Americas Cup Jubilee Round the Island Race

The UBS Jubilee Race Around the Island celebrating the Jubilee of the America's Cup started off the Royal Yacht Squadron's starting line in Cowes today in ideal conditions. Thousands of spectators ashore and thousands more afloat watched as 201 boats representing more than a 100 years of yachting history departed Cowes on the 60-mile race around the Isle of Wight first made famous by the schooner yacht America 150 years ago tomorrow.

A six to eight knot southerly breeze and bright sunshine with a forecast of more breeze later promised a speedy circumnavigation for the fastest boats. As the fleet cleared the line, it was boosted by a strong flood tide running at four knots that would carry even the slowest boat to the eastern end of the Isle of Wight in quick order.

Riding those ideal sailing conditions, Gianni Agnelli`s Frers-designed sloop Stealth, steered by America's Cup skipper Kenny Read, took line honours in the marquee race of the Jubilee.

"Awesome. There's no other word for it," said an elated Kenny Read. "It felt like we were in the Mediterranean today. Fantastic sailing conditions, and the boat was fast."

On a day that was as much a tribute to history as a serious sailing race, Stealth's finishing time of 4 hours, 48 minutes, 9 seconds was less than half the 10 hours and 35 minutes that it took America to circumnavigate the Isle of Wight in 1851.

Far and away the most exciting finish on the water today came in the America's Cup Class. New kids on the block, the GBR Challenge, burst away from the starting line and rode that lead for much of the course. GBR-52 was 400-metres to the good when the boats first appeared at Yarmouth, but on the final stretch to the Royal Yacht Squadron finishing line, a spinnaker pole problem aboard the British boat allowed the Prada Challenge with Luna Rossa to close the gap.

The boats approached the line neck and neck, before a final gybe to make it inside the finishing buoy cost the British team the lead. Luna Rossa beat GBR-52 by two seconds on a five-hour race on the water, but the British boat had cried foul, claiming in a protest that the Italian boat had luffed the English boat into a dangerous exclusion zone, compromising their final approach to the finish.

"The feeling on board at the end was pretty deflated to be honest," said helmsman and sailing manager for the British team, Ian Walker. "We'd sailed such a great race for 99 per cent of the course but, on the other hand, to have so many people witness what turned out to be a such a fantastic race is great for the sport, great for the America's Cup and great for Peter Harrison's GBR Challenge."

After a hearing, the International Jury agreed with the GBR Challenge, and upheld the protest. The winner of the race becomes the GBR Challenge, Prada's final penalty has yet to be determined.

One of the most interesting aspects of the race in the America's Cup Class came from the third place finisher, NZL-32. With Team New Zealand back on Black Magic, they were able to push their 1995-generation stallion to finish just 10-seconds behind the winning Italian boat, an incredible achievement on a 55-mile race. If that's a sign of things to come in the 2003 America's Cup, the challengers will have some work to do if they're to dethrone the current Cup holders.

When the 35 12-Metres took the start, they represented nearly a century of yachting History. But it was a latter-day icon who marched off with the silver.

Kiwi Russell Coutts, who enjoys the unique distinction of successfully defending the America's Cup for New Zealand 18 months ago and who is challenging his homeland with the Swiss Alinghi Challenge next time, was a clear winner with a margin of two minutes 34 seconds, after leading for three-quarters of the race. Coutts was sailing the Australian Twelve South Australia, with his Alinghi syndicate backer and head Ernesto Bertarelli as navigator.

But for a lobster pot buoy that snagged John Bertrand's "little white pointer" Australia II, the result might have been different. The Aussie boat with the winged keel that changed the course of yachting history when it broke the American stranglehold on the Cup in 1983, is racing this week with her original crew and their famous syndicate head Alan Bond was on board today too.

The last to start were the three J-Class yachts and the 23-Metre Cambria. The Aussies sailing Cambria made another of their classic weather end starts but it soon sagged off to leeward below its younger J-Class sisters. Lipton's old wooden Shamrock V, resplendent with green topsides set off with gold-colored winches and deck fittings, also started well. For the third time in three days, the green boat dominated the early going, putting Velsheda in her wake and maintaining a loose cover on Endeavour which was forced to sail lower, and hopefully faster, to get far enough ahead to cross Shamrock on port tack.

Endeavour led the fleet home, with Velsheda close behind. Shamrock V and Cambria trailed them across the finishing line. Full results for all classes are available online at www.americascupjubilee.com

More Information:

• YachtsandYachting.com America's Cup Jubilee Page