A confirmation of performance and development for some, and two further setbacks for others: The semi-finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup for the 37th America's Cup challengers remained one-sided affairs on the second day. The decisive factors for the two further victories for the favourites were - to varying degrees - the greater experience of the players, the better boat handling and the faster boats.
Two-second victory for "Luna Rossa"
Just two seconds difference at the finish marked the closest race so far in the Louis Vuitton Cup in the fourth semi-final duel between Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and NYYC American on Sunday afternoon off Barcelona. The match, which was particularly exciting in the second half, showed that the Americans can certainly hold their own against the Azzurri.
The fact that the score is still 4:0 in favour of Italy after two days of racing and four heats is also due to the change of helmsman that became necessary on "Patriot" following the accident involving co-pilot Paul Goodison. Paul Goodison had broken several ribs in a fall on board. He was replaced by Argentinian helmsman Lucas Calabrese in the America's Cup. The 470 bronze medallist at the 2012 Olympic Games has had the steepest learning curve of all the Cup players since his "cold start".
"He learns very quickly. But we had no wind on the training day. It's very tough...", said Tom Slingsby after race three. On the first rounding of the leeward mark, the Americans had let their boat slip away briefly with too much ventilation on the foil. The mistake cost them more than 150 metres and put "Patriot" too far behind. Despite another defeat in the hotly contested second encounter, the crew showed that the American foiler could certainly take on the Italians.
Luna Rossa is back." Francesco Bruni
For Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, on the other hand, it was a gala day, as helmsman Francesco Bruni noted after the first race: "We had a perfect start. Jimmy did a great job and positioned the boat exactly where we wanted it. The boat was very fast thanks to the incredible work of the shore crew and the crew on board, starting with the cyclists who worked extremely hard," said helmsman Francesco Bruni.
As close as the one duel was, the differences in the second semi-final encounter were just as stark. Skipper Sir Ben Ainslie, his co-pilot Dylan Fletcher-Scott and their crew outclassed the Swiss team Alinghi Red Bull Racing with confident pre-starts, composed actions even in very tight situations, the faster boat and two clear victories. The TV commentators called the performance "imperial" several times. The British team's lead was 2:20 minutes in the first race and 48 seconds in the second.
Alinghi Red Bull Racing with its back to the wall
Alinghi Red Bull Racing has not yet found any answers to the strengths of the Brits, who were travelling at speeds of up to more than 50 knots on the day. In addition, there was almost a collision in the first of the two Sunday duels in the pre-start. The crew on the Swiss "BoatOne" had not executed a tack properly and fell off the foils, but soon came back up.
"Britannia's" crew exploited the weakness to attack with right of way. When it came to a collision course, Ineos Britannia swerved out of the way with a lightning gybe. "At one moment we thought we were about to board Alinghi. Fortunately, we were able to keep the boats apart," said four-time Olympic champion, skipper and helmsman Ben Ainslie after the race.
Ben Anslie is a pretty sharp match racer. It's hard for our guys to cram 20 years of experience into a short period of time." Brad Butterworth
The British protested in the dramatic situation, but their demand was not honoured. Nevertheless, they had done their job successfully. The Swiss "BoatOne" almost capsized and fell off the foils again. "Britannia" then set off on the course without resistance and already had a lead of 1600 metres at the first mark, which continued to grow. One would have wished the Swiss "bull" to have wings to make this match more even. But this was not possible on Sunday either.
To be honest: The British have recently seemed untouchable. We know that we're not going to reinvent the wheel tomorrow. We just have to do what we can - with what we have." Arnaud Psarofaghis
Now both NYYC American Magic and Alinghi Red Bull Racing have their backs to the wall ahead of the semi-final continuation on Monday. Both will have to fend off four match points from their outstanding opponents if they want to turn the tide in their favour. The race day broadcast will be on the America's Cup channel on YouTube here will be shown. It starts as usual at 2.10 pm.
AC Team Germany in the starting blocks
While the Cup giants are gearing up for the third semi-final day on Monday in Port Vell, preparations for the Youth America's Cup are in full swing in Barcelona's Olympic harbour, around 15 minutes away by car. The third edition of the youth competition on AC40 foiling boats begins on 17 September.
For AC Team Germany, which was assembled in Barcelona with a youth and a women's team for the Puig Women's America's Cup, there were still three days to go until the first of their own qualifying races in the Youth America's Cup on Sunday. With the six "invited" teams in Pool B the German team will enter the action on 18 September. Before that, at the start of the Youth America's Cup Pool A of the youth teams with parent teams in the current 37th America's Cup.
Both pools will contest two qualifying days of four fleet races each on the AC40 foils. After a total of eight races for each team, the cut is made. The three best teams from Pool A and Pool B will reach the final series of the top six from 22 September. After four more fleet races, the two best teams will compete in a match race duel to win the Youth America's Cup.
Maru Scheel elected skipper for youth team
For the challenge, AC Team Germany has now chosen Kiel 49erFX helmswoman Maru Scheel as skipper. Together with Paul Farien, she forms the pilot duo on the Mini-Cupper, which is sailed by stationary crews of four. They are joined by the two trimmers Tom Heinrich and Jesse Lindstedt. The German quartet achieved remarkable results in two training races, finishing second and fourth.
We have a chance." Lukas Hesse
AC Team Germany was one of only two teams to have travelled to Barcelona without any previous AC40 experience. In the meantime, skipper Maru Scheel and her crew have completed several training sessions and have seen that some of their intensive work in the simulator in Kiel can be put into practice. "The top three in the qualifying round is feasible. The Alinghi team members looking after us have also confirmed that we are doing a good job," said Lukas Hesse, Chief Team Operations at AC Team Germany.
