Three-nil. What can Team NZ do?

By HELEN TUNNAH

Team New Zealand have not ruled out crew changes as the winless America's Cup holders try to work out how to defy America's Cup history and recover from being 3-0 down.

Challenging skipper Russell Coutts extended his unbeaten winning streak in the America's Cup to 12 races yesterday, giving Alinghi their point.

They now need only two more wins to take the trophy to Europe.

Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker confessed that his sailing team made another costly tactical blunder in yesterday's race, effectively handing the win to the Swiss team before they crossed the starting line.

His weather team told the New Zealanders to try to take the right-hand start of the side line, but Barker said "confusion" meant the sailors elected to stick to the left.

It was the wrong decision.

Alinghi, under the guidance of Coutts and tactician Brad Butterworth, received the same message from their weather scouts and changed their plans two minutes before the start.

Alinghi went to the line on the right side, picked up a favourable windshift and streaked away.

The Swiss boat led all the way and crossed the finish line 23 seconds ahead.

Barker said last night he was very happy with his sailing team.

But he did not rule out changes, including putting syndicate head and chief designer Tom Schnackenberg on the boat.

"Never say never," he said.

"We don't think we're doing anything particularly badly. We're happy with the way we're sailing.

"I've got absolutely no problems with any of the guys who are on the boat.

"Things just haven't gone our way."

If he was told he was no longer the right person to be skipper, "I'd be more than happy to live by that".

Observers say the crew are sailing the boat well.

But Barker yesterday admitted there was "confusion" in the afterguard, where the race tactics and strategies are decided.

He suggested the weather team were not clear in their call, and said it could be difficult to fix on a decision with advice from extra people on the boat before the race.

Barker has also admitted a tactical mistake by the crew led to the loss of Sunday's second race by 7 seconds.

After yesterday's decisive performance commentators were heaping praise on Coutts, who has never lost an America's Cup race.

Butterworth has 13 wins in a row.

Several of their crew also sailed with Team New Zealand in their unbeaten 1995 and 2000 cup campaigns.

Yachting New Zealand's high-performance manager, Peter Lester, said it was very difficult to beat the best in the world.

"They are the best. Russell Coutts is the best sailor this country has ever produced.

"Look at his track record."

Lester said that for Team New Zealand to hold the America's Cup, something had to change - either in the style of sailing or in the personnel on the boat.

Lester said he believed Team New Zealand were committed to Barker, and he should stay.

But it might be time to change some of the combinations in the afterguard by switching roles or bringing on some older hands from the camp, such as Tom Dodson or Joey Allen.

Former Team New Zealand and Prada designer Doug Peterson was optimistic the New Zealanders could fight back.

He said 3-0 was not terminal, but the crew would have to sail as well as they could.

It seemed the new hull appendage, the hula, and other innovations on the boat might not have made it the "rocket ship" expected.

Former America's Cup skipper Dawn Riley also wondered if the hula had given the New Zealanders the advantage expected.

She said coming back from 0-3 down would be hard, but it was not impossible.

"Four-nil down, pyschologically it's really difficult.

"Three-nil, they just have to win five races before the other guys win two. I really had expected the hula to be a huge advantage, otherwise why would you bother?"

Former America's Cup winner Dennis Conner, asked on radio if Team NZ could win, replied: "God willing ... God is a Kiwi and we can come back out of this."

OneWorld skipper Peter Gilmour said yesterday the New Zealanders were now in a tough hole.

"They're in a spiral. I don't see anyone on board who's digging them out of it."

Barker said things were not as critical as they seemed.

"I don't think it's as bad as a lot of people think.

"Things haven't changed for us - we have to win five races still. It's frustrating not to get a point on the board.

"We've made two mistakes. That's two mistakes too many and that's cost us the points."

He said the team felt if they went out in tomorrow's fourth race and sailed as well as they had yesterday, the result might be completely different.


nzherald.co.nz/americascup

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