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'Not out of it yet' Peterson: Kiwis are faster in some conditions
Posted: Monday February 28, 2000 06:46 PM
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) -- Prada designer Doug Peterson has been force fed on humble pie in the last week. After predicting his former Team New Zealand colleagues would look "real dumb soon" after they unveiled a radical keel design in the leadup to the America's Cup, Peterson conceded Monday that the Kiwis were faster in certain conditions. The New Zealanders have a 3-0 lead in the best-of-nine series. Skipper Russell Coutts was at the helm when Black Magic swept Dennis Conner 5-0 to win the Auld Mug at San Diego in 1995 and will be chasing a record-equaling ninth successive win when he takes on Prada here Tuesday in Race 4. Peterson was a designer with Black Magic on its winning run in '95. Before that he worked for Bill Koch's winning syndicate in '92. He switched teams again this campaign, helping guide Prada's Luna Rossa to a challenger series win against Paul Cayard's AmericaOne to advance to a match against his old teammates. "Stick to the positives," he told journalists Monday. "We're not out of it yet." "We know we're not slow against them. We've made ground in the runs in two races and we were unlucky in the other." Luna Rossa had a horror run in Race 2 when debris fouled its keel and a crewman was injured trying to free it. Skipper Francesco de Angelis eventually stopped the boat to clear the debris and unload the injured sailor. The Italians lost the opening race by 1 minute, 17 seconds and lost Race 3 by 1:39. Peterson said the Kiwis were "pretty smart sailors" and the Italian crew was "figuring out how to deal with them." "The speed differences are still small," he said. "If [NZL 60] is faster, it's not faster by much." Light and unstable winds on the Hauraki Gulf have forced organizers to postpone three of the first four races, allowing only three results in the first 10 days. Race 4 was abandoned Sunday and was rescheduled to Tuesday. Both crews were on the water Monday practicing in breezes averaging almost 10 knots. The forecast for Tuesday was for calm seas and a breeze approaching 14 knots, conditions which Peterson said would again favor the Kiwis. "We've seen in the 15 knot range they seem to have a bit of an edge, in the other races we didn't think they had an edge," he said. "We thought the boats were very well matched. We don't see a lot in it." The 54-year-old Californian said he got "roasted" last week for his critical appraisal of NZL 60, which has winglets attached to the center of the bulb on its keel rather than the traditional rear placement. Peterson, who has a reputation for shooting from the lip, said he didn't regret criticizing the keel design but added that he'd also been complementary to the New Zealanders. He said the rigging system on the black boat was a class above the competition. "I think they've done a very, very good job on that, they've done their homework well," he said. "I think the story on the rest of the boat is still in question because we haven't seen all the conditions." Peterson said Team New Zealand also benefited from the regatta rules, which gave the defender choices such as when to schedule the series. It also meant challengers had to select the boat for the challenger series final which they planned to use in the America's Cup. Team New Zealand was able to build a boat suited specifically to conditions during the America's Cup period. Peterson said a fairer solution was to allow the syndicate which won the challenger series the option of using an alternative boat for the America's Cup.
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