A huge white ghost cut swiftly through the gentle seas off San Diego. It was the 132-ft.-long America's Cup challenger New Zealand, the largest boat to vie for the Auld Mug in five decades. A mile away, the smoke-blue catamaran Stars & Stripes, the first twin-hulled vessel to sail for the Cup, hauled closer to the wind and suddenly accelerated like an Indy speedster. The two craft -- as different, in the words of New Zealand's skipper, David Barnes, as "chalk and cheese" -- were practicing for this week's best-of-three-races face-off. And for a change, they were practicing on the water...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
