America's Cup: "Britannia" suddenly a light wind wonder, then not at the finish line
Max Gasser
· 28.09.2024
"This is the Race Committee. We have reached the time limit and this race is stopped" - probably the most painful words yet for Ben Ainslie and his crew in the 37th America's Cup. After a strong performance at the lower wind limit and a battle in the doldrums in a displacement race on the last two legs of the course, the interim lead in the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup was within reach for the British team. However, despite a comfortable lead that might have seen them through to the finish, there were no points in the end. This was because the time limit of 45 minutes got the better of "Britannia" and brought the race to an abrupt end.
"A certain amount of frustration crept in on the last downwind course, of course, but at the end of the day we just tried to do everything we could to get on the foils," said British helmsman Dylan Fletcher back on land. Approaching the last windward mark of the race, the Cupper had fallen off the foils on the penultimate tack. The same fate had already befallen "Luna Rossa" a few moments earlier. None of the otherwise speeding projectiles were to recover.
Brits win the start - "should have taken more risks"
Even before the start, the foilers had to be towed in to get them flying. With wind speeds of around eight knots, the Brits got themselves into a strong position for the first cross by choosing the right side on the start line. "I think there was about two knots difference in wind speed from right to left, so we should have taken a bit more risk to catch the right side," admitted Luna Rossa helmsman Francesco Bruni later.
As a result, his Italians found themselves in the shadow of "Britannia" after the first turn. Ben Ainslie and his crew then continued to make the right decisions, enabling them to reach the windward gate with a lead of 19 seconds. However, they then chose the wrong option with the left-hand mark for the first time, as it turned out shortly afterwards. "Luna Rossa" dared to make the split and was rewarded with more pressure on the left downwind side, which was even enough to take the lead for a short time. However, Ineos Britannia regained the lead with a strong acceleration in the next gust.
America's Cup: Ineos Britannia shows performance improvements like no other team
A sloppy manoeuvre by the Italians cost them a few more metres and from then on the Brits never relinquished the lead. Instead, they even extended their lead to almost one kilometre. Just a few weeks ago, this boat had massive problems in such conditions. Francesco Bruni, who would have been much more likely to be credited with such a lead beforehand, was nevertheless not surprised: "I knew that they were up against a very strong light wind team in the semi-final, namely Alinghi. I'm not surprised, but I still think Luna Rossa has the advantage, so I'm not worried at all."
If Ineos Britannia can continue the steep performance curve it has been on since the last pre-regatta, this is likely to change soon. At the start of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the team looked hopeless in light winds, especially in the manoeuvres. Today they sailed impressively high upwind courses with good speed and presented themselves with equal aplomb in tacks and gybes. It is unclear how much the engineers and the shore team contributed to this development.
Spectators can look forward to plenty of action and exciting races on Sunday
If helmsman Dylan Fletcher is to be believed, the sailors are mainly responsible for the strong performances: "What people perhaps don't realise is how incredibly difficult the boats are to sail and that it makes so much difference if you simply sail them better. I think what we're seeing here is that everyone is learning to sail their yacht faster and faster." This in turn is only possible thanks to the work of the performance engineers, who tell the sailing team what they need to do. The shore crew also play their part, explains the 49er Olympic champion from Enoshima: "They really put in a lot of hours, and that makes a difference. They work very, very hard."
After racing at the upper wind limit on the first race day of the final and the light winds of today, the demands on the crews and their yachts will be different again tomorrow. The so-called Garbí wind is expected to blow from the south-west at around 12 to 17 knots. This means that the wind window is much closer to the originally forecast strengths of the British boat. However, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli has already delivered impressive performances in similar conditions at the 37th America's Cup. "The boats will go fast, it will be close," says Dylan Fletcher. The start is again from 14:10, the races will be streamed live on YouTube.
