Media Report

AmericaOne FEATURED IN SF CHRONICLE AmericaOne Website to Track Media Coverage of AmericaOne as Cup Racing Approaches

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- NOV. 1, 1998 -- With the America's Cup racing now less than one year away, media interest in America's Cup racing is starting to heat up. An example in the Bay area is a recent Sunday feature on the efforts of AmericaOne and America True to bring back the America's Cup to San Francisco by Jim Doyle, Chronicle Staff Writer.

The AmericaOne website will be keeping track of media across the Bay area, nation and world as the cup approaches using an extensive bibliography section (coming soon in the Media Center). In 1997, the Syndicate was featured in national media including National Geographic Magazine, ABC's "Nightline" and in dozens of local television and newspaper features.

The following are excerpts from the November 1, 1998 three-page feature story (reprinted with permission):

To some people, sailing isn't a pastime. It's an obsession. They love the sea, but they sail every training session and race as if their lives depended on it. Winning is crucial. And in the world of sailing, the America's Cup is the Holy Grail.

The Bay Area has two contending teams backed by competing yacht clubs, with confusingly similar names. AmericaOne, sponsored by the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, is headed by world champion Paul Cayard, a phenomenal talent with a wealth of racing experience and a killer instinct on the water.

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Cayard, chief executive and skipper of AmericaOne , is a veteran of four previous America's Cup races, starting as a sail trimmer in 1983 and serving as a tactician in 1987.

``The fastest boat usually wins the America's Cup, not necessarily the best sailors,'' said the Kentfield resident, who in 1988 won the world championships in the Star class -- a prestigious honor for a small boat sailor.

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``Paul Cayard is a consummate professional. He's in a class by himself. He's been through it all,'' said the Washington Post's Phillips. ``The only thing that can work against him is that he may be too intense. He can be a scary dude. He's quite demanding, and I don't think he very often lets his hair down. The only question is whether he can relate to all the people he has to relate to in a high-pressure racing campaign.''

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His tactician, former Bay Area resident John Kostecki, 34, is an Olympic medalist who began sailing at the age of 3. He has won world championships in several classes of sailboats, including the Soling, the Mumm 36, the J/24 and the Sunfish -- the all-time best-selling sailboat.

The broad-shouldered, cerebral Kostecki competed in the 1995 America's Cup trials as a tactician aboard Conner's boat. Cayard calls him ``a great sailor in his own right.''

To read the entire article, go to the Chronicle and Examiner website archives: www.sfgate.com.

About The Challenge

AmericaOne is dedicated to recapturing the America’s Cup by applying U.S. technology in computer equipment, aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, sail design, naval architecture and structural engineering to America's Cup sailboat design. Technology partners include Hewlett-Packard, Bellcore/SAIC and Ford Motor Company/Visteon. The AmericaOne team is comprised of 43 professionals, including 30 members of the design team actively working on the research and design of its sailboats. Operating since June 1, 1996, AmericaOne is the challenger on behalf of San Francisco’s St. Francis Yacht Club.

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For additional information on AmericaOne, contact: Gina Von Esmarch E-mail: gvonesmarch@americaone.org Phone: 415-474-3425 Fax: 415-474-3571

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