Prada Beats OneWorld in Wind Shift

Prada gained more than a minute in a fifth-leg wind shift to defeat Seattle’s OneWorld by 20 seconds today in an America’s Cup semifinal.

The victory by the Italian team reversed the first result of the best-of-seven series in which OneWorld erased a one-point penalty imposed Monday for rules violations. When OneWorld’s penalty is counted, Prada leads the series, 1-0.

Alinghi of Switzerland took a 2-0 lead in its semifinal against Larry Ellison’s Oracle syndicate, shrewdly defending its lead in shifty conditions to win by 29 seconds.

OneWorld, which was hungry for good news after the week’s legal defeats, led convincingly for more than two-thirds of the 18.5-nautical-mile race.

It played the wind well at first on a day of low clouds, rain and limited visibility, taking up the favored right side on the first beat and leading by 21 seconds at the first mark.

By the fourth mark, OneWorld was 38 seconds ahead and tactician Charlie McKee had picked and exploited most of the day’s dangerous wind shifts.

OneWorld made its first tactical blunder on the final beat, choosing to separate from Prada and to look for better pressure on the right of the course. Prada got sailed past when the wind shifted left.

“They tried to play the shifts and it was the sort of day when it was dangerous to go there,” Prada tactician Torben Grael said.

The semifinals were set to continue Thursday.