America's Cup: "Rendezvous with destiny postponed", Louis Vuitton Cup remains exciting
On the morning of the eighth day of racing, regatta director Ian Murray already knew that it could be an unpleasant day. He had four different weather forecasts. In the end, something of all of them materialised, but not the best. The result of the capricious weather in Barcelona was the total cancellation of the eighth day of racing in the double round robin round of the Louis Vuitton Cup. The three remaining matches are to be rescheduled for Monday. However, the further wind prospects on Sunday were anything but promising.
Fourth semi-finalist still wanted
The duels between Ineos Britannia and the Orient Express Racing Team, which is fighting for survival in the Cup, were scheduled for Sunday. This was followed by the encounter between Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and Alinghi Red Bull Racing. The Swiss have also not yet reached the semi-finals, for which Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, Ineos Britannia and NYYC American Magic have already qualified. However, with two points in their Louis Vuitton Cup account, the advantage in the long-distance duel with the French lies with the Swiss.
The Italians and the British are no longer in contention for a place in the semi-finals in the final of the round robin phase at the top of the challenger rankings. Both teams have secured their semi-final tickets. However, their indirect duel will decide which of the two racing teams can choose their semi-final opponent as the winner of the challenger classification.
On Sunday, Ian Murray offered a simple formula for understanding the various scenarios and all the questions about any play-offs that may become necessary in the event of a tie at the top or in the basement: if both Great Britain and Italy lose their matches, there will be no tie in either the top match or the "duel of the basement children". Italy would win the challenger ranking and the Swiss would occupy the last semi-final place.
What happens if...?
If Italy wins and Great Britain loses, there will be a tie-break race for the last semi-final place between Alinghi Red Bull Racing and France's "Orient Express". If Italy loses and Great Britain wins, there will be a tie-break race for victory. The Swiss would advance to the semi-finals. The resolution of the tie that everyone had been waiting for was cancelled on Sunday. Whether it can take place on Monday remained uncertain in Barcelona, as the weather forecast holds little wind for the coming race days.
Until the postponement, the Sunday programme had kept the teams involved as well as observers and fans on their toes even without a race. Torrential rain and poor visibility on the course had initially prompted the race organisers to send the teams back to the harbour, only to ask them to return to the course once the rain front had passed. France's "Orient Express" had decided to have a training session. In rough waves, they were suddenly forced by a technical problem under high pressure to return to the harbour for repairs.
It was a great team effort to get the boat back in order and return to the race area in time for the start." Benjamin Muyl
The images of the repair scenes on deck coming from the French team camp spoke volumes. It looked as if the whole of France was trying to get the boat back on track for the upcoming "survival race". France's head of design Benjamin Muyl explained: "During training before the regatta, we had some problems on board during a manoeuvre, so we had to come ashore to carry out repairs."
Even when asked, the French were initially unable to provide more details about the technical problem. Late, but still in time and at impressive top speed, the team tender towed the French AC75 spoiler back out onto the track. No sooner had the breathless MacGyver mission been completed than the start of the race was postponed due to a sharp right turn. Another attempt to get the duel between the Brits and the drama-plagued "Orient Express" onto the track could not be completed either.
The rendezvous with destiny has been postponed until tomorrow." Orient Express Racing Team
A final attempt was scheduled for 4.20 pm. This failed in winds that were now too light. The race day was cancelled and the programme postponed until Monday. France's coach Thierry Douillard said: "We are glad that we can put our boat back in the hall and make sure that everything is in order. Hopefully we can then have a really good day tomorrow." The postponed race day also starts on Monday at 2.10pm and is available via America's Cup YouTube channel can be followed live. Alternatively, the races will also be broadcast live via America's Cup Homepage or with Servus TV shown.
Change of helmsman on "Patriot"
The US team NYYC American Magic left questions about the well-being of co-sailor Paul Goodison unanswered on Sunday. The well-informed American blog Sailing Anarchy had reported that the Brit had fallen on board "Patriot" the previous day and broken several ribs. The short report was entitled "Watch where you step":
"Watch out for a press release about Paul Goodison's accident after the race. Apparently he is in hospital with broken ribs and a concussion. Lucas Calabrese is filling in for Goodie tomorrow. Apparently he stepped backwards and fell into one of the hatches."
The news was picked up by several media outlets on Sunday, but the American team did not comment when asked. There was no information on the condition of Paul Goodison, who sailed to Olympic Laser victory in 2008 and became world champion a year later. The crew lists for the eighth day of racing showed the 37-year-old Argentinian Lucas Calabrese as co-pilot for Tom Slingsby at the helm of "Patriot".
With the Americans facing New Zealand's America's Cup defenders on the final day of racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup round robin, their match has no impact on the challenger standings in the battle for the semi-final places. American Magic's third place is cemented.
Click here for the interim results in the double round robin round of the Louis Vuitton Cup - once including the participating New Zealand Cup defenders and once without. The latter ranking is relevant for determining the four semi-finalists among the five challengers.
The review of the curious Sunday in the Louis Vuitton Cup with lots of action, but no race - replay of the live broadcast including some replay races, but also the repair race of the French against the clock and further observations of the TV commentators:
