AmericaOne Withdraws, Trails Prada in Series, 2-1

It was a rough day for AmericaOne. Too rough.

Its spinnaker ripped like tissue paper and another sail fell overboard in heavy seas. Meanwhile, Prada of Italy rode strong wind and wild waves to victory as the U.S. boat withdrew with less than a third of the 18 1/2-mile race remaining today.

Prada took a 2-1 lead in the America’s Cup challenger series with the fourth race of the best-of-nine round scheduled for Sunday.

The winner faces defending champion New Zealand in another best-of-nine series for sailing’s top prize starting Feb. 19.

When it quit, AmericaOne was flying a red protest flag from its stern, although the reason wasn’t immediately clear. It later withdrew the protest.

As Prada circled the fifth mark and sailed alone to the finish line, AmericaOne limped home after a nightmarish race in which an expensive sail was destroyed and a spreader was broken.

At least the mast stayed intact on a boat-battering day.

One day after the Hauraki Gulf was smooth as a pane of glass, the race postponed because of light wind, the course had changed into a turbulent swirl of hazards to men and boats.