America's Cup: Before the second pre-regatta on the Red Sea - Kiwis in top form
Tatjana Pokorny
· 29.11.2023
Saudi Arabia's most important harbour city, Jeddah, is dominated by international sailing this week. The America's Cup is making a stop here and will hold its second pre-regatta from 30 November. The Cup defenders from Emirates Team New Zealand will be competing on AC40 training and test yachts against their five challengers from Great Britain, Italy, America, Switzerland and France.
Oriental premiere for the America's Cup
The last Cup show of the year takes place just under a month before Christmas and challenges the teams in a fantastically beautiful sailing area. After initial safety concerns, the US team American Magic will also be competing in the historic first oriental version of a Cup regatta. The backdrop is a city straight out of the Arabian Nights, which is also characterised by state-of-the-art architecture. The America's Cup has never been hosted on the Red Sea before in its 172-year history.
In the last official test races on Wednesday, the teams put their skills to the test once again - with varying degrees of success. In three preceding match races as a warm-up, the Americans in particular made a very controlled and fast impression with world sailor Tom Slingsby, while Italy's Cup youngsters with Nacra 17 Olympic champion Ruggero Tita and three-time Optimist world champion Marco Gradoni, who is only 19 years old, had "the Ferrari dive deep into the Red Sea in front of the boss" in an unsuccessful manoeuvre.
The dress rehearsal: match racing as a warm-up, three fleet races for everyone
Different Cup teams set the tone in the day's three fleet races on Wednesday. Although Sir Ben Ainslie and his Ineos Britannia team picked up two penalties in the very first race, they looked very determined and fast on the course. The usually so confident Kiwis surprised everyone with a botched start at the Fleetrace opener with all six Cup teams. The French "Davids" opened the dress rehearsal in concert with the Cup superpowers strongly, before an unfortunate jibe threw the up-and-comers backwards.
In the second fleet race, the familiar Cup conditions were partially restored at speeds of over 30 knots: Emirates Team New Zealand dominated the race massively, reaching the finish line three quarters of a kilometre ahead of Alinghi Red Bull Racing and Patrizio Bertelli's Team Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli. The French team finished sixth behind the Americans and the British in fourth and fifth place after hydraulic problems.
In the third and final heat of the fleet races, the Americans fell off the foils and were initially stuck on the start line like an obstacle, incurring an early start penalty in the process. The British and French pulled away first, but this race was closer and more varied than the previous ones and gave a good foretaste of the excitement that is expected for the 2nd Cup pre-regatta in Jeddah from Thursday.
Alinghi Red Bull Racing: disqualified after three penalties in race three
Curious: Alinghi Red Bull Racing received three penalties in a row in the final race of the dress rehearsal and was disqualified. Visibly irritated, helmsman Arnaud Psarofaghis enquired about the reason for the penalty after the first one. Because the Swiss had not reacted, the penalties piled up in quick succession until they were eliminated.
Meanwhile, things were exciting on the course. Brits, Kiwis and Italians battled for the lead and fought thrilling battles for position during several lead changes. Sir Ben Ainslie said after his crew's sweet victory: "It was a challenging day out here. We had a good first race and a good last race today. It feels like we've learnt a lot from the first pre-regatta in Vilanova. Now it's time for a cup of tea." In Vilanova i la Geltrú, Ineos Britannia did not finish higher than sixth and last place. Sir Ainslie, Giles Scott, Bleddyn Mon and Iain Jensen want to forget this disgrace in Jeddah.
America's Cup experts: Kiwis dominate the dress rehearsal
In the final standings, the day of the dress rehearsal before the start of the regatta belonged to the Cup defenders from New Zealand. They clearly won the "Practise Day" with 19 points ahead of NYYC American Magic (16 points) and Ineos Britannia (15 points). Tied on points, the young Italians finished fourth ahead of Alinghi Red Bull Racing (14 points) and the French Orient Express Racing Team (4 points). The French team managed to put in a few sporting highlights, but were unable to turn their performance into veritable results after manoeuvring mistakes and technical problems.
The new AC40 spoilers on the road to success: 12 boats sold
The second pre-regatta for the 37th America's Cup begins on Thursday (30 November). The test of strength on the AC40 yachts will last until 2 December. Kiwi chief driver Grant Dalton commented in Jeddah on the success of the new small AC40 Cup training and test boats created by the Cup defenders, which have just been voted Boat of the Year by the World Sailing Federation and will be used in next year's Youth and Puig Women's America's Cup.
Grant Dalton said: "We were obviously delighted to receive the award. It's a new class that we hope will develop well. Twelve boats have been sold. The class will continue to grow on course for the next America's Cup. Private owners will join. The boats are cheaper and easier to handle than classes like the TP52." Behind the scenes of the Cup, the development of a new world series on the AC40 foils has long been under discussion.
LIVE! - Where to watch the pre-regattas for the 37th America's Cup
The races of the 2nd pre-regatta in Jeddah will be broadcast live on 30 November and on 1 and 2 December from 11.30 a.m. German time (10.30 a.m. GMT) - simply watch online at www.americascup.com or on the YouTube channel of the organisers switch on. The schedule:
SPEED! - The trailer for the 2nd pre-regatta:
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Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
