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3-March 2000 |
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3-March 2000 |
New Zealand rule the waves FROM EDWARD GORMAN, SAILING CORRESPONDENT, IN AUCKLAND A NEW chapter was written in the 149-year history of the America's Cup yesterday when Team New Zealand shut out Prada to complete a 5-0 whitewash of the Italian challenger. In doing so, they became the first team outside the United States to defend successfully international sport's oldest trophy. The comprehensive destruction of Prada, exposed as neither technically nor tactically a match for the Kiwis, was followed by wild celebrations across New Zealand as Russell Coutts and his team reaffirmed their status as the best keelboat and match- racing sailors in the world. On a remarkable day, perhaps nothing was m?re impressive than the unprecedented decision by Coutts, the skipper, to stand aside to allow the young pretender in Team New Zealand, Dean Barker, his first taste of America's Cup racing. Coutts had made several less significant crew rotations during the series but few expected that he would substitute himself. But it is a measure of the man that he was prepared to share the glory with Barker as part of his strategy of "blooding" new talent for New Zealand's next defence, which, it was confirmed yesterday, will take place in March 2003. For Barker, the 26-year-old tune-up helmsman who shot to No 5 in the world match-racing rankings last year, this was an enormous opportunity, yet also a daunting challenge to come into the series cold with the score at 4-0. In the event, Coutts's faith in the young man's abilities was not misplaced. Ably assisted by Brad Butterworth, the tactician who did not miss a windshift in five races, Barker produced NZL 60's most impressive starting sequence of the Cup. Showing expert control during a long dial-up sequence, he went on to outstrip the Italians outside the favoured starboard layline and set off up the beat 12 seconds ahead. It was another race that Team New Zealand controlled from the start and, for the tenth consecutive time in America's Cup racing, they were never headed at a single mark rounding. This was the only race of this weather-hit series when the breeze got up above 20 knots and when it did, NZL 60 again showed her devastating upwind speed. But she also flew downwind for the first time, revelling in the fresh conditions, eventually winning by 48 seconds. Barker, who joined Coutts on the podium as the Auld Mug was handed back to them amid emotional scenes in the Viaduct Basin, admitted to pre-race nervousness. "It's just hard to even find words to express the feeling," he told a packed press conference. "I was incredibly nervous before we started. It was a very difficult position going out there when we were 4-0 in front and knowing that if we lost I'd look a bit silly, so I was just trying to relax." Coutts, who watched the race from a support boat, was full of praise for the man who may eventually take over from him. "It wasn't a hard decision for me to put him on," he said. "I've been racing against this guy for four years now and I know his capabilities and he showed them to the world today. It was a tough situation to come into, yet he responded in the best possible way, which shows our strength." The financial, technical and human demands of defending the Cup are enormous, yet Team New Zealand have managed to maintain the advantage that they established at San Diego in 1995 and must be favourites already to retain the Cup at the next defence in three years' time. It seems certain that the full armoury of technical advances achieved with NZL 60 were not all brought into play during a series in which they were rarely tested by Prada. Indeed, Coutts hinted as much during an interview on the boat as it made its way back to the America's Cup village surrounded by thousands of spectator craft. "I'm quite happy for the opposition to go away wondering why we were so dominant in this series," he said. "It'll only get harder - next time it'll be a lot harder. Some of the challenger syndicates will come back with a vengeance, so any advantage we have now, we have to protect." There is no doubt that with Sir Peter Blake, the Team New Zealand head, now moving on to new projects, Coutts will play the key role in the next defence. He is already showing signs of being as doggedly determined to keep the Cup in 2003 as he is now. For Britain, which has not been at the Cup for four stagings of the event going back to 1987, the mountain to climb is huge. With a new challenger series set to start in the autumn of 2002, there is little time to put together a competitive campaign for the next Cup. |
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