The masks have come off, and challenger BMW Oracle Racing secured supremacy on the Cup course at the start. The Americans "flew" around the 40-nautical-mile course, winning the first match with a lead of 15 minutes, 28 seconds and just under four kilometres.
The figures speak for themselves: after a botched start, the trimaran "USA" began the race 660 metres behind Alinghi's catamaran in a moderate breeze of six to ten knots. After an impressive race to catch up and an elegant overtaking manoeuvre, the Americans rounded the turning mark with a lead of just one and a half kilometres. At the finish, the winner "USA" and "Alinghi" were separated by just under four kilometres. The Swiss were only able to cross the finish line 15 minutes and 28 seconds after the winners, who initially had to complete their penalty circle, but finished it correctly and only finished the race correctly at the second attempt.
The first encounter between the catamaran "Alinghi 5" and the trimaran "USA" with its powerful carbon fibre wing, which had previously been cancelled twice, got off to a spectacular start. Because they had not kept clear correctly and the opposing helmsman James Spithill skilfully forced the Swiss to make a wrong manoeuvre, the Swiss received a penalty in the pre-start phase. "It wasn't exactly compelling," commented two-time America's Cup winner Jochen Schümann on what he saw as an excessive measure, "after all, it was the first time two boats like this had met, both for the umpires and for the sailors..." When the starting signal was given, however, the Americans also faltered, remaining stranded like a whale on the other side of the line and unable to pick up speed. Only after one minute and 45 seconds did the crew of "USA" owner Larry Ellison start their irresistible race to catch up.
With much better speed, the US team quickly equalised the deficit, took the lead and consistently extended it to the finish. The Swiss, on the other hand, appeared to have no chance as the race progressed, completed their penalty circle shortly before the finish and lost their first Americas Cup race in Alinghi's ten-year history of success.
The result of this duel according to the rules of the Cup foundation charter is reminiscent of the last "Deed of Gift" match in 1988, when the US yacht "Stars & Stripes" was also a multihull that was the first Cup yacht with a carbon fibre wing to start the unequal duel against the New Zealand monohull "KZ 1" and won 2:0. The small catamaran "Stars & Stripes" crossed the finish line 18:15 minutes ahead on one occasion and 21:10 minutes ahead on the other.
The Americans' superior performance in front of Valencia comes as no surprise to many observers. Jochen Schümann had also predicted a clear 2:0 before the race - in favour of one of the two teams. "The result may not have gone my way, but it was as predicted. There will be a few heads hanging in Team Alinghi today that they were beaten like that in their favourite discipline on multihulls. The Americans obviously have ten per cent more horsepower to offer."
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
