RACES POSTPONED UNTIL SATURDAY

Due to excessive winds earlier today, the Race Committee postponed the fifth race of Round Robin 2 for the Louis Vuitton Cup until tomorrow (Saturday 13 November). Gusts of 40 knots were predicted this afternoon with heavy rain squalls. Tomorrow the wind should decrease to 15 knots. Young America was scheduled to race their second boat USA 58 today, and Nippon Challenge managed to set up a new mast last night (their boat JPN 44 dismasted yesterday during the race against AmericaOne). AmericaOne was scheduled for a BYE today.

FINAL SCORES TO DATE:

Prada /22 points

AmericaOne /20 points

Young America /16 points*

America True /14 points

Nippon Challenge /13.5 points

Stars & Stripes /12.5 points

Abracadabra 2000 /12 points

Spanish Challenge /9 points**

FAST2000 /8 points

Le Defi Francais /6 points

Young Australia /1 point

* Young America was penalized one race

**Bravo Espana had a BYE

THE RACING TOMORROW – RACE 5 of Round Robin 2:

1st Match Prada Challenge vs Spanish Challenge

2nd Match Team Dennis Conner vs Nippon Challenge

3rd Match Le Defi vs Young America

4th Match America True vs Abracadabra 2000

5th Match Young Australia 2000 vs FAST2000

BYE: AmericaOne Young America was scheduled to race their second boat USA 58 today, and Nippon Challenge managed to set up a new mast last night (their boat JPN 44 dismasted yesterday during the race against AmericaOne). AmericaOne was scheduled for a BYE today.

FINAL SCORES TO DATE:

Prada /22 points

AmericaOne /20 points

Young America /16 points*

America True /14 points

Nippon Challenge /13.5 points

Stars & Stripes /12.5 points

Abracadabra 2000 /12 points

Spanish Challenge /9 points**

FAST2000 /8 points

Le Defi Francais /6 points

Young Australia /1 point

* Young America was penalized one race

**Bravo Espana had a BYE

THE RACING TOMORROW – RACE 5 of Round Robin 2:

1st Match Prada Challenge vs Spanish Challenge

2nd Match Team Dennis Conner vs Nippon Challenge

3rd Match Le Defi vs Young America

4th Match America True vs Abracadabra 2000

5th Match Young Australia 2000 vs FAST2000

BYE: AmericaOne

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AMERICAONE WINS RACE FOUR AGAINST NIPPON CHALLENGE

Nippon Challenge Retires with Broken Mast

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, November 11, 1999 — AmericaOne, the San Francisco-based St. Francis Yacht Club’s America’s Cup 2000 challenger, defeated Nippon Challenge’s Asura (JPN 44) in Race 4 of Round Robin 2 for the Louis Vuitton Cup. The Japanese team retired approximately five boatlengths from the second leeward mark when its mast broke during a jibe, according to the Race Committee.

Racing was delayed this morning by the Race Committee due to shifty winds on the Atlantic course where AmericaOne and Nippon Challenge were scheduled to race. Nippon Challenge led AmericaOne over the starting line by a slight margin. Immediately, AmericaOne tacked away onto port to build boatspeed. With the wind slowly building on the left side of the course, AmericaOne’s Tactician John Kostecki made the call to tack back to the left side and in doing so gained on the Japanese competitors.

“We had a two boatlength lead four minutes from the first windward mark when our genoa broke,” said AmericaOne Skipper Paul Cayard. “The Japanese took the lead there and held it for the next two legs.

“On the second downwind leg, AmericaOne closed to a position of control,” Cayard continued. “Very near the mark Nippon was penalized for crossing on port tack in front of AmericaOne, on starboard. Twenty seconds later their mast came down. It was a tough fight until that point.”

Nippon Challenge retired from racing and was towed back to the Viaduct Basin to assess the damage.

RR2/Race 4 Starting Line-Up: Greg Prussia of Oroville, CA, bow; Curtis Blewett of Los Angeles, CA, mid-bow; Bill Bates of San Diego, CA, mast/sewer; Josh Belsky of Hood River, OR, pit; Mike Howard of Malibu, CA, grinder; Matt Welling of Bay Shore, NY, grinder; Morgan Trubovich of Newport, RI, downwind trim; David McClintock of Portsmouth, RI, downwind trim; Gavin Brady of Annapolis, MD, runner; Paul Cayard of Kentfield, CA, helmsman; John Kostecki of Fairfax, CA, tactician; Morgan Larson of Capitola, CA, traveler; Terry Hutchinson of Annapolis, MD, mainsheet; Sean Clarkson of Middletown, RI, main assist, and Lexi Gahagan of Wilmington, DE, navigator. The 17th crew person was Mr. Ron Martin, Telcordia Technologies, Plano, TX.

Final Scores To Date:

Prada /22 points

AmericaOne /20 points

Young America /16 points

America True /14 points

Nippon Challenge /13.5 points

Stars & Stripes /12.5 points

Abracadabra 2000 /12 points

Spanish Challenge /9 points

FAST2000 /8 points

Le Defi Francais /6 points

Young Australia /1 point

Other Delta Results:

Stars & Stripes over Prada Challenge/01:51

Abracadabra 2000 over Young Australia/YOUNG AUSTRALIA RETIRED DURING RACE

FAST 2000 over Young America/ YOUNG AMERICA DID NOT RACE

America True over Le Defi Francais/ 00:59 BYE: Spanish Challenge

Round Robin 2

AmericaOne’s schedule for the remainder of Round Robin 2 is as follows:

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AMERICAONE CAPTURES WIN IN THIRD RACE OF ROUND ROBIN 2 AGAINST FAST 2000

Tragedy Strikes Young America

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, November 9, 1999 -AmericaOne, the San Francisco-based St. Francis Yacht Club’s America’s Cup 2000 challenger, won its second race on day three of Round Robin 2 for the Louis Vuitton Cup. Despite the gloomy weather, whitecaped swells and winds ranging upwards of 18+ knots the AmericaOne crew defeated FAST 2000’s be hAPpy (SUI 59) by 3m 29s. During the Nippon vs. Young America match, Young America suffered serious structural damage when their boat buckled and nearly sank forcing them to retire from the race.

Off of the starting line, Cayard and the AmericaOne Team won the preferred right hand side of the race course. Although AmericaOne followed slightly behind FAST 2000’s Skipper Marc Pajot, when the starting gun sounded, SUI 59 quickly lost ground. It was evident that AmericaOne had equal speed but pointed closer to the wind and was able to quickly establish a comfortable lead. As the race drew to a close the winds built to 20+ knots, waves increased and visibility diminished. AmericaOne held and maintained a large lead and demonstrated its superior pointing ability in heavy air wind conditions.

“We’ve never sailed in this much wind before,” remarked AmericaOne Grinder Jim Nicholas. “So it was good to see that our boat handling and mechanical equipment performed well. We consider ourselves lucky that things didn’t break on our boat today.”

Deteriorating weather conditions are expected tomorrow, which may postpone racing until Thursday.

RR2/Race 3 Starting Line-Up: Greg Prussia of Oroville, CA, bow; Curtis Blewett of Los Angeles, CA, mid bow; Bill Bates of San Diego, CA mast/sewer; Josh Belsky of Hood River, OR, pit; Jim Nicholas of San Diego, CA, grinder; Mike Howard of Malibu, CA, grinder; Matt Welling of Bay Shore, NY, grinder; Morgan Trubovich of Newport, RI, upwind trim; Russ Silvestri of San Francisco, CA, downwind trim; Gavin Brady of Annapolis, MD, runner; Paul Cayard of Kentfield, CA, helmsman; John Kostecki of Fairfax, CA, tactician; Morgan Larson of Capitola, CA, traveler; Terry Hutchinson of Annapolis, MD, mainsheet; Sean Clarkson of Middletown, RI, main assist, and Lexi Gahagan of Wilmington, DE, navigator. The 17th crew person was Mr. Pat Campbell.

Final Scores To Date:

Prada /22 points

AmericaOne /16 points

Young America /16 points

Nippon Challenge /13.5 points

America True /10 points

Spanish Challenge /9 points

Stars & Stripes /8.5 points

Abracadabra 2000 /8 points

Le Defi Francais /6 points

FAST2000 /4 points

Young Australia /1 point

Other Delta Results:

Prada Challenge over Young Australia 2000/ 03:34

Abracadabra 2000 over Stars & Stripes/ 00:03

Nippon over Young America/ YOUNG AMERICA WITHDREW DURING RACE

Spanish Challenge over Le Defi Francais/ 00:19 BYE: America True

Round Robin 2 AmericaOne’s schedule for the remainder of Round Robin 2 is as follows:

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AMERICAONE FIGHTS FOR WINNING RECORD AGAINST SAN FRANCISCO RIVAL IN RACE 2

USA 49 is Unable to Overcome an Over-Early Start AUCKLAND, New Zealand, November 8, 1999 – AmericaOne, the San Francisco-based St. Francis Yacht Club’s America’s Cup 2000 challenger, suffered an over-early call by the Race Committee and was forced into a restart on Race 2 of the Louis Vuitton Cup. Exciting pre-start maneuvers seemed to replay in reverse from the match in Round Robin 1 as this time AmericaOne was over the line early and unable to recover from the original deficit. America True (USA 51) emerged as a winner by 1m 29s.

Yesterday’s scheduled match between the two San Francisco-based teams resumed today after a postponement due to high winds. On the first windward leg, AmericaOne repositioned itself onto the weather hip of America True in hopes of extending its lead but the match ran its course with America True covering USA 49 tack for tack in the 19+ MPH winds and significant swells.

“I think we will have a lot to gain by reflecting on the mistakes we made today,” explained AmericaOne Tactician John Kostecki. “We pushed too hard at the start and went over the line early. Unfortunately, we were never able to make up the difference. There is a positive to losing in that it makes you stand-back and take a critical look at your techniques and work harder than ever to improve them.”

RR2/Race 2 Starting Line-Up: Greg Prussia of Oroville, CA, bow, Curtis Blewett of Los Angeles, CA, mid bow; Bill Bates of San Diego, CA mast/sewer, Josh Belsky of Hood River, OR, pit; Phil Trinter of Lorain, OH, grinder; Jim Nicholas of San Diego, CA, grinder; Kevin Hall of Highland, CA, grinder; David McClintock of Portsmouth, RI, upwind trim; Morgan Trubovich of Newport, RI downwind trim; Gavin Brady of Annapolis, MD, runner; Paul Cayard of Kentfield, CA, helmsman; John Kostecki of Fairfax, CA, tactician; Bruce Nelson of San Diego, CA, traveler; Terry Hutchinson of Annapolis, MD, mainsheet; Sean Clarkson of Middletown, RI, main assist, and Lexi Gahagan of Wilmington, DE, navigator. The 17th crew person was John LaFond, Ford Motor Company, MI, USA.

Final Scores To Date:

Prada /18 points

Young America /16 points

AmericaOne /12 points

America True /10 points

Nippon Challenge /9.5 points

Stars & Stripes /8.5 points

Le Defi Francais /6 points

Spanish Challenge /5 points

Abracadabra 2000 /4 points

FAST2000 /4 points

Young Australia /1 point

Other Delta Results:

Prada Challenge over Nippon Challenge/ NIPPON WITHDREW DURING RACE

Young America over Spanish Challenge/ 01:23

Le Defi Francais over Young Australia 2000/ 01:43

Fast2000 over Abracadabra 2000/ ABRACADABRA WITHDREW DURING RACE

BYE: Stars & Stripes

Round Robin 2 During Round Robin 2 each of the 11 Challengers from seven nations will race each other one time – the winner receiving four points per race. One team takes a bye in each flight of races. Racing is scheduled to begin daily at 12:15 PM local time on a full-length America’s Cup course, three laps totaling 18.55-nautical miles windward-leeward format. AmericaOne’s schedule for the remainder of Round Robin 2 is as follows:

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AMERICAONE OPENS ROUND ROBIN 2 OF THE LOUIS VUITTON CUP WITH A WIN

Undisclosed Adjustments to USA 49 Prove Solid

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, November 6, 1999 – AmericaOne, the San Francisco-based St. Francis Yacht Club’s America’s Cup 2000 challenger, won its opening race on day one of Round Robin 2 for the 2000 America’s Cup season. Skipper Paul Cayard and the AmericaOne crew defeated the Spanish Challenge’s Bravo Espana (ESP 47) by 1m 15s. Adjustments were made to both boats following Round Robin 1 – AmericaOne sailed with a repaired and remeasured boat and Bravo Espana received a new mast.

The weather conditions showed great improvement from the heavy wind and rain conditions seen over the past few days. However, wind shifts remained lumpy, ranging upwards of 15+ knots. The drag race between Cayard and Spanish Skipper Pedro Campos at the start left AmericaOne slightly behind to windward of Bravo Espana. Rounding the first windward mark, AmericaOne’s Tactician John Kostecki located a significant shift in the wind direction from the right giving USA 49 a speed advantage that pushed them well into the lead. By the second windward leg, Cayard remained in control of the match.

“It was good to see that we have improved our boat speed,” explained AmericaOne Tactician John Kostecki. “The goal right now for all of the teams is to optimize boat performance in this second round. Clearly there were marked differences between our win over the Spanish from Round Robin 1 to Round Robin 2 — I could see we had both improved our speed.”

RR2/Race 1 Starting Line-Up: Curtis Blewett of Los Angeles, CA, bow; Greg Prussia of Oroville, CA, mid bow; Bill Bates of San Diego, CA, mast/sewer; Josh Belsky of Hood River, OR, pit; Phil Trinter of Lorain, OH, grinder; Jim Nicholas of San Diego, CA, grinder; Matt Welling of Bay Shore, NY, grinder; David McClintock of Portsmouth, RI, upwind trim; Morgan Trubovich of Newport, RI downwind trim; Gavin Brady of Annapolis, MD, runner; Paul Cayard of Kentfield, CA, helmsman; John Kostecki of Fairfax, CA, tactician; Bruce Nelson of San Diego, CA, traveler; Terry Hutchinson of Annapolis, MD, mainsheet; Sean Clarkson of Middletown, RI, main assist, and Lexi Gahagan of Wilmington, DE, navigator. The 17th crew person was Terry Kohler of Wisconsin, IL.

Final Scores To Date:

Prada /14 points

AmericaOne /12 points

Young America /12 points

Nippon Challenge /9.5 points

Stars & Stripes /8.5 points

America True /6 points

Abracadabra 2000 /4 points

Spanish Challenge /5 points

Le Defi Francais /2 points

Young Australia /1 point

FAST2000 /0 points

Other Delta Results:

Stars & Stripes over Le Defi Francais/ 00:41

Prada Challenge over FAST2000/ 02:19

Nippon Challenge over Abracadabra 2000/ 02:08

Young America over America True/ 00:33

BYE: Young Australia 2000

Round Robin 2 During Round Robin 2 each of the 11 Challengers from seven nations will race each other one time – the winner receiving four points per race. One team takes a bye in each flight of races. Racing is scheduled to begin daily at 12:15 PM local time on a full-length America’s Cup course, three laps totaling 18.55-nautical miles windward-leeward format. AmericaOne’s schedule for the remainder of Round Robin 2 is as follows:

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USA-61 Takes Flight for AmericaOne

The last boat built for this America’s Cup campaign will arrive via air express in Auckland this week. AmericaOne (USA-61) will be flown into New Zealand from California aboard a 747 on Monday afternoon.

Paul Cayard’s AmericaOne team is the last syndicate to take delivery of a boat. At a press conference on the eve of Round Robin Two of the Louis Vuitton Cup, Cayard was coy about when the boat would enter the competition.

‘We might use it in Round Robin Three,’ he said. ‘Having it here early definitely gives us some flexibility for two boat testing, and to race it before the Semi-Finals.’

The early arrival of USA-61 (the boat wasn’t originally expected until December) has also been a boon for Young Australia 2000. AmericaOne has finished with its charter of 1995 Cup boat oneAustralia. The Young Australia team has negotiated a charter with its Australian owner, and will now sail the boat in Round Robin Two.

The air express delivery is a first for Air New Zealand Cargo. It’s the first time in history an America’s Cup boat has been shipped on a 747, and USA-61 is the largest cargo in the history of Air New Zealand.

The AmericaOne team says the boat should be ready for sailing well before Round Robin Three.

– Peter Rusch

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AmericaOne Completes Round Robin 1 of the Louis Vuitton Cup

Round Robin 1 – Auckland, New Zealand – AmericaOne, the San Francisco-based St. Francis Yacht Club’s America’s Cup 2000 Challenger completed Round Robin 1 of the Louis Vuitton Cup Challengers Series with a score of 8 wins, 2 losses. AmericaOne raced against each of the challenger syndicates for a total of 10 races on the Haruaki Gulf, New Zealand. Racing took place October 18 to 28, 1999.

The first of three round robins in the Challenger’s Series, a win was worth one point. A Round 2 win is worth 4 points and a win in Round 3 is worth 9 points.

“Looking back on Round Robin 1 and our first month here in New Zealand we have a lot to be pleased with,” said AmericaOne Skipper Paul Cayard. “Our boat is fast, our team is strong and we have all the pieces around us necessary to win the Louis Vuitton Cup. ”

Summary of AmericaOne Races in Round Robin 1

[October 18, Races 1 & 2] AmericaOne defeated the Spanish Challenge’s Bravo Espana (ESP 47) by 1m 9s, and won against America True (USA 51) by an even greater margin of 3m 45s.

“The boat performed well in the first race,” said Tactician John Kostecki. “It was really our first race so we took it slow and talked out a lot of maneuvers. It was a good race for us.

“The wind was fickle that day and we had a nice break at the start because they (America True) were over early.” USA 49 continued to gain on each leg and went on to win comfortably.

[October 19, Races 3 & 4] AmericaOne easily defeated FAST2OOO’s be hAPpy (SUI 59) by 14m 9s, and finished the second race against the Nippon Challenge’s Asura (JPN 44) by 2m 26s.

“We had a good day of racing today which turned fairly aggressive in Race 4 against Nippon,” commented AmericaOne Skipper Paul Cayard. “We were unfortunate in that we broke down prior to the onset of the race. Luckily, we were able to qualify for a postponement in the rules and took the 45 minutes we were allotted, fixed the part and then went on to win the race.”

[October 20, Races 5 & 6] AmericaOne had a bye in Race 5 and in Race 6 defeated Le Delfi’s Sixieme Sens (FRA 46) by 1m 26s.

Having lost the start against the French by seconds, AmericaOne overtook the lead position in the first leg and continued to gain on each leg to eventually win. “The start of the race with the French was interesting,” said AmericaOne Skipper Paul Cayard. “He (Bertrand Pace) was very aggressive and really pushed the line hard to have a slightly better start than we did. We climbed out to windward to have a four boatlength lead at the first cross.” The lead continued on each leg and USA 49 won the race.

Racing on October 21 was postponed due to weather by the race committee.

[October 22, Race 7] AmericaOne lost to the Prada Challenge by a mere 17s. In a race plagued with spinnaker maladies for both teams, the Italian syndicate racing on Luna Rossa was able to recover from their onboard mishaps in time to cross the finish line ahead of AmericaOne.

“We were pretty happy to be in such a tight boat race with Prada. We know that they’ve put in a lot of time training during the last three years,” said Cayard. “All in all I’m pleased to have been so competitive.”

[October 23, Race 8 & 9] In Race 8, AmericaOne defeated Aloha’s Abracadabra (USA 54) by 1m 8s, and defeated Stars & Stripes in Race 9 by 1 minute.

“Our first race of the day was great,” said AmericaOne Tactician John Kostecki. “Each day we are learning more about our boats, our team and further raising the level of our boat speed.” Star’s & Stripes fouled AmericaOne in a pre-start maneuver. The umpires tagged Team Dennis Conner with a penalty for colliding with AmericaOne’s transom in a misjudged duck below AmericaOne’s stern. Although seriously damaged, the AmericaOne Team cautiously sailed the course and finished ahead of Stars & Stripes by 1 minute.

The international jury granted AmericaOne’s request for time to effect repairs to the transom. AmericaOne’s matches were rescheduled for Thursday, October 28.

[October 28, Race 10 & 11] AmericaOne defeated Young Australia (AUS 29) by 1m 32s, and withdrew in the final race against Pact 2000’s Young America (USA 53).

“We suffered some damage to our mast before the first race against Young Australia. We tried to repair it in between the two races, but six minutes before the warning signal we knew that we weren’t able to complete the race with the damage.

“Actually, it has come time to show up at the starting line ready to sail,” said Cayard. “If you have damage and you breakdown, you’re probably not ready to race.”

The AmericaOne Team is looking forward to the next round of racing. “You look at where Prada is at this point,” said Mainsheet Trimmer Terry Hutchinson. “They’re basically two years ahead of us in sailing time. If we can go out with three months of sailing time and and only lose to them by 12 seconds, then that’s great news for us.”

Final Scores Round Robin 1:

Prada /10 points

AmericaOne /8 points

Young America /8 points

America True /6 points

Abracadabra 2000 /4 points

Nippon Challenge /5.5 points

Spanish Challenge /5 points

Stars & Stripes /4.5 points

Le Defi Francais /2 points

Young Australia /1 point

FAST2000 /0 points

Round Robin 1 Sailing Crew: Bill Bates of San Diego, CA, mast/sewer; Josh Belsky of Hood River, OR, pit; Curtis Blewett of Los Angeles, CA, bow; Gavin Brady of Annapolis, MD, runner; Paul Cayard of Kentfield, CA, helmsman; Sean Clarkson of Middletown, RI, main assist; Lexi Gahagan of Wilmington, DE, navigator; Terry Hutchinson of Annapolis, MD, mainsheet; John Kostecki of Fairfax, CA, tactician; David McClintock of Portsmouth, RI, upwind trim; Bruce Nelson of San Diego, CA, traveler; Jim Nicholas of San Diego, CA, grinder; Greg Prussia of Oroville, CA, bow; Russ Silvestri of San Francisco, CA, downwind trim; Ralph Steitz of Port Washington, NY, mid bow; Phil Trinter of Lorain, OH, grinder; Morgan Trubovich of Newport, RI, downwind trim; Matt Welling of Bay Shore, NY, grinder; Mike Howard, Malibu, CA, grinder.

17th crew sailing aboard USA 49 in Round Robin 1:

Race 1, St. Francis Yacht Club member and AmericaOne supporter Larry Finch, San Francisco, CA; Race 2, St. Francis Yacht Club Commodore Monroe J. Wingate, San Francisco, CA; Race 3, United Airlines Mileage Plus Auction winner Ted Springstead, Port Townsend, WA; Race 4, St. Francis Yacht Club Vice Commodore Bruce Munro, San Francisco, CA; Race 5, bye, Race 6, David Pensky; Race 7, Hewlett-Packard Design Challenge Winner Terrel Silvers, Iowa Park, TX; Race 8, Michael Herlick, Wellington, NZ; Race 9, Kerry Dobbs, Auckland, NZ; Race 10, James Allison, Auckland, NZ; Race 11 not completed.

About the Louis Vuitton Cup, Round Robin 2 Round Robin 2 of the Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger’s Series is scheduled for November 6-18, 1999, with one race scheduled per day. There are three reserve days.

With Auckland’s summer season and its related weather patterns coming on full blast in November, spectators can plan on another Round Robin full of thrilling racing. Every race counts, but with the value increasing to 4 points per win in round robin 2, the stakes will be higher for each syndicate. Stay tuned for some exciting racing come November 6.

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CAYARD GUIDES AMERICAONE TEAM TO 8TH WIN TO CLOSE ROUND ROBBIN 1

Highlight Match Turns Out To Be Uneventful

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, October 28, 1999 – AmericaOne, the San Francisco-based St. Francis Yacht Club’s America’s Cup 2000 challenger, competed in the last day of Round Robin 1 races for the Louis Vuitton Cup taking their 8th win in the first match of the day. During the morning races, AmericaOne defeated Young Australia (AUS 29) by 1m 32s. In Race 11, the final match of the round, also anticipated as being one of the most exciting races of the series, AmericaOne struggled with mast and sail problems which resulted in an uneventful loss to Young America’s Pact 2000 (USA 53). AmericaOne’s final racing scores for the series were 10 races with 8 wins, placing the team in second place overall behind Prada (10 points) and tied with Pact 2000 (8 Points).

The weather conditions for the day were ideal for some potentially captivating racing as wind conditions ranged upwards of 15+ knots — white caps and swells prevailed. Although Young Australia won the pre-start of Race 10 by 1s, AmericaOne favored the left side of the course and rounded the top mark first with a 53s lead. At the second leeward mark, AmericaOne Bowman Curtis Blewett was sent up the mast to try to effect a repair to damage incurred moments prior to the start. Blewett worked quickly to make the necessary repairs above the jumper spreaders, limiting the damage.

For the last race of the series, AmericaOne raced Young America, both teams having suffered a loss to Prada earlier in the series. The damage from the first race proliferated and AmericaOne was forced to drop the mainsail. At the start of the race, under jib only, AmericaOne crossed the line 51s behind Young America with Bowman Curtis Blewett still clinging to the mast in strong weather conditions. AmericaOne fought a losing battle and retired after sailing past the leeward mark, unable to overcome their equipment failure. Despite having flown a protest flag for the duration of the race, AmericaOne did not seek redress.

“It was good to get back on the race course following the last few days of repairs made to the boat,” remarks AmericaOne Tactician John Kostecki. “Although we were unable to compete in the 2nd race against Young America due to a breakdown, we learned what our strengths and weaknesses are to further move our program forward.”

Both of the races AmericaOne sailed today were originally scheduled for last Sunday, but as a result of the collision with Stars & Stripes in race 9, AmericaOne was granted a delay to fix USA 49 and complete the final racing of Round Robin 1 today.

Race 10 & 11 Starting Line-Up: Curtis Blewett of Los Angeles, CA, bow; Ralf Steitz of Port Washington, NY, mid bow; Bill Bates of San Diego, CA, mast/sewer; Josh Belsky of Hood River, OR, pit; Phil Trinter of Lorain, OH, grinder; Mike Howard of Malibu, CA, grinder; Matt Welling of Bay Shore, NY, grinder; David McClintock of Portsmouth, RI, upwind trim; Morgan Trubovich of Newport, RI downwind trim; Gavin Brady of Annapolis, MD, runner; Paul Cayard of Kentfield, CA, helmsman; John Kostecki of Fairfax, CA, tactician; Bruce Nelson of San Diego, CA, traveler; Terry Hutchinson of Annapolis, MD, mainsheet; Sean Clarkson of Middletown, RI, main assist, and Lexi Gahagan of Wilmington, DE, navigator. The 17th crew person for Race 10 was James Alison of Auckland, NZ.

Final Scores To Date:

Prada /10 points

AmericaOne /8 points

Young America /8 points

America True /6 points

Abracadabra 2000 /4 points

Nippon Challenge /5.5 points

Spanish Challenge /5 points

Stars & Stripes /4.5 points

Le Defi Francais /2 points

Young Australia /1 point

FAST2000 /0 points

Round Robin 2 This second round will commence on November 4, 1999. Round Robin 2 each of the 11 Challengers from seven nations will race each other one time – the winner receiving 4 points per race.

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STRONG WINDS CONCLUDE ROUND ROBIN ONE . . . ALMOST!

The Louis Vuitton Cup First Round Robin limped to a curious finish today in what proved to be the strongest sailing weather of the series so far. As the Hauraki Gulf delivered steady 20-knot breezes from the Northeast, only two of the eight scheduled matches were real races. In the others, at least one boat did not start or did not finish.

All racing is now complete, with the exception of AmericaOne’s matches against Young America and Young Australia 2000, both of which will be sailed tomorrow.

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AmericaOne Racing Is Further Delayed

The possibilities of further delays to Louis Vuitton Cup racing loomed large in Auckland today, with less than 24 hours to go to the already-postponed final day of racing in Round Robin One.

By day’s end, AmericaOne’s races against Young America and Young Australia 2000 had been postponed to Thursday. And weather watchers were studying the advance of an approaching cold front that threatened to wash out racing on Wednesday with winds of 20-30 knots.

The Race Committee will make a decision on any possible weather delay at 0630 hours Auckland time on Wednesday morning.

This afternoon the International Jury granted the AmericaOne syndicate an additional 24 hours to complete repairs to its boat, damaged in a collision last Saturday. The jury acted after the Measurers reported that repairs, which have already consumed three days, were only 50 per cent complete this morning.

In an added twist, the Swiss FAST 2000 syndicate announced that it will not sail tomorrow because repairs to its boat be hAPpy will not be completed in time. However, if racing is delayed tomorrow, it will probably race on Thursday.

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