No Racing Today: It's 'Downright Nasty'

When one hears that the day's forecast is "downright nasty," does that mean the weather or the shenanigans ashore?

In this case, it's the weather. There will be no racing today (Friday in New Zealand). The Virtual Spectator reported: "The predicted weather is downright nasty with heavy seas and high winds expected."

Prada later confirmed that no boats would leave harbor. Winds were already 25 knots and building.

Sounds like a good time to hunker down with a good rule book.

This Just In: OneWorld 1, Prada 1

A semblance of order was restored to the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger trials when the America's Cup Arbitration Panel denied the Challenger of Record Management's request to award OneWorld's penalty point to its opponent in each of the remaining rounds.

That means that although OneWorld has won two of three from Italy's Prada in the semifinals, the score is 1-1, not 2-1 for Prada. The Seattle sailors must win three more races---five overall---to win the series and would sail an eighth race against Prada if needed.

In other words, all Prada has to do is split, 4-4.

The text of the clarification issued by the Arbitration Panel: "The penalty remains as stated in the decision, i.e. that OWC loses 1 point in each of the series. Thus in each case it starts the series on minus one. If that has the consequence that it is necessary for there to be an extra race, that extra race will be held."

The CORM's request, which would have greased the skids for OneWorld's exit, was made through trustee Dyer Jones of the New York YC. Nice try, Dyer.

Dickson Explains Everything

Chris Dickson was the man on the hot seat at the post-race conference Wednesday. He had a lot to explain---first, why he was driving and regular helmsman Peter Holmberg was a spectator; second, why Oracle BMW didn't cover Alinghi on the last upwind leg, giving up the lead and losing the race to go down 0-3; third, how'd he (ahem) blow the start?

Dickson said, "We went out there to achieve a few objectives and one of them was to look at our boat speed from difference perspectives and have different people look at different aspects of boat speed and we came out of today having learnt a bit more about our boat from that perspective it was a good day."

Dickson has been around. He knew that wouldn't satisfy the rabid media mob, but he was ready when they came back.

"We changed a number of things on the boat today---some visible, some not so visible."

"But," the journalists pressed on, "why did you decide to steer?"

Dickson: "I decided to steer today in consultation with [owner] Larry [Ellison] and for the reasons I have just said. We did not have the boat speed we would have liked to have had in the races so far and right now if we lose this week we have repechage opportunity. Next time we face Alinghi it will be sudden death. We know if we have to face them a month from now we have to look at our boat speed, we have to look at our positions and for me to have the opportunity to drive today and see relative boat speed from different angles is beneficial to the program."

Q: "Will you drive [Thursday] if there is a race?"

Dickson: "Maybe. We just take the decision day by day."

One thing that hadn't escaped attention was Holmberg's tenacity and skill in the starts. With Dickson driving, Oracle BMW was buried by Russell Coutts directly abeam to leeward at the gun.

Dickson: "I thought Alinghi were close to the line but not as close as I hoped they might have been."

And the reason Oracle BMW failed to cover?

Dickson: "[Strategist] Murray [Jones] and the Alinghi team did a great job and were right there to capitalize when we did open the door a bit for them."

Finally, someone lobbed this one out of left field: "With Paul Cayard [still exiled by Ellison] in town, would you ever consider having him back you up?"

Dickson: "No, Paul hasn’t been around sailing [with Oracle BMW] and, no, that’s not part of things."

Every Raincloud Has a Silver Lining

It was about a 13-degree wind shift, from 352 to 339 degrees, that did in Oracle BMW, which allowed Alinghi to escape so far to the left. The farther apart the boats are, the greater the effect of a shift.

Jones said, "We would have been happier if it had come earlier in the day. We had plenty of opportunities to take it, had it come earlier. Basically, there was some rain coming down from the left and towards the end we were hoping it would shift to the left with that rain. It did and it lasted long enough for us to cross them. I guess we were fortunate."

Dickson, apart from the press conference, also said, "The door's got to be open on one side or another and on the first beat luckily it was on our side and we took advantage of it. But on the last beat the door was open on Alinghi’s side. I’m sure they regret the first beat as much as we regret the last beat . . . but no, we regret the last beat more than them."

Prada Swallows Its Foul

The other match turned on Prada's foul against OneWorld at the first leeward mark where the Italians basically poked their nose in where it didn't belong. In two press releases, the Italians were straightforward and factual---in two languages!

The Prada account of the incident: "Luna Rossa surges down each wave and overtakes USA 67, who is now sailing in ITA 74's wind shadow. There is an overlap and Francesco de Angelis incurs a penalty, having sailed beyond the lay line and having thus gained a controlling position over USA 67. The umpires rule that Luna Rossa has infringed rule 17 (proper course) and display a red flag, meaning that ITA 74 has to do the penalty straightaway."

A boat that gains a significant advantage on a foul---in this case, Prada took over the lead---may be red-flagged to do its 270 right away, rather than anytime before the finish.

Skipper Francesco de Angelis explained: "At the end of the first downwind run we found ourselves in a very difficult tactical situation and we tried to get the maximum advantage out of it. Unfortunately, we had to pay a very high price. The fact of having been forced to complete the penalty turn immediately gave OneWorld the opportunity to take the lead and gain a good advantage right away. When you receive a penalty it is difficult to appreciate the umpires' perspective as opposed to what we see from aboard the boat. Obviously, in hindsight we can say we could have done something different."

Translation: "Al termine della prima poppa ci siamo trovati in una situazione tattica molto difficile da cui abbiamo cercato di trarre il massimo vantaggio. Purtroppo abbiamo dovuto pagare un alto prezzo. Il fatto di aver dovuto completare immediatamente il giro di penalità ha fatto sì che OneWorld si potesse portare subito in testa con un buon margine di vantaggio. Nel momento in cui si viene penalizzati è difficile valutare la prospettiva degli Umpire rispetto a quello che vediamo noi da bordo. Le decisioni vengono prese istantaneamente e la prospettiva può cambiare sensibilmente a seconda dei punti di vista. Certo, con il senno di poi magari avremmo potuto agire diversamente. Non ho ancora visto il referto arbitrale e analizzeremo questa sera i fatti".

The umpires who made the call were John Standley of Australia and Jan Stenge of Denmark.