock with three months of solid sailing behind them.

"We did a month in Auckland, a month in San Francisco and a month in Valencia," said Oracle's new helmsman, New Zealander Gavin Brady, who last sailed for Prada.

"We have hit it as hard as we can for short periods of time."

Already their work is starting to pay off. Alinghi and Oracle have competed in two regattas (the Moet Cup and the UBS Trophy) since the last America's Cup and Oracle have come out on top at both.

With successful Alinghi skipper Russell Coutts out of the picture, Oracle have good reason to be feeling confident.

"So often you see America's Cup teams implode," Brady said.

"The campaigns are long, there are no off-seasons, you live and breathe the America's Cup. Quite often you find the cup is lost rather than won.

"Right now Alinghi are not as strong without him but who knows what they'll be like in three years."

Brady believes Oracle's edge over Alinghi since the cup is partially due to having figured out how to get the best out of their boats.

"We are finding that there were some faster set-ups that maybe the Oracle of last cup could have chosen. But that takes time to figure out.

"I think that is how Alinghi won. They had a boat that had been in the water for a long time and they had it very well set up.

"Was it the fastest boat in the cup? Well, I guess it was because they won but I think they got there because they got the best out of their equipment and now we have caught up to them in that area.

"Alinghi are still sailing with the same set-up they had in Auckland."

Oracle's new-look afterguard probably also has a lot to do with their success. Joining Brady, Ellison and skipper and syndicate chief executive Chris Dickson in the back of the boat is highly regarded American tactician John Kostecki.

"For me it was important to get John into the team," Brady said.

"He is one of [the best], if not the best, in the world, at looking at the breeze on the water and doing the impossible - calling that magic shift that is miles away."

With hardly a dozen sailors remaining from the last campaign, the crew, which includes 18 New Zealanders, will be rotated.

As for the opposition in Marseille, Brady said he is particularly looking forward to locking horns with Emirates Team NZ.

"Team NZ have got the most radical boat. It is a pretty cool boat to look at and is definitely out there. Everyone is going to be out there to win but everyone will still be trying to get a feel for it. Sailing in the Med is a lot different to sailing in the Hauraki Gulf."