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BMW Oracle on Auckland harbour - Source: BMW Oracle Racing/Gilles Martin-Raget -
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Russell Coutts was gracious in defeat after losing the
first race of the second day of the Louis Vuitton Pacific
Series to Dean Barker, his old crew mate from Emirates Team New
Zealand.
Sailing the BMW Oracle Racing boat USA 87, Barker beat the
Coutts-led American crew in USA 98 by 28 seconds.
At a press conference in the Race Village afterwards, and in
front of a big public gallery, Coutts was asked what it felt like
when the apprentice beat the master.
Coutts answered dryly and with a smile: Its happened before!
He added, We would have been happier with a different result but
they won that one pretty convincingly.
After eight races over the first two days, Emirates Team New
Zealand has two points in Pool A, while Pataugas K-Challenge from
France and Damiani Italia Challenge each have one point.
In Pool B, Switzerlands Alinghi is the leader with two points while
Britains TEAMORIGIN has one point.
A shifty, gusty southwest breeze averaging 16 knots delivered
challenging racing conditions as the boats raced twice-around
1.7-mile legs from a start line off Rangitoto to a windward mark
just off the Orakei Basin.
The racers took a break after the third race while commercial ships
and a barge moved through the area.
In the first race the promise inherent in the series was
realised with a tough, tight race between old rivals Emirates Team
New Zealand and BMW Oracle Racing.
The Kiwis got the right after a pre-start battle and Coutts fought
back, rounding the first leeward mark only two seconds
behind.
Coutts enjoyed a brief lead, only to see Barker use the leverage of
the favored right hand side and kill any chances of an American
victory.
Coutts admitted afterwards that his team had made plenty of
errors while team New Zealand tactician Ray Davies was
pleased.
"We were happy with the start and getting the favoured right hand
side (but) we never felt comfortable the whole way" Davies
said.
Gavin Brady, the Kiwi skipper of the Greek Challenge, and his
mixed Greco-Kiwi crew had something to prove after suffering a
penalty from a collision on the first day that put them in minus
scoring territory.
In the second race Brady pounced on the South African boat
Shosholoza in the pre-start and the umpires had landed a penalty on
his opponents before the start gun had fired.
Brady started in frront and worked to a clear 56 second win over
South Africas Italian skipper and helmsman Paolo Cian.
Greek Challenger founder Sotiris Buseas was clearly delighted with the win, telling the crowd "the learning curve here is so steep... (but) I am going to be screaming tonight with pleasure."
In similar fashion to the Greek effort, Francesco Bruni at the
helm of the new Italian team Damiani Italia Challenge put his stamp
early on the third race.
He shut out two-time World Match Racing Tour champion Ian Williams
aboard China Team, forcing him above the start boat just before the
gun.
The Italians won by 1 min 17 sec in a race when the deltas were
never less than one minute and the lead at times as much as 500
metres.
In the last race of the day, Alinghi won handsomely by 50
seconds over Virgin Islands match racer Peter Holmberg at the wheel
of the Italian boat Luna Rossa.
Holmberg mis-timed his last minute manoeuvres approaching the start
line and in an effort to win clear air he conceded 40 metres to Ed
Baird on Alinghi as they crossed.
The Swiss were never threatened again..
