Yachting: Defi-nitely moment to celebrate

Le DefiBy SUZANNE McFADDEN

Romain Trouble now has a goal to equal the feats of his father in the America's Cup.

The bowman on board Le Defi France went some way towards that yesterday when his team finally secured the last spot in the Louis Vuitton Cup semifinals, sailing safely around the Hauraki Gulf course alone.

Trouble was five years old when his dad, Bruno, drove France 3 to the finals of the 1983 challenger series off Newport.

"We've made the top six, now we have to make the top two so I can be like my father," a sopping wet Trouble said after scrambling out of chilly waters in the Viaduct Harbour.

It was his father, director of the cup's media centre, who brought the champagne to the celebrations as Sixieme Sens docked.

The crew were a little solemn on the tow home, but that was understandable. It had been an agonising three-day wait before they could sail the 18 nautical-mile course solo to collect their nine points - and their semifinal spot had been virtually guaranteed when America True decided on Monday to forfeit the race.

"We were quite nervous before the race, even though we were alone," Romain Trouble said.

"Anything could have happened. But there were no strange noises and nothing went wrong. We tried to race the boat like any other race day, but we could start talking about the next round."

After a rowdy welcome home from their families and shore crew, who had spray-painted their heads orange, most of the crew were ceremoniously tossed into the harbour - skipper Bertrand Pace breaking the ice in a spectacular dive off the bow.

Pace said he had spared a thought for Young America, the team who were denied a top-six berth by the French walkover win.

Both the French and the crestfallen Young America crew, who failed to survive the cut, agreed to pull the plug on their last race today, which would have had no bearing on the final standings.

Today the six remaining teams, from 11 starters, can begin making changes to their boats for the semifinals, which start on January 2.