America's Cup: Oracle sweeps OneWorld

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Seattle's One World Challenge dominated the first half of a difficult yacht race yesterday against San Francisco-based Oracle BMW Racing, but lost the match and surrendered its hopes in the America's Cup trials.

Oracle's black racing machine crossed the finish line 1 minute, 4 seconds ahead of OneWorld. Sailors on Oracle's boat exchanged handshakes, high fives and smiles. OneWorld's sailors looked as if they had been punched in the stomach.

OneWorld's fourth consecutive loss in the best-of-seven semifinals repechage series eliminated the Seattle team from the regatta. Oracle will represent the United States' hopes in the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series starting Jan. 11. Its opponent will be the Swiss Alinghi team.

OneWorld had come into the semifinal carrying a one-race penalty after it admitted to having secret information on the design of rival syndicates.

For the Seattle team, the loss was a heartbreaker. OneWorld won the start and led the race for the first three legs of the 18-mile course. But Oracle, which proved to be faster downwind, took the lead on the second downwind run and never gave it up.

"It sort of hits you pretty hard," said OneWorld helmsman James Spithill. "It's such a great team. You think you're going to go all the way. It'll be tough closing down at Christmas."

At times, OneWorld's blue-hulled USA-67 seemed to have the race locked up.

But the Hauraki Gulf's fickle winds did not cooperate. The OneWorld sailors chose one side of the course — a tactical gamble that may haunt them.

As the yachts were towed back into the Viaduct Basin after the race, both teams were given a hero's welcome. Thousands of fans lined the shore and cheered. Huge pleasure yachts blasted their horns.

At first, OneWorld's sailors stared blankly in stoic silence, then responded to the warm applause with waves of appreciation.

Yesterday's race was run in extremely tricky conditions: a light, shifty breeze. Some quadrants of the racecourse had big pockets of wind pressure, others had next to no fresh air at all.

OneWorld's starting ace, Spithill, won the start by 3 seconds, charging up the left side at full speed.

Oracle starting helmsman Peter Holmberg chose the windward, right side in the 10-knot breeze — a decision that would not pay off. OneWorld found stronger wind pressure on the left side and rounded the first turning buoy 59 seconds ahead.

Oracle skipper Chris Dickson attacked on the first downwind leg, reducing OneWorld's lead from 10 to five boat lengths and chipping a half-minute off OneWorld's lead.

On the second windward leg, the yachts tacked back and forth up the gulf — trying to capitalize on wind shifts. OneWorld expanded its lead to 10 boat lengths and rounded the third mark 48 seconds ahead.

But the Oracle team staged a major attack on the second downwind leg, surging ahead in big puffs of air until there was less than a boat length between them.

OneWorld's sailors allowed Oracle to pursue a separate course about two-thirds of a mile away. Oracle found strong winds there that pushed it ahead by six boat lengths, and rounded the fourth buoy 38 seconds ahead.

On the third windward leg, Oracle sailed conservatively and rounded the last buoy with a 41-second lead. Running downwind toward the finish line, Oracle stretched its lead to 13 boat lengths.

At a news conference the night before the final duel, OneWorld skipper Peter Gilmour said: "I sincerely believe that you haven't seen the best from us yet. And we'd like to showcase that for you."