Valencia, Spain (Thursday, July 6, 2006) - American World Cup ski racing champion Bode Miller (Bretton Woods, NH) received a first hand look at the highest level of sailing last month as the former World Cup champion served as the "18th man" on the American crewed USA 87 in the 12th stop of the 32nd Americas Cup.

With perfect sunshine and 10 to 15 knot breezes, Miller had excellent conditions to get his first lesson in sailing off the Spanish coast. Teammate Scott Macarntey (Redmond, WA) also was able to get a look at the action by sailing in the chase boat during the race before joining the crew on Sunday for a warm up run out to the start line.

"It was pretty intense," said Miller, who joined the team for the final two races of the three-day, six race series. "Some of those boys can really crank and it was amazing to see the precision of the team. I was the 18th man and just stayed out of their way."

Previously undefeated on the Americas Cup, the fifth race pitted the Americans against tour leader and defending champion Swiss team in boat No. 75. The pair engaged in a strong pre-start duel, but the Swiss team judged the gun perfectly and cruised to an early lead until the breeze shifted left in favor of the Americans. Around the first mark, advantage went back to the Swiss who rounded just 10 seconds in front. The Americans charged back gaining a couple of seconds at the next mark before the Swiss took over down the stretch and ran away with a 20 second advantage at the finish.

"Unfortunately we didn't win the big race," said Miller, "but it was still amazing to be a part of racing at the top level. Everyone on that boat was hauling from the moment we hit the water. This is a very serious sport and it's all about judging the variables and hoping you tack at the right time, that the wind stays with you and also that your opponent makes the wrong decision."

In the sixth race, the American boat led from start to finish handing Sweden 63 a convincing 1 minute 10 second defeat. The Americans now sit one point back from the defending champions in a tie for 3rd with Italy 86.

Though it was Miller's first official sailing race, the double Olympic medalist was able to draw numerous comparisons to ski racing.

"Racing is what I have done all my life," said Miller. "What is exciting for me is to see athletes at the top of their sport interacting with high technology, utilizing their human talent and working with nature to try to get an edge over their opponents. In each sport, you are looking for speed gains in fractions of a second and nature plays a big part in both of them. In both sports, the line between winning and losing is incredibly fine."

Out on the water, Miller able to briefly steer USA 87 and also assisted in hauling up the mainsail. "The forces on the boat are pretty intense," he said. "It was scary to see how much load was going on to those lines."