Barcelona delivered some stunning conditions on the fourth day of the first round robin stage of the Louis Vuitton Cup with an easterly breeze that oscillated around 10 knots allowing the Race Committee to set a course running close to the Barceloneta beachfront and providing a superb sailing spectacle. The sailors were on point too, delivering an all-action day packed with lead changes, overtakes, match-racing tactics, and execution of the highest order in a superb advert not only for the Louis Vuitton Cup but the sport of sailing at its very pinnacle.
In the overall standings (including the Defender) three teams finished the opening Round Robin with four points – Emirates Team New Zealand, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, and INEOS Britannia. Meanwhile, in the Challenger-only standings Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli are on top having delivered a perfect 4-0 scoreline.
Whilst the top of the table is clear, it’s down at the bottom where the fight is real and for Alinghi Red Bull Racing and Orient Express Racing Team, who both lost important and winnable races today, they are in the fight of their lives in the second Round Robin, that is scheduled to start on Tuesday.
The Swiss lost their opening race against Emirates Team New Zealand through disqualification after a mast/mainsail issue forced them back into the Port Vell and they just fell foul of the boundary requirements on their return to the racecourse. A close race but ultimately a defeat by a ruthless Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in their second race leaves the Swiss with zero points from the opening Round Robin.
Arnaud Psarofaghis, Skipper of Alinghi Red Bull Racing was more than aware of the situation they face and knows they need a fast start at the very beginning of Round Robin 2 on Tuesday. Asked how the team are faring he remained positive, saying: “The mood in the camp is really good. We know we need to put points on the board and to do that we need to win races. We need to start soon otherwise we are not going to be able to do it anymore. Every day we are just going to try again and again and try to fix what we are missing so far. It’s now or never and so we are looking forward to Tuesday to go out there and do some good races.”
After sailing a truly clinical race, Francesco Bruni, port helm, made it clear that Luna Rossa are here to win, saying: “It is very important to do well because we want to be in that semi-final and not be the ones going home early. We are putting a lot of focus on sailing well and also learning for the future. It’s not just about collecting results, it’s a balance between collecting good results but also improving day-by-day. That’s why we train before and after racing so that we can keep improving.
For Orient Express Racing Team, today was a huge opportunity to secure a vital point but they faced a fired-up INEOS Britannia who recovered supremely well from two penalties on the first upwind leg to snatch a victory and dash French hopes. Quentin Delapierre, skipper of Orient Express Racing Team rued another near miss today saying: “It was a great fight and that's really positive. Our boat is going faster and faster and our manoeuvres are getting better. I’m really proud of the team also to take the start this time, and I think everything is getting better and better. We just need to do things a bit more accurately to win races, but we are not far off.”
Dylan Fletcher, port helm on INEOS Britannia, was relieved with the win but also pleased overall with Britannia's speed, saying: “We made it quite hard on ourselves today – to be fair our starting coach (Ian Williams) was saying that we needed to have a good battle out there, so we gave him one of those! But it was nice to see Britannia going fast and we were confident out there, so we just need to keep building on this momentum and now it's time for Round Robin 2.”
The concluding race of the Louis Vuitton Cup opening Round Robin was something of a classic between Emirates Team New Zealand and NYYC American Magic – two teams who both had something to prove, gain and learn from each other. It was a tense, close battle right from the start with some textbook match-racing and pin-point execution that saw lead changes aplenty before the Kiwis ultimately came up with masterful positioning on the second downwind leg and some great reading of the pressure to seize a lead that they never lost.
For Emirates Team New Zealand it was a chance to check in after their repairs on Friday and Andy Maloney, trimmer on ‘Taihoro’ appeared more than pleased in the race against NYYC American Magic, saying: “Amazing effort by the shore crew to get us out there yesterday like they did and the boat was feeling good...the phases though were extremely difficult out there. We didn't read them that well on the first upwind, which we sort of kick ourselves for, but then from then on, I think we re-grouped well and sailed a really good race, keeping in phase when we could and splitting when we had the opportunity to get past them. But extremely difficult and I think you can both be in phase with different puffs around the racecourse.”
Tom Slingsby, starboard helm on NYYC American Magic, shouldered some of the blame for their loss today saying: “We had a really good first lap, we were behind on the first cross and then got back and got them at the top mark. We had a nice run, led them around the bottom mark, which was nice, and then the second beat it felt like they were potentially manoeuvring a bit better than us. We tried matching them a couple of times and then they seemed to be closing in on us and, my hands are up, I decided to say: "look we're bleeding here, let's let them go and just concentrate on ourselves and try to pick the shifts’ and I chose the wrong time to do that.”
There is now just one scheduled day off before the regatta rolls into Round Robin 2 and most teams will elect to take a maintenance day before racing is scheduled to start on Tuesday with what could be a semi-final decider race between Orient Express Racing Team and Alinghi Red Bull Racing in the very first race.
The pressure is white-hot and rising at the Louis Vuitton Cup with one of these excellent teams going home exactly one week from today – and no-one, but no-one wants to be that team.