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Prada takes 2-1 lead Torn spinnaker forces AmericaOne to withdraw
Posted: Saturday January 29, 2000 12:29 AM
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) -- It was a rough day for AmericaOne, too rough. Its spinnaker ripped like tissue paper and another sail fell overboard in heavy seas. Meanwhile, Prada of Italy rode strong wind and wild waves to victory as the United States boat withdrew with less than a third of the 18 1/2-mile race remaining Saturday. Prada took a 2-1 lead in the America's Cup challenger series with the fourth race of best-of-9 round scheduled for Sunday. The winner faces defending champion New Zealand in another best-of-9 series for sailing's top prize starting Feb. 19. When it quit, AmericaOne was flying a red protest flag from its stern, although the reason wasn't immediately clear. It later withdrew the protest. As Prada circled the fifth mark and sailed alone to the finish line, AmericaOne limped home after a nightmarish race in which an expensive sail was destroyed and a spreader was broken. At least the mast stayed intact on a boat-battering day. One day after the Hauraki Gulf was smooth as a pane of glass, the race postponed because of light wind, the course had changed into a turbulent swirl of hazards to men and boats. But the race started on time in wind of 19 knots that surged to 24. At one point on the first leg of the six-leg race, a sailor bailed water out from the deck with a blue pail. Billy Bates, feeding sails out from the sewer beneath the AmericaOne deck, was drenched. The Americans led by 14 seconds at the end of the first leg. Then they ran into trouble on the next leg when their spinnaker touched Prada's rigging, a penalty for AmericaOne. It would have had to make an extra turn had it not withdrawn. The contact apparently caused sail problems for AmericaOne as its spinnaker fluttered and Prada took a 23-second lead after that first downwind leg. The lead grew to 45 seconds midway through the race, but things soon would get even worse for AmericaOne. About halfway to the fourth mark, AmericaOne's spinnaker split into two pieces horizontally near the top just between the names of two of its sponsors printed in blue on the lime-green sail. One remnant flew uselessly from the top of the mast, the other dragged in the water. While that was happening, a sail on deck fell into the Gulf. AmericaOne, which had gained before the mishap, trailed by 51 seconds at the fourth mark and didn't reach the fifth. Apparently convinced the damage to the boat would keep it from making up that difference, and fearful of more breakage, AmericaOne skipper Paul Cayard decided to withdraw. Some 25 minutes later, Prada crew members shook hands as they crossed the finish line by themselves. Under rules of the challenger finals, Cayard cannot request a delay of Sunday's race to handle structural problems. Prada had won the first race by 24 seconds. In Thursday's second race, AmericaOne won by 1:33 despite a minor mishap in which another spinnaker suffered a small rip as it was brought out of the hatch. It was quickly replaced. The Americans weren't as fortunate Saturday.
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