Quotes of the Day- LVC Skippers Press Conference

by America's Cup Media on 14 May 2007
QUOTES OF THE DAY: SEMI FINALS LOUIS VUITTON CUP SKIPPERS PRESS CONFERENCE

Terry Hutchinson, Tactician, Emirates Team New Zealand,: on winning the starboard advantage for the first match: 'It’s a perceived advantage, but interestingly enough it might not be as much as you think it should be. I guess it is a little psychological edge, but you’ve seen a lot of guys crossing in front from the port end and that negates that yellow (starboard). It’s nice to have it, but you are very aware that blue (port) can do a very good job of getting out of it.'

Terry Hutchinson, Tactician, Emirates Team New Zealand,: on Karol Jablonski’s style: 'They have done some nice work of getting out of some difficult situations. It’s a very unique style and quite aggressive. We have seen them wiggle their way out of a lot of things. They are good at ad-libbing and that is a strength. We are prepared to expect the unexpected.'

Chris Dickson, Skipper, BMW ORACLE Racing,: on the tight action between BMW and Luna Rossa in the past: 'Rather than a step-up there might be a step-down in the game. There is no such thing as a gentle kiss - if the boats touch there is big damage, and someone will be going home; a boat will be disqualified from the race but also from the series. I don’t expect we will see boats crashing too often because it’s a one way trip down the slope.'

Chris Dickson, Skipper, BMW ORACLE Racing,: on whether he considers 98 the ‘most innovative boat’? 'When 87 was launched, she was incredibly innovative and 98 has moved on from there. Nothing stands still. Other teams have also made huge leaps. If you took any of the boats that were racing this week out to the start line against any of the top boats from the last AC in Auckland it would be 5-0 guaranteed. The new boats are several generations ahead, and this is consistent throughout history.'

James Spithill, Helmsman, Luna Ross Challenge,: on concentrating on one team instead of a whole fleet: 'On the one hand it is easier now since in the fleet there were a lot of different styles of sailing, boats, sails and the conditions. But on the other, both teams are now preparing at a higher level so I don’t think it will be any easier as a competition.'

James Spithill, Helmsman, Luna Ross Challenge,: on the ‘Aussie’ and ‘Kiwi’ rivalry between the two skippers: 'There has been some great rivalry over the years between Australian and New Zealand sport and it goes back to the ANZAC days and the wars. But it’s also a good relationship - I can’t comment too much because of the rugby results in the last few weeks! It’s a bit of fun there are a lot of Kiwis on the Oracle team too so there is friendly as well as fierce rivalry.'

Karol Jablonski, Helmsman, Desafío Español 2007,: on racing Emirates Team New Zealand, who they have never beaten before: 'For sure it is one of the biggest moments for me and the team I represent. It is great for us to race them because we have never beaten them, but we have had some extremely close racing. We are going into the Semi Finals fully motivated and focussed on doing the best job we can. We have the potential.'

Karol Jablonski, Helmsman, Desafío Español 2007, :on Dean Barker: 'We have met plenty of times in the past and the results are quite even. We know each others style very well, I’m going to try to put some more pressure on him in the pre-starts maybe. But the pressure here is on them and that is for me a small plus. I know those guys are prepared to handle the pressure but we will see just how well they do it. They have the starboard entry in the first race but I’m happy with the blue.'