Day perfect as crew sneak Chelsea off

By Suzanne McFadden

It's been a crazy fortnight for the America True crew. More than half the sailing team contracted severe food poisoning from their packed lunches and were kept off the water for most of last week.

After meeting President Bill Clinton last weekend, the crew took his daughter Chelsea out sailing on the Hauraki Gulf for an afternoon.

The special guest was sneaked on board without the world's media noticing, but got plenty of attention from the male members of the crew.

"The guys didn't know whether to flirt or be in awe of her," skipper Dawn Riley said. "It was a perfect day for her."

A day later, misfortune struck again when the new boat's mainsail broke in moderate winds.

America True are still rapt with their decision to come to Auckland early and sail in the unpredictable winter winds.

Until the end of August they had lost only six of 36 scheduled sailing days - and three of those were for no wind rather than too much.

Rival syndicates still have mixed feelings about the True's gamble.

Fellow San Francisco challenge, AmericaOne, chose to move not as far south - to Long Beach, California, where the winds blow a consistent 15-22 knots every day.

Said chief operating officer Bob Billingham: "We got in 60 great days of sailing in two months. It was one of the better strategic decisions we made.

"Dawn's days here can't have been that productive in the middle of winter."

But Le Defi head Pierre Mas believes the True's risk has paid off. "The decison they took in risking the Auckland winter weather is a master coup."