Good day for GBR

As Harrison's troops pick off the tricky Swedes

Keith Taylor reports on Stars & Stripes win over Mascalzone Latino

Team Dennis Conner’s Stars & Stripes won its Louis Vuitton Cup match race today against the Italian America’s Cup challenger Mascalzone Latino.

Sailing on the Hauraki Gulf in the opening Round Robin of the four month-long series to decide a challenger for the America’s Cup, the blue boat representing the New York Yacht Club led at the start and at every mark of the 18.5-mile windward-leeward course.

Skippered by Ken Read, from Newport, RI, Stars & Stripes is one of three American boats among the nine syndicates fighting for the right to challenge America’s Cup defender Team New Zealand. Mascalzone Latino, carrying the colors of the Reale Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia, was steered by Paolo Cian.

At the gun, Read drove the American boat across the starting line 11 seconds ahead of the Italians who bounced back and attacked vigorously. At times Mascalzone Latino enjoyed a small lead in the very shifty ten to 14-knot southwesterly breeze. Seventeen minutes after the start and about half way up the first leg, Stars & Stripes crossed tacks clear ahead of her opponent and began pulling away. The American boat extended on most other legs to finish 500 yards and one minute 36 seconds ahead.

“Today we picked up on a big shift during the starting sequence and turned it to our advantage,” said Read. “Yesterday we weren't so clever. Today the crew did a great job of trimming the sails and we had a very solid jump on the other boat right at the start. The conditions were brutal out there – the water was flat but the wind was shifting with little pattern or reason. For that reason we elected to keep a reasonably tight cover on the Italians throughout the race.”

The crew of Stars & Stripes today was: Vince Brun, Wally Henry, Peter Isler, Brian Terhaar and Bill Trenkle, from San Diego, CA; Chuck Brown, Jerry Kirby, Rob Myles, Ken Read and Tony Rey, from Newport, RI; Chris Kam, Stonington, CT; Tom Whidden, Essex, CT; Terry Hutchinson and Morgan Trubovich, Annapolis, MD; Dave Calverley, Tampa, FL and Larry Mialik, Madison, WI. The 17th man was Stars & Stripes supporter James Benenson III.