Wednesday's defeat must have shaken the team awake. On Thursday, Alinghi won with Jochen Schümann from Penzberg at the helm after the most exciting match to date at the Moet Cup off San Francisco - albeit by a narrow margin.
In the morning, the race committee had surprisingly announced that the 4th match, which had actually already been sailed on Wednesday, would have to be repeated. As a result, Alinghi did not go onto the course with a 3:1 deficit, as reported yesterday, but only with a 2:1.
A wrong decision in the pre-start phase led to the cancellation and restart of the pro race on Wednesday. A spectator boat had crossed the starting box just ahead of Alinghi and Oracle BMW. As a later analysis showed that there was apparently no compelling reason for the restart, which Gavin Brady won, the umpires decided to cancel the race. It will be rescheduled for Friday or Saturday.
This reduced the lead of the US team led by Oracle founder Larry Ellison. Oracle BMW could actually have won the best-of-seven series and thus the first Moet Cup in history on Thursday. But now everything is open again. It was initially unclear on Thursday afternoon whether a protest by the Swiss team or better judgement by the referees led to the decision.
Alinghi made the best of the changed starting position. In much lighter winds from the west (12 to 15 knots), Jochen Schümann and his afterguard were more determined.
Coming from starboard, they use their right of way advantage and force a dial-up. After several pirouettes, both boats approach the line sailing on port tack. While Alinghi manages to prevent an early start by tacking, Gavin Brady on board Oracle BMW decides to tack at the last moment, just 50 metres from the line. This should take him out of Alinghi's downwind cone.
The disadvantage of the late manoeuvre: when Brady returns to the old bow, he is to windward of SUI-64, but first has to pick up speed again. Jochen Schümann, on the other hand, steers the Swiss yacht across the line at full speed and about a length ahead. Perfect!
Even on the first cross, the three-time Olympic champion and reigning Cup champion, who is steering SUI-64 himself for the first time in a series, does not cover very tightly. Tactician Brad Butterworth obviously senses that the boat has more potential in these conditions than in the previous days, when it was blowing at up to 25 knots. By the middle of the first leg, Alinghi had extended its lead to over 70 metres, sailing a tad higher and faster than Oracle BMW.
Beyond Alcatraz, both boats stay on the port bow for a long time until the Americans turn away to the right. This costs them one more manoeuvre up to the windward mark and more time. At the first mark they are already 24 seconds behind.
Alinghi can't get away from the wind, but keeps the distance until the second buoy. Actually a comfortable situation. However, instead of covering consistently and relying on their speed advantage upwind, the Swiss risk too much.
On the second cross, they sail far out to the left, very close to the shore. You only do that in a match race if you are very confident. Dawn Riley, who is commentating the race from the Golden Gate Yacht Club, was surprised at the unconventional stroke: "I would get extremely nervous if I were that far away from my opponent," she says. At times, the distance to the side is several hundred metres.
Whatever may have prompted Brad Buttwerworth to adopt this tactic, it doesn't work.
As they approached the windward mark, it became clear that Oracle BMW had the better wind further out. And the US boys certainly have more experience in this extremely difficult area. This makes the Swiss decision all the more incomprehensible. When the courses of the two cuppers cross again for the first time 300 metres before the buoy, Alinghi is astern and downwind of USA-76.
The gap before the second and final downwind gear is ten seconds. Enough to strike back. And that's exactly what the Swiss are trying to do. After the matches on Wednesday were one-sided and unspectacular, the tension in the fifth encounter in the Pro Driver series has now risen to thriller level.
Jochen Schümann skilfully covers Oracle BMW from astern and manages to overrun the Ellison crew on the first half of the leg. Gavin Brady tries to counterattack and tries to luff Alinghi up. But he earns himself a penalty when he touches the opposing boat with his spinnaker.
It is the preliminary decision.
This is because Alinghi can no longer be forced into an in-fight, which could have ended in a penalty for the Swiss. Even when a freighter passes between the rivals and the leeward buoy, Brad Butterworth keeps an overview - and the lead.
SUI-64 goes into the last cross with a good length advantage and from then on leaves nothing to chance. Unlike before, Jochen Schümann now consistently covers until the finish in front of the Golden Gate Yacht Club, where several thousand spectators are watching the best match of the series so far. Because the US team has to sail a penalty circle, the race ends for Alinghi with a 41-second lead.
As Oracle BMW skipper Chris Dickson said on Wednesday after two unchallenged victories: "It was a lot of work and we never felt like we could get comfortable."
That was obviously no exaggeration. At least in light winds, Alinghi seems to have regained its former strength. Because late in the afternoon, Ernesto Bertarelli also won his race against Larry Ellison.
Moet Cup standings after 4 of 7 races in the Pro Series:
Alinghi: 1 0 0 1
Oracle BMW: 0 1 1 0
Background: At the Moet Cup, owner and professional regattas are sailed in parallel. In the so-called owner-driver series (best-of-five), Larry Ellison and Ernesto Bertarelli himself are at the helm. However, only the pro-driver races (best-of-seven) are decisive for victory in the Moet Cup.
The series ends on Saturday afternoon and is the start of a whole series of events designed to shorten the wait until the next America's Cup in 2008. Next event: June 2004 in Newport, Rhode Island.
Jochen Rieker
Herausgeber YACHT
