Today, Saturday 30 June, the 6th race started at 15:00 local time with a breeze of 10 knots from 120 degrees and a bright sun. The spectator fleet was really huge. Teamas did a dial-up in the pre-start and started at the gun, alinghi right hand side and ETNZ on the left. Both chose the left hand side of the course. Kiwis bounce alinghi off the layline, who round the mark second. In the downwind, nothing really changed. ETNZ rounded from the right hand mark and alinghi from the right. After the mid point of the second upwind, alinghi comes from the left and closing the distance as it approaches ETNZ, who are forced to tack away. After three tacks, Barker responds with an early tack and alinghi is windward and a boatlength ahead. The Swiss pass the weathermark first, controlling the match. In the downwind the difference went from 100 metres to 24 and back. Finally, SUI-100 was the first to cross the finish line with a 28 seconds delta.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Race 6 Goes to alinghi
Friday, June 29, 2007
3-2 for alinghi
Protest Dismissed
By a majority decision the Jury dismissed the protest that Emirates Team New Zealand filed against Alinghi following race four. The Jury was not satisfied that Alinghi broke America’s Cup Class Rule 31.6, which reads: “Mainsails shall be able to be lowered to the deck without the necessity of a crew member going aloft.”
Emirates Team New Zealand filed the protest after watching television footage that showed one of the normal post-race measurement checks. The measurers asked both teams to lower their mainsails, without the assistance of a man aloft, to demonstrate compliance with ACC Rule 31.6. Emirates Team New Zealand lowered its mainsail without a man aloft, to the satisfaction of the measurers. The Alinghi team asked the measurer who had boarded SUI 100 if they could raise a man up the mast to fix a halyard (which wouldn’t be put under tension) to the mainsail, for safety reasons, to prevent the sail from being damaged if it came down uncontrollably, and the measurer on board agreed to this request. Alinghi bowman Pete Van Niewenhuyzen was raised to the top of the mast, fixed the halyard and held his arms out, to show that he wasn’t assisting or interfering with the process. The halyard lock was tripped, and the mainsail was lowered to the deck. At the time, the measurer was satisfied with the demonstration. Following a five hour hearing Thursday morning, the five-member Jury dismissed Emirates Team New Zealand’s protest.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
The Day After
Although alinghi was supposed to be a rocket in windws above 15 kts, it went very well against New Zealand in the light air. If ever the Kiwi boat was going to look superior to the Swiss boat, surely this was it.
Mainsails shall be able to be lowered to the deck without the necessity of a crew member going aloft. It was recorded on television showing Pieter van Nieuwenhuyzen of alinghi at the masthead to release the head of the sail. ETNZ protest and details will be presented to the International Jury. Racing will resume on Friday, with Race Five.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
2-2 Square
Today's race started on time, with the wind just above 10 kts and temperatures as high as 23 degrees Celcius. Both teams had a good start but alinghi was better, and soon moved away from the Kiwis, half way up the first mark, with over 50 metres difference. A left shift helped the Kiwis shorten the distance down to 20 and later to 10 metres. Both boats sailing by the port layline. SUI-100 tacks and a few seconds later, the NZL-92 tacks too. Although the wind shifted left, in favour of the Kiwis, alinghi pass the wether mark 20 seconds ahead. The Kiwis go for a gybe-set and alinghi gybes in defence. SUI-100 appears to be faster, but NZL-92 takes metres out after each manoeuvre. One bad gybe from the Kiwis, gives a 150 metres advantage to the Swiss. Upwind the difference went up to five boatlengths although the wind fell to 8 knots. In a tacking duel, the Swiss tried to push the Kiwis off the layline. Rounding 25 seconds behind, the Kiwis go again for a gybe-set. In the final downwind, although the Kiwis fight to better their position, alinghi holds the 25 seconds delta. So, alinghi wins the fourth race by 30 seconds, squaring the series 2-2.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
ETNZ Wins Second Match
Today, the race was breath-taking. Alinghi had a better start, but later on ETNZ slept in front. The difference went even to 360 metres. On the downwind leg, ETNZ bowman slept and almost found himself swiming in the waters of Valencia. He managed to climb back onboard but created a mess with the spinnaker sheets. The spinnaker could not come down so the difference between the two boats came down to 30 metres. A very clever tack form Brad Butterworth brought alinghi in front for the first time. In the second downwind leg alinghi weather conditions were very tricky and the two boats were changing places all the time. Finally, it was ETNZ that managed to cross the finish line first, scoring a 2-1, just a few meters in front of alinghi.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
ETNZ Scores One!
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Alinghi Wins 1st Match
Alinghi trailed very early in this race, with Emirates Team New Zealand looking strong off the starting line. But the Swiss showed good pace, eventually forcing the Kiwis to tack off, and when the boats came together for a first cross, it was SUI 100 that was ahead.
Alinghi was able to convert that small advantage into a 13 second lead at the top mark. The Swiss made gains on both runs, while the Kiwis were able to close the gap a little bit on the second leg to windward.
By the finish it was Alinghi winning by 35 seconds. The Swiss take a 1-0 lead in the 'first to five' America's Cup Match.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Baird to Helm SUI-100
iShares Cup
The JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race is the second of three iShares Endurance Races in the 2007 Extreme 40 sailing calendar, the core of which are four premier European-based iShares Cup events where the Extreme 40 fleet is pitted against each other in three days of competitive racing.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
IDEC II
51 years old Breton Francis Joyon in February 2004 became the fastest world solo yachtsman, setting a time over 20 days faster than the previous record for a circumnavigation of 72 days 22 hours and 54 minutes and 22 seconds, covering more than 28,000 miles at an average speed of 15.5 knots on the 90 foot (27.4m) trimaran IDEC. In February 2005 Ellen MacArthur bettered Joyon's record by 1 day, 8 hours, 35 minutes, 49 seconds. On 6 July 2005 IDEC skippered by Francis Joyon crossed the finishing line between Lizard Point and Ushant, 6 days 4 hours 1 minute and 37 seconds after the start at Ambrose Lighthouse off New York. The Breton thus broke the 11-year old record of Laurent Bourgnon for the single-handed crossing of the Atlantic Ocean with a sailing boat. On this voyage he also broke the 24 hour distance record for single-handed sailing by sailing 543 nautical miles in one day on the 3 July 2005. Joyon's remarkable record voyage ended tragically on 7 July when IDEC became stuck between two rocks off the Breton coast. The boat was steered by autopilot while Joyon slept. When he and his helpers tried to salvage IDEC, the boat was lifted by a wave and smashed onto the rocks. Thus, the 4-million-Euro trimaran was wrecked and Joyon had no vessel to attempt to break further sailing records.
On May 9th 2006 Joyon announced that he was building a new muilti-hull to be called IDEC II. He plans to attempt a solo circumnavigation in autumn 2007. His new boat will be designed for solo sailing, unlike the original IDEC. Construction started last summer. IDEC 2 touched the water on June 19 in Lorient.
The boat design is by Nigel Irens & Bernard Caberet. Nigel Irens was the man who designed Joyon’s Banque Populaire ORMA trimaran. With this boat Joyon won the OSTAR 2000. Nigel Irens & Bernard Caberet also designed Thomas Coville's Sodebo, which is to be launched soon. IDEC is 100 feet long and weighs 11 tons compared to his previous boat which was 90 feet and weighed 16 tons. It has 10% more sail area. The new boat is capable of taking 3 days of the existing record under the same weather conditions. The new IDEC has a totally different overall philosophy. The length of the floats is 20% less than the main hull for structural reasons, floats must have certain dimensions front and aft of the crossbeams. For the central hull, there is no such limitation, thus the 100 feet. This design is safer downwind. As far as width is concerned, the figure is rather conservative at 16,50 metres, exactly like on Ellen MacArthur’s B&Q, which is a shorter boat. In that sense IDEC 2 will be a narrow boat.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Elpida Cup
The rest of the IMS fleet had an inshore race of 12 miles in a southern course. The weather conditions were the same over there as well. The prize-giving ceremony was held later Sunday night, where the cup sponsor, Alpha Trust mutual funds, handed in the cheque to the representatives of the Friends' Association for Children with Cancer 'ELPIDA'.
Bol d'Or Mirabaud
In typical Lake Geneva conditions with winds varying in speed and direction and after 12 hours of racing, the Bol d'Or Mirabaud came to a close in a tight finish for the three Extreme 40s who successfully completed the 82-mile journey of endurance in the 69th edition of this classic inland regatta. Female skipper and Olympic campaigning Tornado sailor, Carolijn Brouwer, led the Extreme 40s across the finish line onboard Holmatro at 2052 local time (+1hr BST). Then 5 minutes later Nick Moloney, skipper of Offshore Challenges Sailing Team, crossed the line obviously enjoying the conditions and the company of Swiss sailor Yvan Ravussin and Australian Olympic Tornado crew Darren Ashby onboard. The third Extreme 40, Volvo Ocean Race, this time steered by Herbert Dercksen finished just over 20 minutes later. It has been amazing to see 40 multihulls on the start line alongside over 500 other boats. The Extreme 40s would be doing 20 knots, flying one of their hulls.
Trofeo Alicante Completed
With Vicente Tirado's Caixa Galicia holding a lead of just two points and eight points separating the top five boats, the second coastal race of the Trofeo Alicante could prove to be the race that decides the regatta.
The southerly breeze offered the full range from eight to eighteen to four knots through the 28 miles course which took the fleet round Tabarca Island from the SW to NW. A long tactical beat in a building breeze saw the fleet split with a big lateral separation. The group which went left benefited from better pressure and a lifting direction.
While it was the pink flamed bow of the Valle Romano Mean Machine which breached the points gate and then the finish first, second in both sections vaulted Bribon to lead the overall standings. And although there has been a different leader each day, Bribon was looking forward to the final two scheduled windward-leeward races of Sunday with an eight points cushion.
On Sunday, day 6 of 6, there was no racing. The Rolf Vrolijk design was the last of the new 2007 build TP52’s to be commissioned and was completed in something close to record time. Launched only 13 days before the start of the regatta, with only four days sailing prior to the first start guns of the Trofeo Alicante, the crew of Bribon counted the clock down. When the 15:00 hrs time limit was finally reached and the last opportunity for racing expired with it, Bribon became the winners of the Trofeo Alicante, the first regatta of the 2007 Breitling MedCup circuit. The race officers made a valiant attempt to get a race away, but two general recalls thwarted their efforts and very quickly the seven knot south easterly gradient breeze died away to just a whisper.
While Bribon topped the 23 boat fleet which turned out for this first regatta of the season, Peter de Ridder’s Valle Romano Mean Machine won the Corinthian Trophy, taking second place overall.
Trofeo Alicante
With the 28 mile coastal race offering double points there was no room for errors today at the Trofeo Alicante, the first event of the 2007 Breitling MedCup circuit which has attracted 23 TP52's. The two boats which topped the leaderboard suffered their own costly problems. Artemis the Swedish boat skippered by three times America's Cup skipper Russell Coutts built a lead of over two and half minutes around the inshore course that took the fleet out from Alicante Bay around the Tabarca islands. But on the downwind sprint to the finish Artemis failed to pass to starboard of the final mark of the course before crossing the finish line and was subsequently disqualified from the race. Coutts protested for the jury's interpretation of the sailing instructions and Notice of Race who maintained they made a mistake and Artemis was reinstated as first for the first part of the race. The problems for series leaders, Ian Walker and the crew of Patches, were in their mainsail halyard lock that malfunctioned on the first beat.
Giraglia 2007
Maurizio Biscardi's sailing experience is not very extensive by his own admission, but that did not stop him and his crew onboard Libertine from taking home the top position in this classic Mediterranean regatta. Maurizio Biscardi's Comet 45s, with a corrected time of 28:42:29, became the IMS category winner with a lead of more than an hour and ten minutes over Ernesto Gismondi's Edimetra VI. Libertine had an excellent start on Wednesday in St. Tropez that allowed them to clear up their position among the fleet and stabilize their navigation. The first tactical decisions came in on Wednesday night when Libertine moved close to the coast and sailed on a stable wind of 6 knots. In the IRC class, it was nine full hours after Alfa Romeo that the second boat of the class arrived at the Yacht Club Italiano in Genoa. Quinta Santa Maria was second to arrive and Damiani Our Dream followed, only two nautical miles behind, taking 2nd place overall in the IRC Class on corrected time. Third place in the class went to K2Wind who came in on corrected time 10 minutes before Quinta Santa Maria, who was 4th and last overall in the class.
IRC Class
1. Alfa Romeo, Neville Crichton (NZL)
2. Damiani Our Dream, Claudio Uberti (ITA)
3. K2 Wind, Nicholas Wrigley (GBR)
IMS Class Group A
1. Libertine, Maurizio Biscardi (ITA)
2. Edimetra VI, Ernesto Gismondi (ITA)
3. Bcube, Andrea Siano (ITA)
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Elpida Cup
The event includes one coastal race, held today, and an inshore round the marks race planned for tommorow. Crews participating must consist of one male and one female only. The boats were divided in two IMS groups, a total number of 22 boats, and there were another 14 Platu 25 in a separate class.
The coastal race started with ideal sailing sonditions, a southwestern breeze of 10 to 12 knots. The 22 mile course was very exciting with wind shifts and close racing. The first boat to finish was a Bashford designed 40 footer that took less than 3 hours to cross the finish line.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Giraglia Offshore
MedCup Alicante
Two good races on the second day of competition at the Trofeo Alicante, the first regatta of the 2007 Breitling MedCup circuit, and it is Ian Walker and the crew of the new Reichel-Pugh designed Patches, owned by Eamon Conneely, which tops the fleet of 23 TP52’s.
In ideal conditions, 20 knots of breeze, perfect sunshine and just enough swell and chop to help the TP52’s pop their bows and plane, it was the type of exhilarating conditions savoured by owners, crews and spectators alike.
With Walker calling tactics and Tim Powell driving, the Irish flagged Patches added a second fifth place to their scoreline in the morning before finishing runners up this afternoon behind Peter de Ridder’s defending champions on Valle Romano Mean Machine. Patches lead by three points from Russell Coutts and a high calibre team on Torbjorn Tornqvist’s new Judel Vrolijk designed Artemis. Artemis scored a runaway win in the first race of the day.
Coutts choreographed a text book start clear ahead within seconds of the gun. In 10-14 knots of southerly breeze they reaped the rewards of erring towards the right, favoured side of the first beat and were never challenged after the first mark. Slick handling was required especially in the second race, as the sea breeze built sharply and De Ridder and his team capitalised after they went round the windward mark first, building a comfortable lead. The coastal race, which counts for double points, is scheduled for today.
Transatlantic Maxi Yacht Race
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Breitling MedCup Circuit 2007
MedCup- Alicante
As if proof is needed that a new 2007 TP52 not a necessity to win on the Breitling MedCup TP52 circuit, the three year old Botin & Carkeek design Balearia stole the thunder from the posse of brand new boats among the 23 strong fleet by winning the first - and only - race of the Trofeo Alicante today.
Good starting and astute first leg tactics proved much more important than sheer boatspeed today. In just a gentle southerly 6 knot breeze which swung slightly to the right, Balearia were smartly off the start line and quick to break to the favoured right side of the course. With French Olympic 470 gold medallist Thierry Pepponet calling tactics for skipper-helm Gonzalo Araujo, Balearia broke free of the traffic at the windward mark, passing the windward mark 11 seconds up on Vicente Tirado's new Caixa Galicia with Ricardo Simoneschi steering Anonimo, the 2006 Judel-Vroljk design, only four seconds behind in third. Anonimo went furthest right on the downwind leg to round the leeward gate in second, but they could make little impression on Balearia who went on take first gun with 45 seconds in hand over Anonimo and Caixa Galicia another 12 seconds behind.
After a long wait a second race was started but the breeze expired and just after 1730hours an end was called to a long day afloat in the heat when it as abundantly clear that no further racing would be possible. Complementing these changes, as well as recruiting Pepponet, Balearia has several new crew including former members of Spain's Desafio Espanol.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Giraglia Offshore
The Farr40 Class
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Giraglia Inshore Completed
The third day of inshore races drew to a close here today in St. Tropez with very light winds and a race that reaffirmed the positions of yesterday's leaders. In the IRC class, Alfa Romeo's lead never faltered as she finished the race in 1st position, 12 minutes ahead of Wild Oats XI who ended up finishing 3rd in the race after Magic Carpet Squared took 2nd place on corrected time. The Overall standings see Alfa Romeo in the top position, followed by Magic Carpet Squared in 2nd and Wild Oats XI in 3rd. In the IMS Class Group A, Edimetra VI came 1st overall, followed by Atalanta II and Nikimar who took 2nd and 3rd overall respectively. Group B saw Calima take 1st overall, followed by Citta' Di Genova in 2nd and Lima Golf 3 in 3rd.
It was the last day of the 2007 Giraglia Rolex Cup inshore races here in Saint Tropez and tensions were high as the leaders of each class set out on the water. The start for the IRC class and the IMS Class Group A was at 11:15 due to favourable weather conditions early in the day. As the Maxi's rapidly left the bay, Alfa Romeo was at the head of the group, leading the fleet into the 30-mile course along the coast which was later shortened due to a complete lack of wind. This lead never faltered, as Alfa Romeo was also the first of the IRC class to return to St. Tropez.
Today's races saw the first part of this weeklong regatta come to a close as the focus now shifts towards the second part of the Giraglia Rolex Cup. Tomorrow will see the start of the offshore race that is known as the "The Fastnet of the Mediterranean", a race that is well into her 55th year and that is one of the most popular regattas in Southern Europe. The Giraglia Race is a famous 243-mile course that takes the boats from the Gulf of St Tropez, South West along the French coast, around the island of Levant, across the Ligurian Sea and to the Giraglia Rock just North of Corsica before finishing in front of the Italian Port of Genoa. The Giraglia Rock is one of yacht racing's most famous landmarks, lending her name and serving as the turn mark for this now classic regatta.
Giraglia Rolex Cup
Monday, June 11, 2007
Giraglia Rolex Cup
Farr 40 Europeans
In the final race a fading wind strength and a huge shift, saw Stratis Andreadis & Atalanti XI start in last place after being caught over the line early and proceed to beat the entire fleet to the first mark after taking a flier and going out to the right-hand side of the course whilst the rest of the boats went left. Of more significance was the sight of Nerone rounding in 5th position followed by Mascalzone in 13th after the two boats had started the race side by side in true gunslinger style. Third by the leeward mark, Mezzaroma and Vascotto had worked themselves into the lead by second windward mark. Onorato and tactician Adrian Stead would not give up until the very end, working their w! ay through the fleet once more to finish the race in 6th. But by then, the Rolex Farr 40 European crown had passed to Mezzaroma and the crew of Nerone, who were celebrating a hard-fought victory with no little sign of relief. Farr 40 Class President, Jim Richardson - a two time Rolex Farr 40 World Champion - also believed the regatta had been one of the best and certainly one of the toughest, but is confident it demonstrates the strength and attractiveness of the class to the Owners and crew.
1) Nerone - Massimo Mezzaroma
2) Mascalzone Latino - Vincenzo Onorato
3) Kokomo - Lang & Sue Walker
Farr 40 Europeans
2/Nerone - Massimo Mezzaroma
3/Kokomo - Lang & Sue Walker
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Who is Glenn Bourke
Bourke is not just a “businessperson” controlling people's lives in the oceans from behind a desk, in Volvo Ocean Race headquarters. Bourke is a triple world champion Laser sailor and twice Australian Yachtsman of the Year. He has raced successfully in the Mumm 36 class, finishing third in the 1994 Mumm 36 World Championships in the Solent. Bourke also won the Royal Southern SB3 Grand Prix and Seaview SB3 Grand Prix recently.
Friday, June 8, 2007
Farr 40 Europeans
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Rolex Farr 40 Europeans
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
We Have a Challenger
Another immaculate start from James Spithill in todays race, that started after a short delay due to lack of wind. From the dialup in the pre-start, Dean Barker bear away but Spithill managed to get a better position off the committee boat in the windward position of the line. The boats remained close for most of the time of the upwind leg, when eventually both went outside the layline. But it was the ETNZ boat that passed the weathermark 20 seconds ahead, the same delta that retained in the second mark and again in the third. In the final leg the Italians tried to fight back, reducing the difference to just 30 meters, but Barker was cool enough to cross the line first, with a 22 seconds delta. For the first time the Newzealnders looked happy and cheered each other. Prada Luna Rossa challenge did an excellent match and a great appearance throughout the Louis Vuitton Cup.
Settimana delle Bocche
A highly competitive fleet has gathered to contest the Farr 40 class European Championships which is being held during the Rolex Settimana delle Bocche in Porto Cervo, Sardinia. Hosted by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda for the second time, this is the 8th edition of the Europeans and it has attracted one of the biggest fleets in the event's history. At a close-fought Farr 40 Mediterranean season opener in Capri, Jim Richardson (Class President) & the crew of Barking Mad led by tactician Bouwe Bekking won by a convincing margin of 9-points despite not posting a single first place bullet during the seven race programme. The coming four days will see 21 yachts from 9 nations do battle for the European Championship crown over a scheduled eleven race series comprising short windward-leeward courses that will once again test the tactical prowess of the afterguard, the concentration of the owner/driver helms and the physical endurance of their crew in this strict One-Design class.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Team New Zealand Wins 4th Match
The Italian challenger began the day down 3-0 to Emirates Team New Zealand in the Louis Vuitton Cup Final and couldn’t afford another loss. But, the Emirates Team New Zealand squad won its fourth consecutive race of the Louis Vuitton Cup Final and now sits one win away from a trip to the America’s Cup Match. The Kiwis trailed early in Tuesday’s race, but soon recovered to lead at every turning mark of the race course. Luna Rossa Challenge won the first cross in today’s race after the teams took opposite sides of the starting line and split early on the first leg. The Italians were on the right hand side and made a nice gain in the first few minutes after the starting gun. When the boats converged for the first cross, Luna Rossa skipper Francesco de Angelis tacked on Kiwi Dean Barker with nearly 100 metres on the bow to bow advantage line. After NZL 92 tacked back out to the left, each team tacked again, setting up a second cross. The Kiwis had clearly made a gain and Italian tactician Torben Grael called for an early tack to leeward of the New Zealand boat. Within minutes, the Emirates squad had lifted inside ITA 94 and regained the advantage line. The Kiwis sailed the Italians out past the starboard tack layline, consolidating their lead, and rounded the first mark 19 seconds ahead. From their, Emirates Team New Zealand was never threatened, and the Kiwis won the race by 52 seconds.
Groupama 3 New Record!
One month after taking the Discovery Route record, Franck Cammas and his crew on the maxi-trimaran Groupama 3 have absolutely pulverised the Miami to New York record, held by Steve Fossett with his catamaran Playstation. The all French crew left Miami on Sunday June 3, at 11:31 UTC and reached crossed the finishing line at the Ambrose lighthouse at 22:36 UTC on Monday June 4, to cut a staggering 18 hours off Fossett’s time. The new record (subject to WSSRC ratification) is 1 day 11 hours 5 minutes 20 seconds. Groupama 3’s average time was 26.77 knots, compared to 17.57 knots for Playstation. Shortly after the finish, Franck Cammas said “It was a stressful record run, but a great end result. We took advantage of a good weather window and a solid crew exploited a great boat to the full.”
Breitling MedCup
Franck Cammas
Personal Everest
Sunday, June 3, 2007
ETNZ-Luna Rossa 3-0
Saturday, June 2, 2007
ETNZ-Luna Rossa: 2-0
Having conceded the right-hand side of the start line yesterday, James Spithill took some risk in getting across the bow of Emirates Team New Zealand while Luna Rossa was on port tack. Despite a Y-flag protest by the Kiwis, the Umpires green-flagged the situation and the Italian gamble had paid off; Spithill was now controlling the right-hand side of the start box.
As the start gun fired however, it was the New Zealand boat that was fully up to speed, with the Italians close to windward but forced into an early tack to the right. That extra momentum off the start gave Dean Barker an early boatlength's advantage, which he used to tack over and shadow Spithill's progress to the right.
Like yesterday, the boats looked absolutely matched for speed in these moderate, steady breezes, which made that early advantage to the Kiwis all the more crucial. When the Italians eventually tacked back to face the enemy, the New Zealanders were able to respond to every assault and put added distance on their rivals as a tacking duel ensued.
The Emirates Team New Zealand squad sailed what appeared to be a perfect race on Saturday, winning the start, taking an early advantage and extending the rest of the way to a convincing victory. The Kiwi team is now up 2-0 in the 'first to five' Final of the Louis Vuitton Cup.
Friday, June 1, 2007
ETNZ Win 1st Final Match
In their first match for the finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup that started today, Friday 1st of June, Emirates Team New Zealand took its first win over Prada Luna Rossa. Both boats started immaculately but in the first weathermark, ETNZ had an 11 seconds lead. In the next weathermark pass the difference was just 2 seconds, leaving Luna Rossa second with a final delta of 8 seconds. Emirates Team New Zealand won an incredibly close match over Luna Rossa Challenge on Friday to take a 1-0 lead in the Final of the Louis Vuitton Cup. The Kiwis never led by more than 12-seconds around the race course. Most observers were expecting some close racing in this contest and the two finalists didn’t disappoint. The final run to the finish saw Luna Rossa make a small gain on the left hand side of the race course. With the boats just a few hundreds metres from the finishing line, ITA 94 helmsman James Spithill threw in a final gybe that put his team charging at the line. But Kiwi squad held its nerve, executing a precision gybe just moments before crossing the line, with Luna Rossa nearly overlapped behind them. Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker and his team draw first blood, leading the series 1-0. Conditions were ideal for racing, with a Southeasterly sea breeze of between 10 and 14 knots. Racing was postponed for a short time to allow the Race Committee to re-set the starting line after a 10 degree wind shift. An enormous spectator fleet was on hand to enjoy the close racing.