Oracle on form

News from day one of the Il Moro Trophy of the aged IACC boats in San Fran

A spectacular San Francisco Bay day, blue sunny skies with the fog clearing over the Golden Gate around noon welcomed Day 1 of the Il Moro Trophy.

Racing got underway at 2:45pm in 10-12 knots of breeze, almost perfect conditions for these yachts.

NZL 14 quickly reached off to port to take the lead around Yellowbluff, closely followed by Oracle, Il Moro, Stars & Stripes, and NZL 20. NZL 20 blew her large kite just after the first rounding, leaving her with a small chute for the remainder of the race. This setback seemed to only temporarily impact her speed as she hoisted her small chute and soon caught up with the rest of the fleet.

NZL 14 took the lead into Racoon Straits but was soon passed by Oracle, with Il Moro close behind. Stars & Stripes sailed down Racoon Straits in 4th place, with NZL 20 close behind.

Oracle, sailing with her new BMW logos, rounded Southhampton Shoals and began building a solid lead that she held for the remainder of the race, finishing approximately 12 minutes ahead of the fleet. While the class of '92 yachts sailed a tight race for the most part, Ferrarese's wealth of experience at the helm paid off as NZL 14 took the lead in the last leg to create significant distance between NZL 14 and NZL 20, third over the line. My vote for 'talent of the day' goes to Karie Thomson, co-helmsperson on NZL 20. NZL 20 made up some serious ground after losing her big chute and Karie was behind the wheel.

That's it from America's Cup Media for the first day of the Il Moro Trophy Regatta. We're off to cocktails with the crew. Tune in tomorrow for results from Day 2.

RESULTS:
1st: ORACLE BMW Racing (USA 49), Larry Ellison
2nd: NZL 14, Roberto Ferrarese
3rd: NZL 20, David Thomson
4th: Il Moro (ITA-1), Peter Stoneberg
5th: Stars & Stripes (USA 11), John Sweeney