AMERICAONE ENDS ROUND ROBIN 2 WITH ANOTHER WIN
AmericaOne defeats Le Defi Francais in Race 6 Re-Match
AUCKLAND, New Zealand, November 20, 1999 – AmericaOne, the San Francisco-based St. Francis Yacht Club’s America’s Cup 2000 challenger, won its seventh race of Round Robin 2 against Le Defi Francais’s Sixieme Sens (FRA 46) by 00:48. Today’s race was a re-match from earlier in the week when Race 6 was postponed due to weather conditions.
An exciting pre-start dial-up ended with Le Defi Francais the victor, when Skipper Paul Cayard at the helm of AmericaOne was pushed underneath the starting line allowing the French to take the preferred left side of the course with a one boatlength lead. As the battle for the layline continued the boats remained close. Cayard and the AmericaOne Crew quickly minimized the loss and fought to regain the lead. The second windward leg was the turning point for USA 49 as it split from FRA 46 and gained a significant windshift. The outcome was grim for the Le Defi Francais, as the second downwind leg progressed, no passing lanes remained and AmericaOne held a healthy 100-meter lead.
“With such a competitive race, there was a lot of pressure on our crew not to make any mistakes,” remarked Gavin Brady, AmericaOne Navigator. “I think the deciding factor is that we had a slight edge in our boat speed and made some good calls to sail deep when we thought the dividends would pay.”
Immediately following the race, USA 49 met up with her sister boat USA 61 for a brief sea trial on the Hauraki Gulf. Two-boat testing for AmericaOne will officially begin on Monday, November 22, 1999.
Round Robin 3 will begin on December 2, 1999. The pairings for Round Robin 3 will be announced after the draw on Wednesday, November 30, 1999.
RR2/Race 11 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; Phil Trinter of Lorain, OH, grinder; Matt Welling of Bay Shore, NY, grinder; David McClintock of Portsmouth, RI, upwind trim; Carter Perrin of Houston, TX, downwind trim; Lexi Gahagan of Wilmington, DE, 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 Gavin Brady of Annapolis, MD, navigator. The 17th crew person was Ms. Suzanne McFadden. .
Final Scores To Date:
Prada /46 points
America True /38 points
Stars & Stripes /36.5 points
AmericaOne /36 points*
Nippon Challenge /29.5 points*
Young America / 25 points
Spanish Challenge /17 points*
Abracadabra 2000 /16 points*
Le Defi Francais /14 points*
Young Australia /9 points*
FAST2000 /8 points
*Today six teams sailed Race 6, which had been rescheduled due to insufficient wind earlier in the series.
Other Delta Results:
Nippon beat Young Australia – Delta 04:12
The Spanish Challenge beat Abracadabra – Delta 00:17
