Editorial: Pray for a fair wind and faster boat

We have waited the best part of three years for this day. All the imponderables, all the conjecture about the black boat, its new crew and the calibre of the challenge, always brought just one truthful answer: "We will not know until some time after the starter's gun on February 15, 2003."

Wind permitting, we will find out today, possibly very soon after the gun. Around the country the normally sedate sport of yachting will have television audiences holding their breath if New Zealand and Alinghi go bow to bow off the line. On the evidence of the racing so far, the America's Cup may be all but decided at the first cross, the first mark, or, at the latest, after the first run downwind. All the planning, all the money, all the design work, training, testing, talking, travelling and tension comes to a moment of truth this afternoon, weather permitting.

There are still many who consider the whole business a colossal waste of money, which it is for anyone who believes that surplus wealth should be commandeered for mundane public consumption. They would have objected in the Middle Ages to the construction of elaborate cathedrals or to the money lavished on fine art collections. The America's Cup might not leave much for posterity - though Auckland's Viaduct Harbour has an enduring appeal - but much like the extravagances of old it represents the idea that life is more than economics. The cup has enriched the life of New Zealand to a greater degree than can be measured in spinoff activity, which is an economically dubious measurement in any event.

The cup is a source of pride, pleasure, national promotion and popular dissension. Who could deny the dissension this time? Just about everybody has a view on the conduct of New Zealanders who lead the Swiss challenge today.

The argument, for all its heat, has been somewhat academic to this point because New Zealanders, whatever their view of the defectors, have been confident that the black boat will keep the cup. If, heaven forbid, Alinghi should win today, the issue will cease to be academic. Resentment could run higher than we have yet heard.

For the moment, confidence remains, greatly assisted by the generally acclaimed hull appendage which will increase the defending craft's waterline and thus its speed in a good breeze. Team New Zealand insists the "hula" is not necessarily a match-winner. Most observers seem to think it is.

The crew of the black boat have something else working for them, though. They have a greater hometown advantage than perhaps any defender in the long history of the cup. For that they have to thank the defections of the previous defenders. The new young crew, mostly untested in the America's Cup, carry the hopes of every loyal New Zealander as they set out to defeat the heroes of yesteryear.

They read yesterday that Russell Coutts thinks the event would be better held in Europe. He knows how to rub salt in the wound and he will also know the extra motivation it provides.

The "loyal" campaign has unnerved the challenger, particularly the Swiss members of it. Like most post-war Europeans they are disturbed by overt displays of nationalism, such as the dark line-up of prominent New Zealanders in the television advertisement. It does not help that they have witnessed the abuse of the renegades at their helm.

But all that can be put behind us today. When the gun goes, the talking is over. The start will be intense and the spectacle magnificent. Let's hope for a fair wind and a faster boat. And if that means the contest becomes a foregone conclusion at the first cross, so much the better. To be honest, we don't really want a good match. We want to keep the cup.

nzherald.co.nz/americascup

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