Audi MedCup Circuit 2010 - Back-to-back wins in today’s rich diet of one windward-leeward race followed by an exciting 20 miles coastal race sees Emirates Team New Zealand seize the overall lead of the Caja Mediterráneo Region of Murcia Trophy regatta for the TP52 Series.
In blustery winds which topped 22 knots at times and produced some exciting downwind racing, the Kiwi Audi MedCup 2009 champions produced a performance which was entirely reminiscent of their dominant form here last year when they clinched the 2009 overall title. They lead Quantum Racing across the finish line of the windward-leeward, and were comfortably ahead of Artemis in the coastal circuit.
Audi MedCup season's fourth and penultimate regatta in Caja Mediterraneo Region of Murcia Trophy gets into action today with points racing for the TP52 Series and the official Practice Race for the GP42’s.
The forecast for today’s breeze looks interesting, with a light offshore easterly wind anticipated, around six to ten knots, veering to the north of east during the afternoon.
Three windward leeward races are programmed for the TP52 schedule, with the first start around 1330hrs after the GP42 fleet take in their two practice starts.
Yesterday’s practice race for the TP52’s proved that this is a tricky race arena in light winds, but today’s offshore easterly and north easterly breeze will likely be even more difficult due to the high cliffs which the breeze will be bouncing down off on to the race arena. The winds are expected to reach up to 11-12 knots.
Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) head out on to the waters off Cartagena aware of the potential pitfalls of a light winds day here but with a measure of confidence knowing that they have an overall lead of 28.5 points on the Audi MedCup Circuit standings and that they are also the defending holders of the Caja Mediterráneo Region of Murcia Trophy
Paul Cayard and the crew of Artemis (SWE) who won the last Audi MedCup Circuit regatta in Barcelona won yesterday’s Practice Race.
Among the VIP guests who will be competing during the first day of racing for the TP52’s will be English couple Chris and Vicky Edwards. They are having a day to remember as guests of the Audi MedCup Circuit and Cristabella (GBR).
Chris and Vicky were the top bidders for the prize of this day at the Caja Mediterráneo Region of Murcia Trophy regatta when it was auctioned at a glamorous charity ball in Southampton, England in June.
The ball was set up by two inspiring couples in order to raise money for charities which support women with cancer and women and families who go through the trauma of stillbirth or the neonatal death of their baby.
Cristabella’s boat captain Brendan Darrer is a good friend of one of the couples who set up the Make A Difference Ball, and was happy to offer this exciting prize along.
Vicky, who describes herself as a slightly nervous sailor, will race in the first race and Chris will sail on board in the second race.
'Yes, maybe I was ‘under the influence’ a little bit at the time and was pushed on to win the prize but it is well worth it because it really is something which you could not normally go out and buy, a unique experience and the causes are so worthwhile.' Vicky Edwards smiled just before their safety briefing and the dock out show in the VIP area this morning.
The GP42 Series Practice Race should start immediately after the TP52 first race of the day.
'Telefonica Blue at the start of the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race.' Rick Tomlinson Groupama
The sailing world got its first taste of what is to come in the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race when the SevenStar Round Britain and Ireland race got underway off Cowes, yesterday.
After a course change to avoid a pending weather bomb off Ireland later in the week, the fleet got off to a fast start in an easterly direction.
Leading the way were the two Volvo Ocean Racers, Telefonica Azul and Groupama, delayed at the start by some minor hull damage.
Top international photographer Rick Tomlinson was on hand to catch the action
Vic-Maui 2010 -Scott Burbank's Riptide 35 Terremoto crossed the finish line at 22:30:49 HST on July 14 to earn Vic-Maui 2010 line honours with an elapsed time of 11d:15h:20m:49s. This is the fastest elapsed time since 2002.
'Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing at Stena Match Cup Sweden' Loris von Siebenthal
YANMAR Racing’s Peter Gilmour came to the Stena Match Cup Sweden, an event the Australian America's Cup skipper had won seven times, off the back of a win at the Portugal Match Cup
However contrary to expectations Gilmour and his YANMAR Racing crew : mainsheet-tactician Cameron Dunn, trimmer Thierry Douillard, pitman Yasuhiro Yaji and bowman Kazuhiko Sofuku had an ordinary start in Marstrand and they had won just one match out of four coming into the final day of the Round Robins.
Melges 32 - 2010 Audi Invitational- The only thing missing on the final day of the Melges 32 Audi Sailing Series Event No. 3 was the wind.
Three days of scheduled competition, fun and entertainment on the docks of Yacht Club Costa Smeralda were aided by warm temperatures. Everyone anxiously awaited the outcome of the event, in addition to Saturday’s challenge with guests onboard, for awarding the silver Audi Invitational Trophy.
Two teams were left smiling at the end — Filippo Pacinotti’s Brontolo, who relied heavily on the Cassinari brothers tactical expertise, delivered a second and a third place result, as did Luca Lalli on B.LinSailing.com with tactician, Lorenzo Bressani. Lalli lost the tiebreaker to finish second overall.
Quantum Racing and Iberdrola’s green revolution overtook the Marseille Trophy regatta, the second event of the 2010 Audi MedCup Circuit, as the two green-hulled Botin Carkeek designs lifted the respective top trophies for the TP52 series and GP42 series.
Quantum Racing’s (USA) victory in the TP52 Series fleet is their first event win overall since becoming 2008 TP52 World Champions in Puerto Calero, and their first Audi MedCup Circuit regatta triumph since they sealed the 2008 overall title winning the Portugal Trophy in September 2008.
The 2007 and 2008 GP42 Circuit title winners Iberdrola (ESP) leave Marseille buoyed up for the rest of the season by their first ever Audi MedCup regatta win.
While many of their nearest rivals had an up and down day it was solid consistency which kept the green TP52 of the 2008 champions Quantum Racing at the top of the Audi MedCup Circuit’s Marseille Trophy regatta leaderboard today. In GP42 Series, the other green boat, Iberdrola, won both races.
RC44 Copenhagen Cup. On the last day of the event four races were sailed, despite cold and windy conditions prevailing. One by one teams were eliminated from contention for the fleet race and overall titles.
'Synergy (RUS) try to force an error on Emirates Team New Zealand to shake off their penalty in the fourth final. Louis Vuitton Trophy. La Maddalena, Sardinia, Italy. 6/6/2010' Chris Cameron/ETNZ
Emirates Team NZ have won their third Louis Vuitton sailed off La Maddalena, Sardinia.
The New Zealand team came from behind at 2-0 to win three races and take the trophy in the best of five series.
The turning point in the regatta came as Synergy and Emirates Team New Zealand rounded the leeward mark at the end of leg 2 in race 3 of the final series, when Synergy, who was two up in the series and leading by a useful margin, made a spinnaker snaffu rounding the mark and dropped over 100 metres on the New Zealanders who performed a perfect drop and took off to take their first win in the series.
In the fourth race a penalty against Synergy created an interesting fourth leg, as Synergy attempted to use her lead to obtain an offsetting penalty. However that was in vain, and in fact Emirates Team New Zealand were able to pass the Russian team and take their second win.
Emirates Team New Zealand made a tight race of it in the final race of the series, establishing a small lead at the first mark and then covering while working the angles to extend slightly.
The race was handed to the New Zealanders when Synergy's spinnaker split just before the finish line, and a narrow margin turned into a comfortable win for Emirates Team NZ.
In the end it was the Kiwis ability to perform under pressure that carried the day for them, and Synergy could not match the experience and power of the New Zealanders.
You would have to go a long way to see better match racing than this Final day, and coupled with outstanding video coverage, the Louis Vuitton Trophy series found its feet today, after a difficult regatta.
Semi finalists decided for Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena
'Artemis (SWE) helmsman Terry Hutchinson after the race against All4One (GER). Louis Vuitton Trophy, La Maddalena, Sardinia, Italy. 3/6/2010' Chris Cameron/ETNZ
Five races have confirmed four powerful semi-finalists today for the Louis Vuitton Trophy being sailed off La Maddalena, Sardinia. They are the French/German boat All4One, Sweden's Artemis, Emirates Team New Zealand and SYNERGY Russian Sailing Team.
'Dark faces aboard Emirates Team NZ as Louis Vuitton head Umpire, Bill Edgerton discusses with Ray Davies, the back stay tension call that cost Emirates Team New Zealand their race against BMW Oracle racing. Louis Vuitton Trophy, La Maddalena, Sardinia, Italy. 28/5/2010' Chris Cameron/ETNZ
Both the TP52 Series and GP42 Series 2009 Audi MedCup champions took today the overall lead of the Portugal Trophy Cascais. Emirates Team New Zealand was second and first today, and leads by 3 points over TeamOrigin; Puerto Calero added two seconds and one first, and leads by 4 points. Tomorrow, the TP52 Series Coastal Race is due at 1300h.
Portugal Trophy, Cascais, 14 05 2010 Portugal Trophy, Cascais, 14 05 2010 Portugal Trophy, Cascais, 14 05 2010 Portugal Trophy, Cascais, 14 05 2010 Portugal Trophy, Cascais, 14 05 2010
Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) lead the Portugal Trophy, Cascais after posting a strong second and first place from the two TP52 races today.
On the final day of racing at the Nespresso Cup, the first exclusive regatta for Wally yachts, Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones’ Magic Carpet Squared sailed a great final race to secure the overall Nespresso Cup trophy.
After three days of racing over the sixth to ninth of May, the Wally yacht Magic Carpet Squared secured victory to lift the inaugural Nespresso Cup Trophy. The final day produced the best racing of the three-day event.
l’Hydroptère was launched in Lorient on the third of May 2010 after four months at the shipyard. Lifted by crane in front of her shed, she was then moored at the pontoon of 'La Cité de la Voile Eric Tabarly'. She will stay there for one week, in order for the team to prepare and equip her for her first sailing sessions.
'Emirates Team New Zealand win the Louis Vuitton Trophy 2 - 0 against Mascalzone Latino. Auckland, New Zealand. 21/3/2010' Chris Cameron/ETNZ
The best sailors in the world will be in Italy later this month as Sardinia prepares to host 10 top sailing teams at the Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena from 22nd May through 6th June.
Three Italian entries, including the host Mascalzone Latino Audi Team, Azzurra and Luna Rossa will be battling with teams such as the Defender of the America’s Cup, BMW ORACLE Racing and perennial favourite Emirates Team New Zealand, for supremacy on the sparkling waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
An innovative regatta format has been developed that will allow all teams the greatest opportunity to advance to the next step, while rewarding teams who do well with second chances.
Initially, each team will sail every other team once in a single round robin. The top eight teams will advance to the next stage and the round robin seeding will continue to be used in later stages. Doing well in the round robin will have its rewards.
'Having each of the teams sail each other at least once is very important,' said Peter ‘Luigi’ Reggio, the Principal Race Officer for the regatta. 'The teams really want this opportunity.'
In the middle elimination rounds, top-ranked teams are matched against the lower ranked teams – that’s one of the rewards for doing well early – and the winning teams keep advancing, through to a semi final and final.
'If a top seed loses in the middle rounds, they’ll get a second chance to earn a way back in. Conversely, if a lower ranked team gets hot and starts winning, they’ll keep racing. It’s an interesting and fair format.'
The teams will race on four equalised America’s Cup Class boats supplied by the event – ITA 90, ITA 99, USA 87 and USA 98. The boats have now arrived on site and will be prepared for racing.
The logistics team is also now working in La Maddalena as the event organisers begin preparations to host the 10 teams, their friends, families, partners and sponsors, as well as sailing fans from around the world.
La Maddalena is small town (population near 12 000) on an island with the same name that sits just one nautical mile off the Northeast coast of Sardinia and offers up some of the most stunning backdrops for sailing in the Mediterranean.
The race village will be set up about one kilometre to the east of the centre of town, near the southeast corner of the island.
The 10 teams competing in the Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena represent eight countries:
Aleph, FRA, skipper Bertrand Pacé
All4One, FRA/GER, skipper Jochen Schümann
Artemis, SWE, skipper Paul Cayard
Azzurra, ITA, skipper Francesco Bruni
BMW ORACLE Racing, USA, skipper James Spithill
Emirates Team New Zealand, NZL, skipper Dean Barker
Luna Rossa, ITA, skipper Ed Baird
Mascalzone Latino Audi Team, ITA, skipper Gavin Brady
Synergy, RUS, skipper Karol Jablonski
TEAMORIGIN, GBR, skipper Ben Ainslie
Racing in the Round Robin is scheduled to start on the 22nd May, with teams training on site beginning on the 18th May.
'O Canada - Open 60, berthed in Downtown Auckland April 2010' Richard Gladwell
Two of New Zealand's Olympic skiff sailors, Dan Slater and Ed Smyth are crewing aboard the refitted Open 60, O Canada. They will sail her two handed in the upcoming Auckland Fiji Race. Sail-World's camera had a look above and below decks on this rather cramped shorthanded racing yacht.
Puma announced today that it will participate in the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 after finishing second overall in the 2008-09 race, which ended in June 2009. The PUMA Ocean Racing team will once again be under the leadership of skipper Ken Read.
PUMA continues to produce and expand their line of sailing performance gear and remains the first Sportlifestyle Company to participate in a venture of this kind. PUMA will also be the Official Supplier of footwear, clothing and accessories to the Volvo Ocean Race.
'We are proud of PUMA Ocean Racing’s success in the last Volvo Ocean Race and look forward to the adventures this next race will bring,' said Jochen Zeitz, PUMA AG Chairman and CEO.
'Both the team and the company hope to leverage the key lessons from the last Volvo Ocean Race campaign in order to continue spreading the good will of the programme and PUMA worldwide. The Volvo Ocean Race is one of the world's iconic sporting events. It proved to be an extremely successful marketing tool for us and an important launch pad for the sailing product category.
'We look forward to building the sailing category even more throughout the next race, as well as expanding into other forms of outdoor lifestyle ventures,' Zeitz concluded.
Knut Frostad, Volvo Ocean Race CEO added that PUMA Ocean Racing was a ground breaking team in the last Volvo Ocean Race, not only bringing a very competitive team, but the creativity of a world class fashion brand. Their funky attitude and design spoke to a young audience who engaged with both PUMA and the race.
For the 2011-12 race, PUMA Ocean Racing has proudly partnered with BERG Propulsion, one of the world’s leading designers and producers of Controllable Pitch Propellers for commercial shipping. BERG Propulsion products are designed and engineered with the reduction of environmental impact in mind, striving to bring fuel savings and environmental benefits to every product. This commitment to sustainability makes them a perfect partner for PUMA. The team will be known as PUMA Ocean Racing, powered by BERG Propulsion.
'This is a key new ingredient to our campaign,' stated Antonio Bertone, Chief Marketing Officer, PUMA AG. 'BERG Propulsion’s CEO Hakan Svensson and his entire company are a perfect fit with our operation. As a life long competitive sailor himself, Hakan understands the sport, the race and how BERG can utilise the race to help build and market their global company.'
'We appreciate greatly BERG Propulsion, who has decided to join the race again after tasting it in the previous event and now they are playing in the upper league of sponsors,' Frostad said.
Svensson, Berg Propulsion Chairman and CEO stated, 'Our company is very excited to be a part of the Volvo Ocean Race this year and we are especially proud to have the opportunity to partner with PUMA. We view the race as a perfect symbol for what Berg Propulsion represents; global perspective and reach, an emphasis on quality, reliability and a desire for excellence achieved through a strong TEAM spirit. Very much like the shipping industry, the Volvo Ocean Race is about performance on a global arena and this is directly applicable to our customer's situation, who are also out there 24/7 under very tough conditions. We will do our absolute best to support Ken Read and his talented crew in their efforts to be the fastest around the world.'
Team selection efforts are already underway and will likely include a number of sailors from PUMA’s 2008-09 team, plus a mix of new and veteran talent from the professional racing world. Training will begin onboard PUMA’s il mostro in spring 2010 at the team’s home base in Newport, Rhode Island.
Skipper Ken Read, considered to be one of the world’s most accomplished racers, was in charge of PUMA Ocean Racing and at the helm of PUMA’s il mostro throughout the entire Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09. US-born Read has twice helmed America’s Cup programmes in 2000 and 2003, was named United States Rolex Yachtsman of the Year twice and has 46 World, North American and National Championships to his credit.
Commenting on the choice of skipper, Frostad said, 'It is great to have Ken Read and his team back, after their outstanding performance in the 2008-09 race and I am sure he is striving to achieve the ultimate goal.'
'This last race was an amazing journey for me personally and for our start-up company PUMA Ocean Racing,' said Read. 'To have the opportunity to continue where we left off is a dream come true. For PUMA to want to come back to this adventure is a testament to the event itself and to the entire PUMA Ocean Racing team, past and present. We look forward to the challenges that lie ahead both organisationally as well as competitively.'
The entry into competitive sailing extends PUMA’s focus into premium lifestyle sports – a category PUMA has forged through its Formula 1 partnerships, motor sports collaborations such as Ducati and Ferrari, and the launch of a sportlifestyle golf collection in 2006. PUMA will be the Official Supplier of footwear, clothing and accessories to the Volvo Ocean Race.
'We are really looking forward to developing the Volvo Ocean Race PUMA clothing, footwear and accessories line,' Frostad said, adding that he hopes it will become an even more attractive brand for all the fans of the race.
PUMA is committed to working across the globe in sustainable, creative and innovative ways to lessen the impact on the environment and to give back what it takes from the planet by seeking to reduce its carbon footprint in all areas of business. The sportlifestyle brand’s entry into the Volvo Ocean Race is compatible with this mission as sailing is considered a ‘clean sport’, using only the wind to harness the power needed to race across the world over the course of nine months.
this is the third installment in the exteme sailing series. in here are not only 18 foot skiffs and 49ers, but also TP52, Mumm 30, Moths and Spitfires! this is the definition of extreme and its the sport i love. peace
'Emirates Team New Zealand win the Louis Vuitton Trophy 2 - 0 against Mascalzone Latino. Auckland, New Zealand. 21/3/2010' Chris Cameron/ETNZ
Racing under the colours of the host Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Emirates Team New Zealand won the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland regatta Sunday.
The Kiwi boat extended on every leg of the deciding five-mile race off Auckland’s East Coast Bays against the Mascalzone Latino Audi team representing Club Nautico di Roma, which is the Challenger of Record for the 34th America’s Cup.
Emirates won the first race yesterday, and with their second victory today they went 2-0 in the Finals, which race officials shortened to a best-of-three contest due to light and uncertain winds.
Right after the finish, the normally controlled and contained Emirates skipper Dean Barker had a broad smile on his face as he soaked his veteran team with champagne from a jeroboam of Moët et Chandon, not even sparing an event photographer who had climbed aboard for the occasion.
The Synergy Russian Sailing Team and Aleph Sailing Team from France were eliminated from the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland regatta today, leaving six international teams fighting for supremacy over the next four days.
Top seed Emirates Team New Zealand and second-ranked Mascalzone Latino Audi from Italy each won their races and went through to the semi-finals to be sailed on Friday.
Saved from sudden death by their ranking and/or their performance today, the other four teams were paired for best-of-three matches to be raced tomorrow. Standing besides a glistening, flood-lit America's Cup in a formal ceremony at the Voyager New Zealand Maritime Museum, third-seeded All4One skipper Jochen Schuemann chose to race Italy's Azzurra. Sweden’s Artemis will race Great Britain’s TeamOrigin.
Auckland’s harbour lived up to its name today. Waitemata means 'sparkling waters' and whitecaps dappled the course in mostly bright sunshine and gusty, shifty southerly winds that ranged from 15 knots to 30 knots. The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron’s race committee delayed racing three times waiting for squally weather to move through.
Paul Cayard, skipper of Artemis and chairman of the World Sailing Teams Association that is a co-organizer of the event with Louis Vuitton, put it best. 'It’s a big breeze today and exciting for our fans and exciting for us,' he said. 'It’s fantastic racing. We’re flirting with that threshold of tolerable winds and so far, so good, we’re dancing on the right side of it. We’re providing spectacular racing.'
ALEPH, the seventh seed, was eliminated in the third race of the day, beaten by Mascalzone Latino Audi. French skipper Bertrand Pacé was already planning for the next Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta in La Maddalena, Sardinia, but was quick to praise the boats and the organization in Auckland.
'It was a fantastic regatta,' he said. 'The wind was hard to sail, the boats were fantastic as well. We enjoy a lot sailing these boats. For us it was a great event. For sure I thank all the Kiwi organisers. I still love Auckland. Even though Grant Dalton doesn’t like losing to the French!'
Karol Jablonski, the veteran Polish match racer who skippers the Synergy Russian Sailing Team, was philosophical. 'We are out, but we sailed a good race,' he said. Noting the crew’s lack of opportunity to practice, he added, 'the crew work was coming along, but obviously in these tough conditions 22-23 knots with current against you, you need more hours on the water together.
'We were just missing a little bit in every department, not only crew work, my timing, our trimming, our boat speed, our tactician, our calls where we go - it was everything. You know you’ve got to have a chain that doesn’t have a weak, weak, weak link. And we had some weak pieces. During the event, we got stronger, and I think today we showed quite good performance.'
Race One: Artemis def. Azzurra, 00:32 – After a brisk circling duel the boats hardened up for the line on starboard with Artemis to weather. 'We wanted the right. We’d have preferred more distance between the boats but we had enough gauge to live through the first shift,' Artemis skipper Paul Cayard said later. The right paid and Artemis forced the port tack Azzurra steered by Francesco Bruni away at the first cross. The boats were evenly matched in a series of quick tacks up the 1.3-mile weather leg but Artemis controlled, to lead by two lengths at the top mark. They forged down the run with big bow waves, touching 15 knots at times. Artemis extended at the leeward mark as Azzurra struggled to get the chute down.
Race Two: TeamOrigin def. All4One, 00:27 – Faced with the possibility of elimination today, this was a must-win for sixth-seeded TeamOrigin, and Ben Ainslie and his crew rose to the occasion. They circled warily with the German/French boat steered by Sébastien Col. Both boats wanted the right but the British prevailed and hit the line at speed on starboard and to weather of All4One. They were bow to bow off the line but TeamOrigin held strong in the weather berth and edged ahead. After five minutes, as the trailing All4One came over on port, Ainslie had sufficient clearance to tack clear ahead directly in their path. 'It was an early gain, and then they controlled the race,' said All4One skipper Jochen Schumann. 'We will see if it gets a little lighter now - some of these teams are really strong in the heavy breeze, with good crew work and a lot of power.'
Race Three: Mascalzone Latino Audi def. Aleph, 00:59 – Faced with the threat of elimination, seventh seed French boat Aleph entered the start box from the unfavored end. Mascalzone Latino Audi skipper Gavin Brady controlled his opponent Bertrand Pacé all through the pre-start, pushing him outside the starboard layline, then leading back to win the start. Pacé trailed by three boat lengths at the top mark and then gybe-set on a big left shift. Fate struck and his spinnaker exploded during the hoist. The race was Brady’s and the French were going home. 'They chose a risky manoeuvre at the weather mark,' said ML Audi tactician Morgan Larson. 'Had they not torn their spinnaker they probably would have been bow-even with us on the run.
Brisk breezes and high-pressure competition delivered a basket of surprises and some painful losses during the fourth day of competition for the Louis Vuitton Trophy in Auckland.
After a day lost to heavy, gusty winds, the moderate to fresh conditions today were still sufficient to test the eight international teams that took turns in match racing on the Waitemata Harbour on the Emirates Team New Zealand boats NZL84 and NZL92.
In the second race, a collision between Britain’s TeamOrigin and the French team Aleph earned the French boat a penalty, plus the loss of a point. Then in race three, Sweden’s Artemis conceded a healthy lead over Italy’s Azzurra when the spinnaker pole went over the side and they went trawling with the spinnaker.
With three days remaining in the round robin, the host Emirates Team New Zealand has a perfect record after a convincing win today over the German/French boat All4One. Azzurra, the young Italian team that won the Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice is in second place with a 3-1 score. The two teams will meet in the second race tomorrow.
Currently four teams are in equal third place with two wins and two losses. They are All4One, sailing under the German and French flags, Artemis, Mascalzone Latino Audi from Italy and TeamOrigin. The tie between Artemis and ML Audi will be decided tomorrow in the fourth race.
Conditions on the Waitemata Harbour were perfect for racing with bright sunshine, blue skies and a 12-knot breeze that built in the afternoon, bringing with it some clouds and a brief shower. Crowds ashore watched racing on the jumbo screen in the Louis Vuitton Race Village in the Viaduct Basin’s Market Square but the best viewing was from the grassy slopes of North Head.
Race One: Emirates Team New Zealand def. All4One, 00:26 – ETNZ skipper/helmsman Dean Barker took the host team to a 4-0 record, never really threatened by the German/French boat All4One after a tense, scrappy pre-start duel. Sébastien Col at the wheel of All4One was pushing the Kiwi boat in the last seconds as they came to the line but the Kiwis pulled off a down-speed tack and split away on port as Col was forced to tack and follow. The French helmsman pressed hard on the first leg but New Zealand exploited the dominance of the right side and maintained a comfortable lead. 'The race was lost at the start when we left the overlap a little bit too late,' said Jochen Schümann, skipper and tactician for All4One. 'They were in control at all times. It looked good for us at times but never good enough that we could sail around them.'
Race Two: TeamOrigin def. Aleph, 02:11 – With the breeze up to 17 knots the race began with a bang in the pre-start as the bow of TeamOrigin slammed into the stern scoop of NZL 84, crewed by Aleph. There was damage to both boats and the French boat, steered by Bertrand Pacé, was penalised under Rule 16 for altering course. The umpires reported that as the boats turned out of the dialup, Ben Ainslie steering the British boat was keeping clear of Aleph but the French boat turned away, causing the contact. Matt Cornwall mid-bowman on TeamOrigin said: 'Obviously the French think we fouled them. Question is whether they swung their transom and prevented us from getting our bow down in time to avoid their transom. They did close the gap on us and didn’t give us room to keep clear.' In addition to the penalty, Aleph was docked one point for hard contact which the team said it will appeal to the jury. At the gun, Pacé started to leeward of Ainslie. The British boat consolidated an early advantage to control for the rest of the race as the breeze built to over 20 knots. The French enjoyed a great last leg and came storming into the finish only two boat lengths behind TeamOrigin.
Race Three: Azzurra def. Artemis, Ret.– Terry Hutchinson steering the Swedish team Artemis, with skipper/tactician Paul Cayard calling the shots, started strongly in their race against the Italian boat Azzurra. The Swedish boat chased the Italians deep into the start box before it breaking clear, tacking and starting on starboard with speed. Francesco Bruni had a clean start on starboard at midline but Hutchinson enjoyed an early lead that he smartly leveraged into a 44 second lead at the weather mark. But only for seconds. As Artemis bore off and set up for a spinnaker hoist, the pole end went over the side, was dragged aft and the pole broke around the shrouds as the spinnaker went under the boat. Game over. 'The jammer for the pole slipped,' Hutchinson reported. 'Down the pole came and went in the water and that was all she wrote. The sheet went under the boat and the spinnaker went under the rudder. It’s disappointing but we’ll debrief it and make sure we don’t make the same mistakes twice.'
Race Four: Mascalzone Latino Audi def. Synergy Russian Sailing Team 00:19 – After a pause for repairs, there was plenty of energy from Poland’s Karol Jablonski, steering the Russian boat, and Kiwi Gavin Brady at the helm of ML Audi Team. Synergy had the advantaged starboard entry but chose to duck below the Italians. It the hotly-contested manoeuvres that followed, with two green flags from the umpires, Brady drove Jablonski above the line. Despite that, the Russians broke clear and crossed the Italians on the first tack. When Jablonski conceded the right to Brady, the Italian boat took the lead and held it. Even a botched spinnaker takedown when the Italians gift-wrapped their boat’s bow with a messy late takedown was not enough to give the Russians a chance.
'ETNZ and TeamOrigin - Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland' Ian Roman/TEAMORIGIN
Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland regatta. Whitewater on the deck, whitecaps on the Waitemata and warning whistles on the onboard overload alarms characterised the high tempo sailing action today.
After three days of competition, Emirates Team New Zealand representing the host Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron is undefeated with three wins while three teams each have a 2-1 record. They are the German/French team All4One, the Swedish team Artemis and Azzurra from Italy.
Racing moved closer to the city front today as the southwester funneled down the harbour, with puffs into the low 20-knot range as the day wore on. The weather mark was between the container wharves and the Devonport Dockyard.
Tipped as the highlight match of the day, the opening race between Emirates and Britain’s TeamOrigin came to a sudden end at the first leeward gate as a late tactical call on the British boat escalated into a firedrill that left spinnaker and jib draped over the foredeck and a broken spinnaker pole over the side.
Ben Ainslie at TeamOrigin’s wheel led at the end of the first beat after a fierce nine-tack duel up the short 1.2-mile weather leg in a puffy and shifty 13-16 knot southwesterly breeze. ETNZ was right on the British boat’s heels, just 14 seconds astern and began slowly clawing back the distance.
They came into the leeward mark with the Kiwis bow to stern with TeamOrigin and British hopes evaporated as Ainslie issued new last-minute orders.
'It was a bit of mess,' Ainslie said. 'Things change very quickly at the bottom, but a big shift made us change the call and there wasn't enough time for the guys to react.'
Barker had to sail around the hapless British boat. 'It was all go coming into the bottom mark,' he said. 'We have confidence in our crew work. If we get behind we’re able to keep the pressure on and keep fighting hard. Today it worked well. They made a mistake. Ignoring what happened, if they had been able to get around the mark it would have been an interesting race. We had made a big gain and it would have been some tough racing. They are sailing well.'
Race One: Emirates Team New Zealand def. TeamOrigin, Ret. – Ben Ainslie steering Britain’s TeamOrigin, fought for the right while ETNZ skipper Dean Barker went for the left. As they hit the start line, the Kiwi boat with a safe leeward forced their opponent away. However, the first beat belonged to Ainslie. Nine fast tacks later at the port layline, TeamOrigin enjoyed a three boat-length lead. The top mark margin was 14 seconds before Barker slowly soaked down on his opponent and picked up more ground with smoother sail handling. With ETNZ close astern and the pressure piling on, it all turned to custard on the British boat as they prepared to drop the spinnaker at the leeward gate.
Race Two: All4One def. Azzurra, 00:46 – Race umpires had their work cut out with multiple incidents and protests in series of heavy-air skirmishes between Francesco Bruni steering Azzurra and Sébastien Col on the wheel of the German/French All4One. The Italian boat locked out her opponent above the line before the start but Col escaped at the last minute to get back and lead at the gun. Azzurra controlled from the right side but after All4One gained ground in a series of tacks, her tactician John Cutler forced the Italians beyond the starboard layline and above the mark. Col was able to lead back and rounded first in a flurry of protests, all green-flagged. With the wind over 20 knots and the boats pushing white water, they went down the run side by side. Cutler made the call to again take their opponents past the mark. The Italian sail handling suffered under the pressure and Azzurra trailed badly on the last two legs.
Race Three: Mascalzone Latino Audi def. Aleph Sailing Team, 00:55 – Bertrand Pacé’s French Aleph team used their starboard tack entry to advantage in a pre-start circling duel that took both boats deep into the starting box. The start, with both boats on starboard, was close but Gavin Brady steering ML Audi Team, enjoyed an advantage for a few seconds before ALEPH edged in front. The two boats swapped the lead several times up the first half of the beat until Brady, to weather of his opponent, pushed the French boat out beyond the starboard layline. The Italian boat led into the top mark and consolidated its gains on the next three legs.
Race Four: Artemis def. Synergy Russian Sailing Team 00:41 – Skipper Karol Jablonski, steering the Russian boat, engaged Terry Hutchinson at the wheel of Paul Cayard’s Artemis in a lively pre-start duel only to be penalized for gybing too close. The boats hit the line together at speed with Artemis to weather. Seconds later Hutchinson tacked and split away and initiated a tacking duel that took the Swedish boat into the lead. The Russians pushed hard and kept it close around all four legs but finished 41 seconds astern after completing their penalty turn.
Provisional leaderboard after Flight Three:
1. Emirates Team New Zealand, 3-0
=2. All4One, 2-1
=2. Artemis, 2-1
=2. Azzurra, 2-1
=5. ALEPH Sailing Team, 1-2
=5. Mascalzone Latino Audi Team, 1-2
=5. TEAMORIGIN, 1-2
8. Synergy Russian Sailing Team, 0-3
'Emirates Team New Zealand race Mascalzone Latino (ITA) on day two of the Louis Vuitton Trophy 2010. Auckland, New Zealand.' Chris Cameron/ETNZ
American-based Kiwi Gavin Brady and his largely international team of Latin Rascals took the fight to host Emirates Team New Zealand in their Louis Vuitton Trophy race today, only to lose after a gear failure.
Brady, with American tactician Morgan Larson calling the shots, pulled off a risky pre-start strategy against skipper Dean Barker on the New Zealand boat, pushing ETNZ deep into the start box after a dialup but breaking clear with immaculate timing to grab the start he wanted – a port tack cross at speed, right at the committee boat.
Minutes later as they came back together, Brady had a two boat-length advantage that he parlayed into a 22 second lead at the first weather mark. Down the run, the New Zealanders split away and Brady let them go, only to concede the right side of the course when they rounded opposite gates starting the second beat.
Brady’s lead had evaporated but the fight had just started. Half way up the weather leg Mascalzone barely had her nose in front as they sailed into a building breeze when the jib came crashing down. 'That was our race to win,' said Brady. 'And a tough way to lose!'
Out on the Waitemata Harbour today, the wait for a good breeze stretched out to three hours but the competitors were rewarded with superb sailing conditions under a bright sunny sky. The sea breeze filled in from the southwest, starting at five to seven knots and building during the afternoon to nearly 15 knots before softening a little in the late afternoon.
Another glorious day of Melges 32 racing at the Miami Grand Prix has concluded leaving Jean-Francois Cruette (La Rochelle, France) on Teasing Machine as Champion of the Melges 32 division in sunny Miami, Fla. Among Cruette's team were tactician Christian Ponthieu, Pascal Rambeau, Thomas Allin, Vincent Jaricot, Eric de Turckheim, Romuald Chasseray and William Thomas.
Of the ten races completed, Cruette won four and never scored worse than an eleventh.'We love these conditions. Great conditions. We had great boat speed and very good tactics,' commented Cruette. In second and third, tied for points was John Porter (Lake Geneva, Wisc.) on Full Throttle and Jeff Ecklund (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) on STAR.
The Hydroptère project is not limited to the performance of the 60-feet trimaran which has beaten two world speed records at an average speed of over 50 knots in 2009 in the Mediterranean.
Alain Thébault and his team decided to extend the limits of the project and planned to develop two new boats, with the ultimate objective of sailing around the world in approximately 40 days on l'Hydroptère maxi.
To reach this objective, the team with the help of the 'papés' (retired engineers) and of their scientific adviser, The Swiss Technological Institute in Lausanne, decided to follow the same experimental process as that employed by Alain Thébault in the development of l’Hydroptère and to consider an intermediate step, that being to build on a reduced scale a test model i.e. l'Hydroptère.ch.
l’Hydroptère.ch will serve as a lab boat whose main purpose is to test geometries and behaviours in varied real conditions for the development of l’Hydroptère maxi.
As a Swiss-French project l’Hydroptère.ch is being built in two shipyards, one in Brittany and one in Switzerland. She should be launched beginning of summer 2010.
At the same time in Lorient, l’Hydroptère is in a shipyard and she should be back in the water in spring.
'Alinghi 5 finishes second in the final race of the 33rd America’s Cup as SNG’s Vice Commodore, Fred Meyer (stern in while jacket looks on)' Richard Gladwell
An amazing letter from Fred Meyer of the SNG. No matter you were supporting the Alinghi or the BMW Oracle tean, we challenge you NOT to drop your jaw!!
Open letter from Société Nautique de Genève Vice Commodore Fred Meyer 25 February 2010
Following recent declarations in the media by Harold Bennett, the Principal Race Officer (PRO) for the 33rd America’s Cup Match, we feel obliged to clarify the situation on board the Race Committee boat before the start of Race 2.
SNG as Organising Authority appointed Fred Meyer, Nicolas Grange and Marcel Beauverd to be the Race Committee for the 33rd America’s Cup. Harold Bennett was appointed by ISAF – in agreement with SNG – as PRO. As such, he became the fourth member of the Race Committee.
Under ISAF racing rules of sailing (RRS), the Race Committee conducts the race and makes all decisions relating to it, such as designating the course to be sailed, setting the start line, starting or abandoning the race. The PRO has no specific prerogative and has to operate the race as decided by the Race Committee.
On Sunday 14 February, the wind for most of the day was shifty and uncertain. The sea state was not good as the waves to the North were still above 1m. At 16:00, the wind was gradually establishing from the East but was also dying out and the sea state was still not satisfactory.
At this moment, spectator boats were still in the middle of the start area and there was clearly not enough time to clear the area and launch the race in good conditions. There was a risk of finishing the race after sunset.
The three SNG Race Committee members expressed their opinion to Harold Bennett explaining that the race should not be launched for the following reasons: • The starting area was not clear of spectator boats • The sea state was improper (the waves were too high) • The certainty of racing during day light hours (the last possible warning signal as per the Notice of Race was 16:30) was being jeopardised putting at risk the security of the race yachts and spectator boats. Acting against the opinion of the Race Committee, Harold Bennett unilaterally launched the race. Rather than enforcing the Race Committee decision by physical means, the SNG Race Committee members decided to withdraw and wait below decks.
Launching the race in improper conditions resulted in (i) Alinghi being penalised before the start because it was disturbed by spectator vessels while making its way toward the starting line (ii) the Race Committee boat starboard lay line being impracticable for both racing yachts because of the presence of spectator vessels on the lay line and (iii) high load alarms on both boats sounding continuously during the first leg on starboard because of the sea state.
Fortunately no accidents occurred that day and neither of the boats was damaged. The three SNG Race Committee members however maintain that it was unreasonable, unnecessary and improper to launch the race at that moment. From a rules point of view, it is not even clear whether there was truly a race or not on that day.
It’s been a tough start for Raimondo Tonelli on the helm on Sea Dubai for the RC 44 season opener with the strong winds experienced over the last two days. He’s had no time to be eased in to his new role of helming the boat in the fleet races. ‘I guess a gentle breeze would have given me an easier introduction although I love strong winds. I don’t enjoy small breezes when I’m sailing and although I’m not used to the RC 44 yet or the way it handles, this initiation will certainly help me to get a good feel for it quickly,’ said Raimondo. Another windy day is expected with rain today for the final day of racing in the Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy, and it's gusting hard already with dark skies.
The wind was very light and fluky today for the second half of the match race event. Despite Peter 'Luigi' Reggio’s attempts to close the contest, the last two flights will take place tomorrow, before the fleet race practice.
Unbeaten after seven flights, Team Sea Dubai is almost certain to win the title. Indeed, the local team’s closest rival, Artemis, sits two points behind whilst the team from the Emirates won the direct confrontation this afternoon. All they have to do is cross the line and avoid any penalising collision.
The match of the day, between Team Sea Dubai and Terry Hutchinson’s Artemis, delivered all its promises. The two boats started on split tacks at full speed and immediately engaged in a tacking dual. Just ahead of its opponent after the first cross, Hutchinson made a slight error of appreciation that allowed Team Sea Dubai to close the gap. The two teams then engaged in a dial up as they were nearing the windward mark. Markus Wieser came out of it better than Artemis and rounded the mark two boat lengths ahead. Hutchinson tried hard to come back during the rest of the race, but Wieser and his crewmembers held on tight and won the race.
'We focused on the basics', commented Hartwell Jordan, Team Sea Dubai’s mainsail trimmer and strategist. 'Last night, we debriefed our first day and decided not to change anything and to carry on sailing for fun, without putting any unnecessary pressure on our shoulders. We felt comfortable with our course management and boat speed, so we didn’t feel the need to put a specific strategy in place. We just went for it as relaxed and focused as we could.'
Disappointed by his results today (two losses against TSD and No Way Back), Terry Hutchinson remained as positive as he could. 'The day was good', he said. 'We won our two starts and managed to keep the pressure all along. Unfortunately, we did some mistakes. In the first race, we went to the wrong side of the course and our timing was slightly wrong in the second one. I have the feeling that we bet ourselves more than anything else.'
Whilst Team Sea Dubai is almost certain to win the title, the rest of the podium remains open. Artemis is currently second with four points, followed by five teams on a tie in third with three points.
Despite the winner being almost certainly known, the last two flights will definitely not be for the gallery!
Hartwell Jordan, mainsail trimmer and strategist, Team Sea Dubai: 'We have changed the set up of our boat over the winter and we can feel the difference. We have also changed our mental approach: in the past, we sometimes felt intimidated by the level of our competitors. We are now more relaxed about this, and we try to manage the pressure more efficiently. We’ve also trained hard over the winter, which has allowed us to remember all the moves almost instinctively. As a consequence, we can now look out of the boat and concentrate on the regattas.'
Cameron Appleton, helmsman, Team Aqua: 'This hasn’t been the most rewarding event for us so far and we’ve had a tough couple of days… We didn’t train like the others over the winter, but I don’t think it would have made a difference in this light wind. Our problem was mainly linked with timing; we didn’t take good starts and weren’t in the right rhythm.'
Rod Davis, helmsman, Ceeref: 'It was good to win a race by one second against Team Aqua after having lost two matches by one second yesterday… It’s very strange, we are loosing against teams that we should beat (on the paper) and we are winning the toughest matches. It shows how tight the Class is. Any small team can challenge the best ones. The consequence is that we need to train harder in order to improve.'
Paul Cayard, helmsman, Katusha: 'We were quite unhappy with our result yesterday, but the good thing is that the team stayed well together, and focused. We all knew that we could do a better job. We spoke about our races and decided to keep it as simple as possible and focus on getting a better result without changing anything fundamental in the way we sail. It’s just tough; the races are very close and difficult.'
Match-race, provisional results after seven flights:
(Ranking, name of team, helmsman, No of victories / defeats, points)
1) Team Sea Dubai (Markus Wieser), 6/0, 6 points
2) Artemis (Terry Hutchinson), 4/2, 4 points
3) CEEREF (Rod Davis), 3/3, 3 points
3) BMW ORACLE Racing (Adam Minoprio), 3/3, 3 points
3) Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (José Maria Ponce), 3/3, 3 points
3) Team No Way Back (Pieter Heerema / Ray Davies), 3/3, 3 points
3) Katusha (Paul Cayard), 3/3, 3 points
8) Team Aqua (Cameron Appleton), 2/4, 2 points
9) Team Austria (Christian Binder), 1/6, 1 point
The Gotta Love It 7 team trio dominated today’s last race of the championship in a second-sail North East wind to take out the race by 44s. and the championship by four points.
Second over the finish line today was Rag & Famish Hotel (John Harris, Scott Babbage, Peter Harris) which could well be described as the unluckly boat of the regatta.
Appliancesonline.com.au (John Winning Jr., David Ewings, Tim Austin) finished a further 53s back in third place today, ahead of Yandoo (John Winning, Andrew Hay, David Gibson), Team PSP/Aust-Asia/Benny (Rob Greenhalgh, Dan Johnson, Phil Harmer) and Bassett Plumbing & Drainage (Chris Skinner, Luke Gower, Dave Healy)
The overall championship placings were Gotta Love It 7 on 16 points, followed by Thurlow Fisher Lawyers (Michael Coxon, Aaron Links, Trent Barnabas) on 20 points, Project Racing (Andy Budgen, James Barker, Matt Mc Govern) 21, Rag & Famish Hotel 23, Yandoo 42 and Smeg (Nick Press, Dan Phillips, Jim Beck) on 44.
Today began with three boats in a head-to-head battle for the championship. Thurlow Fisher Lawyers, Project Racing and Gotta Love It 7.
This summer, the huge ‘Union Jack’ doors of the Columbine shed in East Cowes will part and true to the shed's origins, one more and perhaps final, amazing flying boat will emerge. The UK based team behind the VESTAS SAILROCKET project are building a new boat to finish the job of setting the outright world speed sailing record. The new craft will be an evolution of the innovative concept upon which their original craft was based.
The favourable wind, which has been propelling Franck Cammas and his nine crew along for the past two days, is beginning to run out of breath. As such the giant trimaran is expecting to lose a little speed on Monday, prior to being hit by a N'ly gale...
Jules Verne Trophy. Having covered nearly 720 miles over the past 24 hours, Groupama 3 is tracing an impressively straight wake at an average speed in excess of 30 knots...
This ticking off of the miles bodes well for the crew's bid to make up part of their deficit on the Jules Verne Trophy reference time as they round the Cape of Good Hope.
Indeed it's a studious and concentrated atmosphere which marked the start to the weekend to the South of Tristan de Cunha: in a matter of hours the situation has changed radically aboard Groupama 3, since the tricky exit from the Saint Helena High at the end of the week, has now given way to breakneck speeds ahead of a cold front, which is trucking along at 35 knots... The astounding average speeds that Franck Cammas and his nine crew are making are, of course, the result of a stable wind, though the fairly slight, well organised seas are an added bonus. Such conditions are down to the crew remaining ahead of the cold front, which they will have to continue to do for as long as possible, in order to maintain this perfectly straight trajectory and this exceptionally fast tempo...
'Since this morning, we've been sailing with two reefs in the mainsail and solent in a NW'ly wind of between 28 and 30 knots, but with very slight seas... Right now we're clocking up an average speed of 35 knots! The atmosphere has got much damper: it's grey, it's wet, but it's not cold yet' indicated Bruno Jeanjean at the 1130 UTC radio link-up with Groupama's Race HQ in Paris.
The longitude of the Cape of Good Hope is around just 800 miles ahead of the giant trimaran now. At this pace, she will have passed the Greenwich meridian between 2100 and 2300 hours UTC this Saturday. Following on from that she may even succeed in crossing the longitude of the first cape of this round the world by sunset on Sunday!
'I don't take the helm in conditions like the ones we have today. There were times on the descent of the Atlantic where I had the opportunity on flat seas with very nice conditions. The allotted helmsmen are driving her along admirably... I am incredibly happy to be aboard because the shore crew have done a superb job to ensure we were able to set off again. The whole crew has remained particularly motivated and we know we have unfinished business down here now, which we're keen to resolve!'
By way of comparison with the Jules Verne Trophy reference time, Groupama 3 has had a excellent day with 719 miles on the speedo, while Orange 2, which was in one of her fastest phases of the round the world, `only' pulled back 680 miles in relation to the optimum course! As such the deficit has dropped by forty miles over the past 24 hours... And despite even more impressive average speeds than those of the Americans and Swiss in Valencia on Friday afternoon, the crew was paying close attention to how the first race of the Cup was panning out.
'For the first match of the America's Cup yesterday, the organisation onboard didn't change. However, we did have one ear a little more open to what was going on in the cabin: certain bits of news came in which led us to believe that something was going to happen, but we quickly understood that the result of the match was decided pretty quickly...'
Groupama 3's log (departure on 31st January at 13h 55' 53' UTC)
Day 1 (1st February 1400 UTC): 500 miles (deficit = 94 miles)
Day 2 (2nd February 1400 UTC): 560 miles (lead = 3.5 miles)
Day 3 (3rd February 1400 UTC): 535 miles (lead = 170 miles)
Day 4 (4th February 1400 UTC): 565 miles (lead = 245 miles)
Day 5 (5th February 1400 UTC): 656 miles (lead = 562 miles)
Day 6 (6th February 1400 UTC): 456 miles (lead = 620 miles)
Day 7 (7th February 1400 UTC): 430 miles (lead = 539 miles)
Day 8 (8th February 1400 UTC): 305 miles (lead = 456 miles)
Day 9 (9th February 1400 UTC): 436 miles (lead = 393 miles)
Day 10 (10th February 1400 UTC): 355 miles (lead = 272 miles)
Day 11 (11th February 1400 UTC): 267 miles (deficit = 30 miles)
Day 12 (12th February 1400 UTC): 247 miles (deficit = 385 miles)
Day 13 (13th February 1400 UTC): 719 miles (deficit = 347 miles)
Best passage time to the equator from Ushant
Groupama 3: 5d 15h 23' (November 2009)
Jules Verne Trophy reference time to the equator
Orange 2: 7d 02h 56' (January 2005)
The crew and organisation aboard Groupama 3
• Watch No.1: Franck Cammas / Loïc Le Mignon / Jacques Caraës
• Watch No.2: Stève Ravussin / Thomas Coville / Bruno Jeanjean
• Watch No.3: Fred Le Peutrec / Lionel Lemonchois / Ronan Le Goff
• Off watch navigator: Stan Honey goes up on deck for manoeuvres
• One watch system on deck, one watch on stand-by ready to help manoeuvre, one watch totally resting
The record to beat
Currently held by Bruno Peyron on Orange 2 since 2005 with a time of 50 days 16 hours 20 minutes at an average of 17.89 knots. Lionel Lemonchois, Ronan Le Goff and Jacques Caraës were aboard at the time.
Valencia, Spain - (2010-02-12)
Alinghi lost Race 1 of the 33rd America's Cup, a best-of-three series, today after a hard fought pre-start and a 40nm race. The Defender from the Société Nautique de Genève took an early lead onto the course, but didn't hold on to it.
"The crew work went well. The difference was the speed of the boats. The solution they have come up with on Oracle is very fast. It's pretty hard to beat them on a day like today," said Brad Butterworth, team skipper and tactician.
The race started at 14:35 in a southerly wind between 6 and 8 knots and flat sea, good conditions for the 90ft load waterline multihulls. The top mark was set at a bearing of 180 degrees, due south, 20nm to windward.
Alinghi, the port-tack yacht entering the start box, was penalised in the pre-start by the on-water umpires for failing to keep clear. But the Alinghi crew took the lead off the start line after BMW Oracle Racing got into “irons”, a predicament where the boat looses steerage.
"We never had a chance to cross them, so it was just one of those things. We tried to get across them but couldn't. When we realised that was the case we came up and tacked over and got a penalty. That was a bit surprising, but it didn't have an impact on the race in the end," said Butterworth.
Alinghi 5, with team president Ernesto Bertarelli at the helm, circled around the pin end and onto the race course for an early 1m27s lead, or approximately 660m. The catamaran held pace with the trimaran early, but eventually was overtaken. Alinghi was behind by 3m21s at the windward mark and 15m28s at the finish after performing a penalty turn for the pre-start infraction.
Looking forward to Sunday, Butterworth said: "As long as you've got a life you've got a chance. We will regroup and think about race two. Sunday's race will be a different sort of race. We'll see what conditions lend themselves. They looked pretty awesome upwind, and it was hard for us to hold them back. We'll have our work cut out."
Tomorrow is an off day as per the Deed of Gift, the America's Cup governing document, so racing will resume on Sunday 14 February weather permitting.
After more than 30 months of fighting in the courts, this Deed of Gift America's Cup series at last turned from being a legal battle to a battle on the water off Spain's Valencia coast between the defender Ernesto Bertarelli's gossamer spider catamaran Alinghi and Larry Ellison's BMW Oracle heavier trimaran with her giant rigid wing sail USA-17 .
I'm looking to get my San Juan 24 a rating certificate and I see the other SJ24's that are rated appear to have a 231 one design rating from PHRF-BC....
I have been sailing for over 20 years....Racing that is! Now here I am with a boatload of family toys, dinghy in tow, heading out to join a group of...
SailingX
