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'Make the boat go faster' Team New Zealand unveils new keel for America's Cup
Posted: Monday February 14, 2000 08:06 PM
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) -- Team New Zealand has unveiled a keel which had been widely regarded as a decoy due to its unusual design in the leadup to Saturday's first race of the best-of-nine America's Cup series. The Italian Prada syndicate revealed unchanged technology at its unveiling later Tuesday to that which helped it win through the challenger series as it heads into the 30th regatta for the America's Cup. Team New Zealand in 1995 became only the second non-American syndicate to win the 150-year-old trophy and team officials are confident of being the first non-American team to successfully defend it. Prada, with a budget nearly three times that of most rivals, ousted Paul Cayard's AmericaOne in the challenger series finals to set up the first America's Cup series without a U.S. participant. The defender's keel unveiling, at Team New Zealand's compound on the Auckland waterfront, has become part of America's Cup tradition where design technology is a closely guarded secret. Team New Zealand officials said they called the bluff of many observers by revealing a revolutionary keel design almost identical to one which many considered a decoy when it was first shown a month ago. The design includes wings protruding from the center of its flame-painted bulb at the bottom of the keel. Design coordinator Tom Schnackenberg said the keel was purpose built for Hauraki Gulf conditions, adding it will "make the boat go faster." The wings "just tested well in the middle," he said. "It's an all-round compromise, to be able to race upwind and downwind." Later Tuesday, Prada confirmed it was sticking with a traditional design placing the wings at the back of the bulb on the light gray challenger, Luna Rossa. One of the first to see Team New Zealand's keel was Prada designer Doug Peterson. "He's intrigued, Doug Peterson is, and he'll be worried too," said Team New Zealand chief executive Sir Peter Blake. Peterson, an American who left the Team New Zealand designsquad after it won the "Auld Mug" in 1995, showed little sign of anxiety. "I don't understand it, I wouldn't put the wings in the middle," he said. "Every information I've ever seen says you put them at the back." In accordance with regatta protocol, Team New Zealand had Monday announced which of it's two trademark black boats it would race, opting for the slightly newer NZL 60. The newer black boat has undergone recent development work away from the keel. "We've made some modifications to give it a greater sail area down wind," said the team's principal designer Laurie Davidson. Team New Zealand has been trialing NZL 60 alongside it's sister boat NZL 57 but has never had a serious encounter with the Italian team. The two teams did cross paths while returning from training sessions on the Hauraki Gulf last week with one boat from each team engaging in several minutes of close sailing, but both teams later described the incident as insignificant.
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