Press see loss as heroic, brave - www.stuff.co.nz

by Greg Ford on 6 Jul 2007
Team New Zealand faced the solemn task of packing up its base in Valencia yesterday but its pain in defeat has been softened by news of a cash bonus and a flood of praise from the international press.

Its defeat in Wednesday's match-point regatta race, which went Alinghi's way, has been portrayed as heroic and brave. Sail-World.com said Team New Zealand's cup bid was remarkable considering the syndicate nearly folded in 2003.

'They turned in another very competitive performance and restored a small nation's self-belief, after the debacle of 2003,' they wrote in an editorial.

'Dean Barker rose to the occasion as both skipper and helmsman. Grant Dalton as floater and CEO also provided tremendous leadership and frankness.

'They will not realise the effect they have had on New Zealand until they arrive home.'

Sail Juice, a noted sailing website, said Dalton was 'magnanimous to the end'.

However, The New York Times, noted defeat would be hard to swallow.

'Kiwi fans will wince and maintain that the regatta still could be going if their team had not chosen to round the left-hand gate with the lead at the bottom of the first downwind leg. They will wonder what might have happened if the umpires had not given them a penalty for forcing Alinghi to avoid them on the next leg or what could have been if Dean Barker, the skipper, and his crew had completed their desperate penalty turn at the finish line a second or two faster.'

On the other side of the fence French-language Tribune de Geneve filled its front page with a picture of a victorious Ernesto Bertarelli, Alinghi's billionaire owner, hoisting the Auld Mug and a single English word, 'Yes!'

'It took exactly 1sec for Bertarelli to rewrite the history of the America's Cup,' the Geneva paper said of the team that is based in the same city. 'It was a second that will remain engraved in the memories of the Swiss.'

The Zurich-based Tages-Anzeiger also gave credit to the innovative contributions made by the institution.

'Swiss top technology' was the headline of its editorial.

For the remainder of this story see:
www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/thepress/4118203a6429.html