Day 4 01/09/24 – Tight at the top at the end of the Louis Vuitton Cup opening round robin
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.
Day 3 31/08/24 – Patience and accuracy rewarded on day three of the Louis Vuitton Cup
It was a tough day at the office for the world’s greatest sailors competing at the Louis Vuitton Cup in Barcelona with light winds eliciting those sporting extremes of both elation and frustration. It was a day where the slightest drop in concentration or fall in wind pressure could spell disaster, but it was the Italian team of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli who showed outstanding skill, winning two points from two races, who top the rankings amongst the Challenger teams tonight.
Plenty of positives could be taken away from the other single-race winners on the day including NYYC American Magic, INEOS Britannia and Emirates Team New Zealand, but for Alinghi Red Bull Racing and Orient Express Racing Team, they both are looking up the leaderboard, knowing they are in a fight for survival.
It was especially tough for the Swiss, who suffered a third straight defeat in the Louis Vuitton Cup, falling off their foils in a haze of wing-wash thrown mercilessly down at the start of their race against INEOS Britannia who themselves survived a late fall off the foils on the final downwind leg, but managed to to recover to take the win. The British went on to succumb to a light-airs defeat against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, where a foil fall was more costly.
Sir Ben Ainslie was upbeat after racing, saying: “We had a couple of good races there, a couple of really nice starts, we came off the foil in the first race which gave Alinghi Red Bull Racing a sniff of getting back into the race – pretty stressful moments – but we managed to get that point across-the-board. Then another nice start against the Italians, got the first cross but all the pressure came in from the left at the top of that beat and they got the cross, got the lead. It was reasonably close and we just had a gybe in light air, fell off the foil which was pretty painful and that was the end of the race. They did a nice job.”
The Swiss sit frustrated at the bottom of the standings of the Louis Vuitton Cup with the team eyeing time in the simulator to improve. Maxime Bachelin, port helm came ashore positive but realistic, saying: “Very tough today. Again, we didn’t manage to take a start, and we didn’t anticipate how big the bad air was between the boats, so very difficult, but it’s not over. We will keep pushing and we will work more on the mini-patterns in the simulator.”
The race of the day on paper was the opener between Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and NYYC American Magic with these two very even teams going head-to-head and just one poor tack on the opening upwind leg by the Americans separating the two. Once ahead, Luna Rossa never looked back despite the distance delta not increasing over the remaining five legs and the Americans keeping it remarkably tight.
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli helmsmen Jimmy Spithill and Francesco Bruni sailed brilliantly today, and are proving to be a real force in the Louis Vuitton Cup, but their Flight Control team of Umberto Molineris and Andrea Tesei are gaining wide praise for their control. Spithill was especially complimentary saying: “I thought they were just really high-level today and didn’t make any mistakes. We need them to be that good because we’ve clearly pushed our foils and pushed the rudders and so that technique is super-important and today those guys really stood above.”
Spithill went on to comment about the potential still left within the Luna Rossa AC75 saying: “There’s a long way to go. We know there’s a bunch of stuff we’re still not doing correctly out there technique-wise – just how we are sailing the boat. The fact is that as you go through this race series, where it really counts, that’s when you get your biggest jump in development usually. So we’re just excited about the potential we’ve still got – because we are nowhere near where we need to be.”
Paul Goodison, port helm on ‘Patriot’ spoke about the fine margins at the very elite level of America’s Cup racing saying: “I thought we sailed pretty well today. We got really good starts, and we won both first crosses. In the past when we have won the first cross, we’ve gone on to win, so we are obviously frustrated that the Italians got round us in a very close race. We have learned that the more consistent we are, the better we are. So, we just have to keep polishing and brushing up around the edges. The Italians sailed a good race, but I don’t think there’s too much in it.”
NYYC American Magic went on to secure a point against Orient Express Racing after a very light airs race that saw both teams fighting to stay on the foils and some snakes and ladders on a tricky course. The Americans just executed better and, despite the race being too close to call at times with the French once again proved they have a fast design. Ultimately a poor layline call and gybe ended French hopes, and the win went to NYYC American Magic by a flattering margin.
For Quentin Delapierre, the regatta is getting serious as he said: “I’m pleased with the boat performance but I’m not happy. I mean they were just in front of us, I think 50 or 60 metres and we had a great comeback. This is the kind of match-race you want to win so it’s really disappointing honestly, but there are a lot of positive vibes on the boat and the boat handling and also for the shore crew. We are in a good rhythmn, but we need to score.”
The only other scoreboard chalk today was by Emirates Team New Zealand who came bouncing back to the racecourse in their impressively repaired ‘Taihoro.’ A race unopposed against the French, who retired before the start with mainsail issues, allowed the Kiwis to give their AC75 a full test at race pace. It passed with flying colours but there will be sterner tests ahead for sure, starting tomorrow.
Blair Tuke, Flight Controller onboard ‘Taihoro’ praised the effort of everyone in the team and spoke about how the patched-up boat felt on the water, saying: “To the whole team, just a massive well done. It certainly tested us as a team over the last few days but an amazing response from everyone. It was a very scary and tense time, a delicate situation and really unlucky to begin with, but lucky with just how minimal the damage was compared to what it could have been. We’re back racing two days later, we didn’t get that much action in, but the boat felt great, and we are back in it, pushing it as we always would. It’s just a credit to everyone in the team.”
Racing continues on Sunday at the conclusion of the opening Round Robin of the Louis Vuitton Cup with four races scheduled. The first race of the day will be the catch-up from today’s abandoned final race between Alinghi Red Bull Racing and Emirates Team New Zealand before the three final scheduled races of the Round Robin.
The pecking order is starting to become established but there is still all to play for as the first Round Robin comes to a conclusion and next week’s deciding second Round Robin begins. The harsh fact remains: one of these fine teams exits the competition a week on Sunday.
Day 2 30/08/24 – Wind shuts down after two races on second day of Louis Vuitton Cup
A tricky day for the Race Officers at the Louis Vuitton Cup who managed to get two races completed before the wind shut-down to below the 6.5 knot lower limit average across a zephyr-laden course and caused the racing to be reluctantly cancelled ahead of the start between the Italian and American teams.
Mother Nature had more than a say in the first completed race of the day with Alinghi Red Bull Racing falling off their foils almost immediately in the pre-start box after a slow first gybe into significant wing wash behind the crossing ‘Patriot’ of NYYC American Magic. With it being almost impossible to speed-build enough to get flying on the foils, the Swiss were left frustratingly in displacement but kept resolutely calm onboard.
At the start, the Americans were unopposed, sailing on the foils and stretching into an enormous lead that they clung to tenaciously with some superb boat control from helmsmen Tom Slingsby and Paul Goodison aligned with even better flight control from Michael Menninger and Andrew Campbell. It was a race, however, that never felt over with much jeopardy across the racecourse on all four legs.
With the Race Committee shortening the course length repeatedly and eventually calling for the finish at the end of leg four (of a possible six) with the time-limit of 45 minutes a factor, the boats were at one stage in displacement, off their foils in sync, desperate to attain flight. Both teams sailed high angles boundary to boundary in a search for zephyrs of Barcelona onshore breeze and although both managed to get back in the air, it was brief and precarious.
The Americans though, had built a massive lead of almost a leg and ghosted across the finish line, again off the foils, to score their first win of the Louis Vuitton Cup. Alinghi Red Bull Racing picked up some new breeze at the top of the course and held it all the way down the final leg, flying high, sailing brilliantly but with a losing delta of two minutes and 58 seconds.
Talking after racing, Tom Slingsby was upbeat but realistic about the conditions, saying: We had a little bit of breeze when we started the race, and we had got them off the foils so we were thinking ‘okay we should be able to just cruise around the racetrack.’ But the wind started dying and dying and went from sort of 7.5 to 6.5 knots and then we were getting patches of five knots at times. When we fell off the foils going down the last run, I started trying to do the mental maths: If I sail 10 knots at 120 degrees and he is now on the foils, how long is it going to take him to catch us. Those conditions are so stressful and I’m glad we had a big enough lead to put points on the board. It’s really hard in these conditions to feel like you’re getting momentum. Even though we got the win today you are always on the edge where one little mistake and you are off the foils and it’s race over.”
Speaking about the missed race with Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, Tom added: “Luna Rossa, they’re a tougher task. With all respect to Alinghi Red Bull Racing, the Italians seem to be the form challenger and they’ll be very tough to beat – especially in those conditions.”
For the Swiss, the competition is proving tough after an opening day loss to Orient Express Racing Team and again today, but Arnaud Psarofaghis, skipper of Alinghi Red Bull Racing, remained positive, saying afterwards: “Tricky day today just between the wind limit and a fair race on the racecourse, but we like tricky races. If it had gone our way, it would’ve been a slightly better taste, but it was interesting. We made a mistake on the entry, American Magic did a good job to slow us down, and the race was not over from there as we knew that something could happen, and we just tried to fight our way back. Unfortunately, we had some really light breeze at the bottom of the course and then we just tried to get back on the foil. It’s only two races, two losses. I think everyone can do something strange one day and for us it was today.”
The second completed race of the day saw INEOS Britannia race unopposed against the non-sailing Emirates Team New Zealand. The schedule and the rules dictated that Sir Ben Ainslie’s British team needed to complete the starting sequence and begin the race before the Chief Umpire, Richard Slater called the win for the British.
Dylan Fletcher, helmsman on the port side of INEOS Britannia, came ashore looking forward to an improving weather picture on Saturday and two scheduled races against Alinghi Red Bull Racing and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli. Asked how the team were preparing for those two races, Dylan commented: “I think we’re just building on the Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta, where we had maybe bit of luck on our side in the start against American Magic, but we’ve been preparing a lot in the SIM with our starting coach Ian Williams, so looking forward to the fight.”
Talking about the damage caused to Emirates Team New Zealand last night, Dylan was looking forward to welcoming the Defenders of the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup back, saying: “First and foremost just very happy that everyone was safe, and although the boat was damaged, their health and safety was all good, but very unfortunate for them it sounds like they’ll be back on the water tomorrow so they have obviously done a good job of turning the yacht around, and the damage can’t have been too major.”
Emirates Team New Zealand issued a statement after racing had concluded today, saying: After a thorough examination the team have been relieved that the damage was not as significant as initially expected. “There was a big scope of work to figure out where the damage was and how to fix it. The structural damage is reasonably significant, but it was all stuff we can repair to the hull.” said structural engineer Dave Olsen. “You wouldn’t say we were lucky because it was a bad afternoon, but compared to what it could have been we are feeling very thankful for sure.” The work has been relentless behind the boat shed doors by a highly skilled group of boat builders that have embraced the challenged presented just 24 hours ago. “The shore crew and boat builders are world class; they turn this stuff around really high quality and really quickly. They are all putting big hours, and we will get this boat back on the water and racing again.” The team are aiming to be back out on the racecourse tomorrow, Saturday 31st lining up again for their next scheduled race.
The schedule to catch up on the two lost races today has been announced by the Race Committee with six races scheduled for Saturday 31st August and the two missed races today to be raced at the top of the programme.
Day 1 29/08/24 – Racing fit for royalty on day one of the Louis Vuitton Cup
His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain was treated to a real spectacle on day one of the Louis Vuitton Cup with desperately close racing and some very interesting take-aways in light-airs. The King took to a hydrogen powered foiling support vessel to get a close-up view, on the racecourse itself, of the opening two races of the day where the French Orient Express Racing Team came out with fire in their belly and scored a thrilling win against Alinghi Red Bull Racing.
For the French, short on time in the AC75, this was a vital win with Kevin Peponnet, port helm exuding a newfound confidence, saying: “We are feeling really positive. We didn’t win both races, but the goal was to at least win a race today. We felt that Alinghi Red Bull Racing have more weaknesses than Luna Rossa, so a win was more achievable – it was good to win this match. Then against Luna Rossa we felt we were in contention and although we lost, we have come away from that race feeling like we definitely have the potential to win against the big ones – and we haven’t discovered the full potential of our boat yet.”
Maxime Bachelin, port helm on Alinghi Red Bull Racing remained upbeat after the loss to Orient Express Racing Team, saying: “For sure it’s not the best start for the team, we are always expecting to be winning races every day, every race, so not great to start with a loss, but I feel that we have a strong team so we will come back with more things to work on, if we lose it means that we need to learn some stuff, and so we will learn and be back stronger.”
His Majesty stayed onboard the on-course hydrogen support vessel for what was billed as the blockbuster re-run of the Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta Final between Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli – and it didn’t disappoint. Early advantage went to the Italians but some brilliant lee-bow sailing out by the starboard boundary on the second upwind leg by helmsmen Peter Burling and Nathan Outteridge, took the Kiwis into a lead that they never lost.
Speaking afterwards, Andy Maloney, one of the onboard Flight Controllers and Trimmers for Emirates Team New Zealand talked through what was the move of the day to get ahead saying: “Another great race against the Italians and really, really, happy with how we sailed that race. We stuck with them when we needed to and took a few opportunities to split and get back into the race. Then on that final tack, they tacked in a position that we thought we could just live with on their hip long enough to hold them to the layline and then did a pretty nice tack out of there as well and just managed to squeeze them off it.”
Francesco Bruni, coming ashore with a one-win, one-loss record, gave his assessment of the day saying: “We can take a lot of positives from the match with the Kiwis. We got away well, and we were leading the match so not super happy when they passed us. But to be able to fight closely with the Kiwis is a good sign. It is not easy to win against them, we know, and we will have to review the mistakes we made.”
The third race of the day saw drama at the start with NYYC American Magic falling off their foils before even having a chance to enter the pre-start box and gifting INEOS Britannia a clear start. Different headsails strategies were in evidence between the boats but the British were never headed despite the Americans closing the gap to just 14 seconds at the finish line. Close and dramatic, the race summed up the day.
Sir Ben Ainslie came ashore, pleased with the win saying: “It was a nice win for the team to get one on the board early on. American Magic had a few issues at the start so we had a big old gap there and we didn’t feel like we sailed a particularly great race in terms of either defending the lead or finding the right balance and the groove in the boat, so we spent a bit of time after racing just trying figure that out, particularly on the manoeuvres which we know are so key in these conditions. I think it’s a positive result but plenty to work on.”
Paul Goodison, port helm on NYYC American Magic gave his precis of a difficult day saying: “It was really tricky today. We were making the jib call on the left side of the course and we were seeing 12 to 13 knots and so we set up for a full power race with a J2 – which would have been at the top of its range if the breeze had stayed in. Then when we came across to the starboard end of the line for the start, we saw five to six knots wind speed and it was too light to manoeuvre. So we shot ourselves in the foot there but after that it was impressive how we pulled ourselves back together and kept on chasing, chasing, chasing. At the end we were only one bad manoeuvre away from getting past them. We are bitterly disappointed. We wanted a win today and we are going to have to take a good hard look at what went wrong in the start box. But there is plenty positive to take away from how we sailed the boat and how we managed to keep clawing it back in conditions that were hard to come back in.”
The final race of the day saw Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli take on the hard-driving Orient Express Racing Team who showed today the enormous potential that they have in their AC75. Some smart match-racing tactics on the opening windward leg, and the ability to adopt a super-high mode off the start line, gave the Italians a slim advantage that they held to the end, but the French kept them more than honest over the six-leg course.
Francesco Bruni, took the positives from the win against the French, and spoke specifically about the decisive tactics off the line by his co-helm Jimmy Spithill, saying: “That’s a move we have been playing many times and we had a good start thanks to Jimmy as he pulled the trigger nicely off the line and then we were in control. It was not an easy point as the French showed some good speed in those conditions. We are very happy to get that point because I think they are a team that can win races for sure. I think that proves that there are no easy races.”
The opening day of the Louis Vuitton Cup first Round Robin certainly didn’t disappoint, and the mood dockside amongst the sailors was all about the bigger picture and getting points on the board. Three more days of racing are set and with a similar forecast we could well continue to see upsets on the back of tight match-racing, multiple passing lanes and close finishes. This is getting very interesting.
Footnote: With racing concluded, there was an incident dockside at the Emirates Team New Zealand base that the team issued the following statement about saying: “While retrieving the AC75 from sailing today the crane failed while lifting onto its cradle and landed heavily. All team members are safe. The extent of the damage will be assessed as soon as possible.”
