Yachting: Americans driven on to rocks by winds

By SUZANNE McFADDEN

What do you do when you cannot sail on the Hauraki Gulf because it is too dangerous?

If you are AmericaOne trimmer Morgan Larson, you do something more cautious - such as rock climbing and go-karting.

It was the first day of the America's Cup challenger finals, but it was the worst day for sailing.

Race director Vince Cooke called it a "boat-breaking day" - with strong winds and big swells so like the day in March, 1995, when OneAustralia snapped and sunk.

So at 10 am, Cooke got the agreement of both AmericaOne and Prada to call it day - and the crews gained an extra day off.

Rather than be disappointed or frustrated that the boats could not finally get off the dock and race, the sailors saw it as a bit of a bonus.

"A day like that is like finding a $100 bill in the pocket of a jacket you haven't worn for a while," said Larson. "It's a bonus day off.

"There's nothing you can do about the weather, and there's nothing more you can do to the boats, because we're all ready to race."

So Larson, AmericaOne's man up the mast, took some of his crewmates to scale a rock face then race go-karts to get their adrenalin fix for the day - even though they have been advised by the syndicate not to have injury-threatening hobbies.

The Prada men were not restful either, many of them going surfing and playing squash.

Cooke took the afternoon off after a difficult morning monitoring the weather.

With the wind averaging 24 knots - well above the 18-knot starting limit - and 2m waves out on the gulf course, all parties agreed it was not worth risking the boats, or the crews, on day one.

"It was the worst day possible," Cooke said. "I remember another day like this early in round two, when the chase boats went vertical trying to ride over waves.

"It's exactly the same conditions as 95' when the sea state broke up John Bertrand's boat. That was a compelling reason to call it off."

Lay days have been built into this best-of-nine series, so it means there will no longer be a day off on Friday. If the weather is kind, the next rest day is Monday, when there will be no racing regardless because the harbour will be filled with other race boats for the Auckland Anniversary Day regatta.