Prada rallies, tops OneWorld

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Italy's Prada syndicate roared back yesterday, delivering a stunning defeat to Seattle's OneWorld sailors in an unforgiving day of high-stakes yacht racing and foul weather on the Hauraki Gulf.

Volatile winds, rain showers, and a misty fog resulted in a string of tactical gambles by both sides in the semifinal race of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series.

OneWorld's bright blue vessel hung onto the lead throughout most of the 18-mile course. But on the fifth leg, OneWorld failed to keep a close cover on Prada, which caught a favorable wind shift and sped ahead, winning easily by 20 seconds.

"In retrospect, what we did was clearly a mistake," said OneWorld tactician Charlie McKee.

"We had so many opportunities in the last couple of days," Prada tactician Torbin Grael said. "It was good to be able to grab one of them."

The victory gives the Italian syndicate a one-point lead over OneWorld in the best-of-seven series. On Monday, OneWorld beat Prada in a harrowing race marked by frequent lead changes and gear failure.

But that first semifinal victory was nullified by a penalty. Sunday, an arbitration panel docked OneWorld one race point because of its technical violations of America's Cup rules that forbid the possession of design-related data developed by rival syndicates.

OneWorld's loss to Prada was one of two semifinal races in which American-based syndicates lost to foreign teams. The Swiss Alinghi team carved out a 29-second victory over San Francisco-based Oracle BMW Racing. In that race, Alinghi took an early lead and played cat-and-mouse, carefully positioning itself between Oracle and the next mark.

More than 200 spectator boats watched as OneWorld and Prada entered the starting box in light, 8-knot winds. The silver-and-red hull of Prada circled OneWorld like a shark, but OneWorld helmsman James Spithill grabbed the windward edge of the course — crossing the starting line a full second before Prada.

Accelerating up the course, OneWorld showed a slight speed advantage. But wind shifts of up to 10 degrees allowed Prada to close the gap. Rounding the first mark, OneWorld was ahead by 21 seconds and led by 37 seconds after the fourth mark and by five boat-lengths drag racing up the last windward leg.

But OneWorld allowed Prada to hug the left side of the course about a half mile away. The wind shifted yet again, enabling Prada to retake the lead. Prada rounded the fifth buoy, 28 seconds ahead.

Raising its pink-tinged spinnaker, Prada expanded its lead to six boat-lengths. OneWorld desperately strained to catch up, but couldn't find enough juice. Prada crossed the finish line 20 seconds ahead.

"I can't help but feel for the guys today. They must feel pretty low to be in the lead and seemingly gamble it away," said Arthur Spithill, the helmsman's father. "But they'll put that behind them."