America's Cup: American Magic wins - is the Slingsby factor already working?
Tatjana Pokorny
· 17.09.2023
The first pre-regatta for the 37th America's Cup is over. It began with a surprise victory for the French Orient Express, continued with New Zealand class and ended with an American victory. The US team American Magic won the first official test of strength in the 37th America's Cup cycle with a spectacular final spurt.
With a compelling final spurt to victory
The two helmsmen Tom Slingsby and Paul Goodison and their trimmers Riley Gibbs and Michael Menninger were responsible for this in the doldrums battle in the Spanish waters of Vilanova i la Geltrú on the new AC40 foilers. The quartet demonstrated their masterclass under the Stars & Stripes banner, shining with a second place and two wins in a row on the final day after a slow start.
Tom Slingsby and his crew elegantly and confidently navigated the course and stole victory from the competition on the home straight. The originally planned match race final between the two best of the six Cup teams - American Magic and Emirates Team New Zealand - could not be completed in the dying winds, much to the chagrin of the fans. So the scores were decided after a total of five fleet races.
The first victory goes to the New York Yacht Club
The first pre-regatta for the 37th America's Cup was held just 50 kilometres away from the new America's Cup metropolis of Barcelona off Vilanova i la Geltrú. While streams of fans crowded the beach and promenades, on Sunday an armada of spectator boats lined the short course on which the teams' AC40 foilers were racing in the opening test of strength. The pre-regatta already hinted at the spectator potential the Spanish hosts have to offer for next year.
The races have no impact on the battle for the America's Cup. But they did show which of the crews are already in top form one year before the start of the Cup, even in difficult calm conditions. American Magic's helmsman Tom Slingsby - an exceptional Australian sailor, SailGP dominator, Laser Olympic champion and Moth world champion with an American passport - had made it clear before the start of the pre-regatta that good results here were above all mentally valuable. He, Paul Goodison and the crew have now provided their team from the New York Yacht Club with this mental boost.
France's Orient Express surprises
The final day brought an arm wrestle between the Cup defenders from Emirates Team New Zealand and the Americans in the three completed races, which ended this weekend in favour of the team from the New York Yacht Club. Other teams also made a good impression, most notably the French Orient Express Racing Team, founded and led by German-Frenchman Stéphan Kandler and Bruno Dubois.
The latecomers from France had only been able to gain 15 days of sailing experience on the new AC40 foiler before the first starting signal, before opening the regatta with a victory in the first race and finishing third in the final standings. Kevin Peponnet, one of the two helmsmen alongside Quentin Delapierre, who is also active in the SailGP for France, said: "We felt good. We feel more confident on the boat every day and that gives us a lot of confidence for the next event in Jeddah in a month and a half."
It may be a foiler, but it's still a boat" (Kevin Peponnet)
Peponnet continued: "It's a really good start for us and an incredible start for the team to be on the podium after only 15 days of sailing ... I think everyone is surprised by the performance because we started late. Everyone except us, the sailors. Looking at the other teams, we realised that we are not that far away from the front of the fleet. Tactically, it's just a boat like any other. You have to find the right trajectory with good speed. It may be a foiler, but it's still a boat."
While Patrizio Bertelli's Italian team Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and Ernesto Bertarelli's Team Alinghi Red Bull Racing fought some spectacular duels, these two Cup giants initially had to settle for fourth and fifth place in the final standings. At least that sounded better than sixth and last place for Sir Ben Ainslie's Cup chasers from the mighty Team Ineos Britannia. The lack of practice time on the AC40-Foiler was more noticeable for the English than the French.
We thought we could get away with not putting so much time into the AC40s" (Sir Ben Ainslie)
Ainslie wants to work with his team until the second pre-regatta at the end of November and beginning of December in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to make up for this deficit. At the same time, he has maintained his stance that nothing is more important in his third attempt to bring the America's Cup back to his home country than launching the fastest AC75 Cup yacht in August 2024. Which means that the AC40 show in Team Ineos Britannia, which is attractive to fans, partners and sponsors, is not quite such a high priority, even if the boss, as the most successful Olympic sailor in the sport's history, was very reluctant to come last.
The four-time Olympic champion said on Sunday evening in Vilanova i la Geltrú: "When I look at the overall programme, we clearly put too much emphasis on the tests. We thought we could get away with not putting too much time into the AC40s and still be there or close. We didn't sail well, we didn't spend enough time in the boat. And there were some other issues in terms of our preparation time in the boat."
The weather has done everything it can to disrupt us, but I believe that the America's Cup will be a great event" (Grant Dalton)
Sir Ainslie reflected self-critically: "For a professional sports team, it's not okay to finish last. So we will have a good debrief and think about what we can do to be more competitive in Jeddah. But of course we can't completely turn our backs on the test boat and we need to make sure we have the fastest AC75 yacht next summer - that's the balance we need to strike."
Grant Dalton, New Zealand driver of his ever-winning Kiwis, CEO of America's Cup events and spiritual father of the relocation of the America's Cup from New Zealand to Barcelona, was generally satisfied with the regatta: "I think Catalonia and Vilanova were fantastic. I was in the Race Village a few times and felt the atmosphere. The weather did everything it could to disrupt us, but I think the America's Cup will be a great event."
