America's Cup: Drama in the semi-final - "Patriot" shortens to 3:4 after break on "Luna Rossa"

Who would have thought it? The fourth semi-final day of the Louis Vuitton Cup served up twists and turns like a really good thriller. The favourites Ineos Britannia and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli had both started their duels with a 4:1 lead. The British were up against the Swiss, who were once again in good form in very light winds. The Swiss turned Monday's 1:4 in the first duel after the rest day into a 2:4. With slightly larger foils, Alinghi Red Bull Racing's "BoatOne" seemed to get through the doldrums a little more easily.

"Britannia" agonised at the lower wind limit

The start had already gone according to plan for the Swiss, who had their backs to the wall with three match points against them. Alinghi Red Bull Racing wanted the left-hand side and got it. After that, the Swiss had less trouble than the British with the winds at their lowest limit. As on Monday, "Britannia" struggled, completing some sections of the sixth semi-final duel with Alinghi Red Bull Racing as if they were travelling around the course with the handbrake on.

With every manoeuvre, the fans trembled to see whether the "Britannia", which had dominated the course last weekend in winds of over twelve knots, would be able to stay on the foils. This failed several times and was the reason why the Swiss were able to take another winning point after a concentrated run and reduce the score to 2:4. "We feel very comfortable in these winds and this wave," said the happy co-pilot Max Bachelin immediately after the race.

We had a bit of a struggle." Ben Ainslie

"Britannia's" skipper and helmsman Ben Ainslie briefly bowed to the performance of the Swiss race winners and praised Alinghi Red Bull Racing for a good race. It was "tough in these conditions". Anyone who knows him a little better will know that this British helmsman, who has been through the wringer and is highly decorated with four Olympic gold medals, would now do everything in his power to get his team into the Louis Vuitton Cup final in the remaining race of the day without any further ups and downs.

"Britannia" better underway with a larger mainsail

In the second encounter between the British and Swiss America's Cup chasers, "Britannia" still didn't dance light-footedly through the now sometimes ten-knot winds. But she did not fall off the foils as often under her larger mainsail, which was quickly swapped in during the break between the two races. On the contrary: "Britannia" now looked almost like a new boat. On the other hand, the somewhat too determined Brits were penalised for diving in too early as soon as they entered the starting box.

Disbelieving exclamations from co-pilot Dylan Fletcher-Scott signalled how close this decision must have been. After quickly clearing the penalty, "Britannia's" crew deliberately went to the right-hand side, where there was more pressure. It wasn't just the TV commentators who had already recognised this from the cloud formations. Britannia rounded the first mark in ten knots of wind with a 25-second lead. She then galloped away on the downwind section with more than 40 knots.

"Britannia's" crew then experienced several difficult jibes, as if on the edge of an abyss. The team of eight with the four cyclists barely managed to keep the boat on the foils. They lost speed twice, but Alinghi Red Bull Racing's "BoatOne" was unable to capitalise on this. At the second windward mark, the "Britannia" crew had the race firmly under control with a lead of 50 seconds when the winds weakened again.

For the people on the screens, it may have looked like we sailed badly. But it was really tough out there." Ben Ainslie

Ben Ainslie, Dylan Fletcher-Scott, trimmers Bleddyn Mon and Leigh McMillan and cyclists Ryan Todhunter, Harry Leask, Luke Parkinson and Neil Hunter showed enormous concentration to bring "Britannia" to the finish without any accidents, while Alinghi Red Bull Racing's "BoatOne" fell off the foils once more on the way to the last gate - by then the duel was decided. "Britannia" stayed clean in the pressure fields on the left-hand side of the course.

"Britannia" in the challenger final for the America's Cup

At the finish, it was a 70-second lead that sealed Britain's progress to the Louis Vuitton Cup final. "We are very relieved to have survived today and made it through. Anything can happen in these conditions," said Ben Ainslie.

After his team's 5-2 win in the final, Ainslie also had respectful words for the beaten Swiss and their skipper Arnaud Psarofaghis: "They had a great first race today and put us under a lot of pressure in the second. It's obviously tough not to go through to the next round. You are a great young team and have shown great promise for the future. It will be great to see you again next time."

For the Swiss, the fifth defeat in two victories was one too many. The Swiss have been eliminated from the Louis Vuitton Cup. Their hunt for the "Auld Mug" is over in this 37th America's Cup cycle. Skipper and helmsman Arnaud Psarofaghis said goodbye immediately after crossing the finish line with emotional words, which he first addressed to Ben Ainslie and Ineos Britannia: "It was a pleasure to compete against you in the semi-final. We learnt a lot and we know what to do. We would like to thank you and wish you the best for the rest of the competition. We will be cheering you on!"

America's Cup winner Bertarelli: "Proud of this team"

Arnaud Psarofaghis commented on the Swiss semi-final exit: "We started to sail the boat pretty well yesterday and today. But that was probably a bit too late. I am proud that we were part of this competition. I think more thanks go to the whole shore crew, the design team, our supporters, Mr Ernesto and Mr Mateschitz for giving us the opportunity."

Arnaud Psarofaghis continued: "I don't think we should end this here. We have started something here that we should continue with. I'll say it again: we didn't have a problem with the boat, with its systems or the hydraulics. For me, the bigger thing is that we may have failed on the sailing side, but everyone else achieved their goals. So that was really nice for us. We'll see what happens in the future, but I'm proud to be part of this young team."

Two-time America's Cup winner and team boss Ernesto Bertarelli commented on the exit of his team in Barcelona, which has been rebuilt since December 2021: "I am proud of this team and the partnership with Red Bull. We would have liked to have gone further, but that's what sport is all about. Congratulations to Ineos Britannia for their performance. They are fast and make few mistakes, and we wish them all the best for the rest of the competition."

Black day at sea for the "Red Moon"

Ernesto Berterelli also thanked the supporters: "I would like to thank the team's partners and the fans for their great support in the run-up to the competition and in recent weeks, both around the world and here in Barcelona at the dock-outs, which have provided unforgettable and emotional moments." Bertarelli initially said nothing about a possible continuation of the new team story. Which is customary in the America's Cup, because only with the new winner will it become clear how and where the oldest and most famous regatta will sail in the future.

While Italy's youngsters shone in the Unicredit Youth America's Cup with superstar Marco Gradoni leading the way, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli's seniors Jimmy Spithill and Francesco Bruni and their crew experienced a carbon-fibre black day at sea. In their semi-final against NYYC American Magic on Wednesday morning, they also had "only" one point from two scheduled heats at 4:1. They got: none!

In the course of the races, many were reminded of the most impressive comeback in America's Cup history, when Oracle Team USA turned an 8-1 deficit with seven match points for New Zealand into a 9-8 victory for the Americans in 2013. Involved at the time: Jimmy Spithill as helmsman and Tom Slingsby as strategist on the US boat. And Sir Ben Ainslie as tactician. Today, "Luna Rossa" helmsman Jimmy Spithill and "Patriot" helmsman Tom Slingsby were again involved as opponents when the semi-final of the Louis Vuitton Cup took an unexpected turn on its fourth day.

XL zigzags over the light wind course

In the first race of the day, these two crews and their foilers were also severely tested at the lowest wind limit. After a hard-fought first cross, both teams were expected at the first gate of just five knots. "Luna Rossa" managed to round the gate, while "Patriot" fell off the foils. Both boats were then forced to sail across the course at wide angles downwind in order to stay in flying mode. They zigzagged down to the next gate.

The duel remained a thriller. At the last windward gate on the now much shorter course, it was still a bow-to-bow race. Here, "Patriot" now came from starboard, forcing "Luna Rossa" off her port layline with smart and courageous course keeping and also sending nasty greetings in the form of downwinds. "Luna Rossa" was unable to tack and sailed towards the course limit. On the last tack, she finally fell off the foils and headed for the gate in displacement mode and at snail's pace. Then the Italians were finally able to round the mark.

Afterwards, "Patriot" also fell off the foils again on the final downwind section. Both boats pushed towards the finish with "Patriot" well ahead. The only question was who would get back on the foils faster. The Americans succeeded, reducing their deficit to 2:4 and triggering thunderous cheers from their fans. "Luna Rossa", on the other hand, went more than 85 metres beyond the course limit and was disqualified.

Hot duel ends with a bang

Would the seventh duel end the same way as the final duel between "Britannia" and "BoatOne" or could the Americans even snatch another point from the Azzurri? It wasn't clear for a long time in the last race of the day, that's how hard-fought it was. Firstly, Tom Slingsby helped "Patriot" to a perfect start on the left-hand side of the start line, forcing "Luna Rossa" to turn away. A heated duel developed with many lead changes.

On the second pretext section, "Luna Rossa" had just built up a small lead again when both boats sailed into the centre of the course with an open race exit. Then suddenly a loud bang shocked sailors and spectators. The Italian Silver Arrow, which had just been powerfully chasing across the water on foils, jerked violently once and then smashed into the water. None of the sailors were injured. It soon became clear that the traveller track had given way.

"Unfortunately, the traveller rail is broken," reported helmsman Jimmy Spithill from on board. He immediately reassured us: "Our Shore team is one of the best in the business. We have a lot of confidence in them and are preparing for the race tomorrow." The Americans, who sailed strongly on the day, were able to reduce their deficit to "Luna Rossa" to 3:4 due to their break. Their America's Cup dream lives on. The cheers at the US headquarters in Barcelona were almost frenetic. Always with the motto on the fan posters: "Believe in Magic!"

Luna Rossa remains an incredible team, but the momentum is with us." Tom Slingsby

Tom Slingsby said after such an unfortunate race for the Italians: "That's not the way we want to win races. And it's not a nice way to lose. Our thoughts are with Luna Rossa. But yes, we are still in the game. And we want to keep getting faster than we were today."

For Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, Team Director Max Sirena said: "It was definitely not the day we expected, but that's the sport. The first race was really good and closely contested. We had a great start and were in the lead for most of the match. Then the wind dropped when we were in the lead and we fell off the foils. In the second race, it was neck-and-neck, with lots of tight crossings and lead changes."

Commenting on the break Max Sirena said: "On the second downwind leg, when we were in the lead, we suffered damage to a part of the mainsail control system which prevented us from finishing the race. Now we will analyse everything to be ready for tomorrow's race. This is sport. But nothing has changed, these boats are pushed to the limit and unfortunately things like this can happen. Our morale is still high, we are sailing well, we are fast, and tomorrow we will set off to bring the point home."

Second semi-final decision on Thursday

The semi-final match between Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and NYYC American Magic, which is still open at 4:3 in favour of the Italians, will continue on Thursday at 14:10 with races 8 and perhaps 9 (if the Americans can equalise at 4:4) and hier live on the America's Cup channel on YouTube transferred.

Louis Vuitton Cup: the semi-final replays

Louis Vuitton Cup, semi-final, race 11 - Ineos Britannia vs. Alinghi Red Bull Racing:

Louis Vuitton Cup, semi-final, race 12 - Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli vs. NYYC American Magic:

Louis Vuitton Cup, semi-final, race 13 - Ineos Britannia vs. Alinghi Red Bull Racing:

Louis Vuitton Cup, semi-final, race 14 - Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli vs. NYYC American Magic: