LITTLE AMERICA'S CUP
While the temperatures dropped on Narragansett Bay, action on the race
course heated up as competition for the International Catamaran Challenge
Trophy (ICCT) resumed today after yesterday's planned lay day. The
Challenger (Italy's Daniele Saragoni and crew Teo Di Battista, representing
Club Nautico Rimini) and the Defender (John Lovell of New Orleans, La., and
crew Charlie Ogletree of Houston, Texas, representing Southern Yacht Club)
faced each other on a windward-leeward course (three times around) for three
matches in breeze upwards of 23 knots with temperatures hovering in the low
60s.
In race one Lovell and Ogletree were in the lead only to hook the windward
mark, which allowed Saragoni and Di Battista to pass them and get on the
scoreboard with the first win. In the second race, the Americans held the
lead until the second downwind leg when, with the spinnaker out, they hit a
wave and capsized, opening the door for the Italians to pass them on their
way to the finish line.
In race three, Lovell and Ogletree capsized on the starting line and despite
getting their cat back up quickly, the time elapsed was enough to give a
half leg lead to the Italians who had sustained a pre-start penalty which
they performed on the first leg. Showing plenty of determination, Lovell and
Ogletree ran them down in the puffy and shifty conditions to win their first
race of the day. The final two races of the day saw even starts
with both boats jockeying upwind. The Americans were around each mark first,
albeit with the Italians right on them. In both instances, Saragoni and Di
Battista crossed the line only 10-15 seconds behind Lovell and
Ogletree, who ended the day 3-2.
The winner of the International Catamaran Challenge Trophy will be
determined tomorrow when the final two races are sailed in this best
four-out-of-seven series between the Defender and Challenger. - Media Pro
Int'l, www.icct2003.org or www.littleamericascup2003.org