America's Cup: Swiss victory over "Patriot" - "Would have had power for 20 more tacks"
Tatjana Pokorny
· 05.09.2024
Two teams suffered back-to-back defeats in the second round of the Louis Vuitton Cup on Thursday. The British and French teams had a difficult day. Both lost once each to Emirates Team New Zealand. These defeats have no impact on the battle between the five challengers for four semi-final places in the Louis Vuitton Cup. However, both also lost one match each against challenger rivals that they would have been better off winning.
Hotly contested match, 13 seconds ahead
One of the thrilling duels of the day was between NYYC American Magic and Ineos Britannia. The Brits initially had the Americans under control in the battle for the favoured start, but fell off the foils in the fickle winds. Just in time, Sir Ben Ainslie, his co-pilot Dylan Fletcher-Scott and the crew got back on track, passed just behind "Patriot" and started straight through to the right-hand side of the course. At the first gate, the 20-second lead of the American "Patriot" did not quite show how hard and close the teams had fought on the first downwind section.
One lap of arm-wrestling later, "Britannia's" hard-fighting crew had reduced their deficit to just 16 seconds, impressing many observers. The breathless duel continued on the second downwind course, at the end of which "Patriot" and her British pursuers were separated by just nine seconds. When the Americans fell off the foils at the last mark, the British seized the opportunity and took the lead. They built up a lead of up to around 80 metres on the final pretext section, with the finish line already in sight.
But then a weak gybe by the Brits in the middle of the course brought "Patriot" back into the match, whose team with co-pilots Tom Slingsby and Nathan Outteridge stormed towards the finish and crossed the line 13 seconds ahead of "Britannia". The match had class. "We needed it. It wasn't pretty, but we got the job done," said "Patriot" helmsman Paul Goodison, summarising the breathless excitement.
Happy Birthday, Tom Slingsby!
For Tom Slingsby, the victory was a nice present for his 40th birthday, which he celebrated on 5 September in the Louis Vuitton Cup on the course off Barcelona. Born in 1984 in Wahroonga, Australia, the exceptional sailor, three-time SailGP season winner, three-time World Sailor of the Year and 2012 Laser Olympic champion, has already won the America's Cup once in 2013 as a strategist with Oracle Team USA.
Back then, Ben Ainslie, who was beaten on Thursday, was also at Slingsby's side as a tactician. Both had been substituted against previously unsuccessful predecessors and since then, alongside their 2013 helmsman Jimmy Spithill, they have all together stood for the greatest comeback in the history of the Americ'a Cup that the battle for the "Auld Mug" has ever seen. Eleven years ago, the Americans were already trailing 1:8 against Emirates Team New Zealand. They went on to win the legendary Cup match 9:8.
Today, the three clever Cup heads - Spithill, Slingsby and Ainslie - are helmsmen for three opposing teams. They all have one goal: to win the Louis Vuitton Cup and challenge the Cup defenders from Emirates Team New Zealand in the 37th America's Cup match from 12 October. So far, Jimmy Spithill is leading this special three-way battle as co-pilot for the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team, which is making a strong showing in its seventh Cup challenge.
Italy's "Luna Rossa" dominates challengers
The Italians already have five points to their name in the challenger rankings without the New Zealanders. Plus: no defeats. Ben Ainslie is in second place with the Brits in the challenger classification without the New Zealand Cup defenders with three wins and two defeats, ahead of NYYC American Magic. The Americans have three wins and three losses so far. None of the other teams have been able to keep up with Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.
In their only duel of the day, the Italians outclassed the wavering French "Orient Express" on Thursday, which fell off the foils too often in the sometimes nasty light wind fluctuations after thunder and lightning on the two previous days. The sixth day of racing was doubly tough for the French. It was not only the defeat against "Luna Rossa" that hurt. Race 20 in the Louis Vuitton Cup - without their own participation - had hurt just as much. Alinghi Red Bull Racing had delivered a gala performance and denied Tom Slingsby his second birthday point.
Alinghi Red Bull Racing's crew on "BoatOne", fuelled by their second round victory over France last Tuesday, were highly motivated going into the duel against NYY American Magic. A suburban penalty against the Americans gave the Swiss an early advantage, which they capitalised on with a concentrated performance as the race progressed. Cleanly executed manoeuvres and good positioning in the fickle winds boosted the Swiss, as did their ability to stay on the foils on such a difficult sailing day.
We were pretty exhausted at the finish. It was a physically tough day. But if they had needed 20 more turns, we would have found a way to provide the strength." Nils Theunick
Alinghi Red Bull Racing secured its second point in the Louis Vuitton Cup with a whopping 40-second lead at the finish. "After the start, we were still relatively close with the Americans, but today we really had to play against them on the first sections of the course," said co-pilot Maxime Bachelin. Shortly after the race, helmsman Psarofaghis also pointed out the intense action on the course: "There were a lot of tacks today. But we had the power, we could have done 20 more tacks."
Today felt like ten rounds against Mike Tyson." Nathan Outteridge
The fact that the Kiwis won both of their encounters in the five races on Thursday seemed almost a matter of course. But it wasn't. There were many difficult tasks to solve in what was originally forecast to be eight to twelve knots of wind, but was actually only five or six knots during the course of the day. "The winds were also very shifty," reported "Taihoro" co-steersman Nathan Outteridge after the two successes for Emirates Team New Zealand.
Up and down for the "Orient Express"
In their second match, the New Zealanders also felt the effects of the borderline conditions in their curious and at times merciless encounter with the "Orient Express", in which many a club regatta would not even have started. Peter Burling, Nathan Outteridge and their crew also fell off the foils. Suddenly their huge lead of more than 700 metres was worth nothing. The French took the lead in five knots and had a 21-second advantage at the top of the gate. But it didn't last.
With the last gybe at the end of the first downwind section, the "Orient Express" fell off the foils again and involuntarily went into displacement mode. The Kiwis regained their lead, while the French struggled to get going again. "Tairhoro" even circumnavigated the stuck "Orient Express" and finished the rest of the race without any mistakes.
The remarkable thing about the Louis Vuitton Cup standings, including the New Zealand challengers, on the evening of day six was that the Kiwis were not leading them. After missing a race on day two as a result of their crane accident and thus giving it to the British, as well as a thunder-and-lightning defeat against a strong Italian team, New Zealand is "only" in second place in the Louis Vuitton ranking of all participants with a 6:2 record behind Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli with a 6:1 record.
What happens after the race-free Friday?
The most exciting question ahead of the free Friday, the continuation of the races on 7 September and the decisions on 8 September remains: Which team will be eliminated? Has Alinghi Red Bull Racing already won the preliminary decision in the duel with France's Orient Express Racing Team for the fourth and final semi-final place by beating NYYC New York Magic? Or will everything turn out differently on 7 and 8 September because there will be more surprises?
As a last-minute team with a steep learning curve, the French are not yet admitting defeat. Helmsman Quentin Delapierre said on Thursday evening in Barcelona: "Nothing has been decided yet. There is a lot to do on Saturday and Sunday. We have a fast boat and we have improved a lot as a crew, we are much closer." Will closer be close enough for the final sprint in the Louis Vuitton Cup?
Louis Vuitton Cup, race day 6, match 18 - NYYC American Magic vs. Ineos Britannia:
Louis Vuitton Cup, race day 6, match 19 - Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli vs Orient Express Racing Team:
Louis Vuitton Cup, race day 6, match 21 - Ineos Britannia vs. Emirates Team New Zealand:
Louis Vuitton Cup, Race Day 6, Match 20 - Alinghi Red Bull Racing - NYYC American Magic:
Louis Vuitton Cup, race day 6, Match 24 - Orient Express Racing - Emirates Team New Zealand:
