"It's a shame," Jimmy Spithill, helmsman of the defending champion Oracle Team USA, told YACHT online. The first races at the future Cup venue had to be cancelled due to a calm. The big show, which was supposed to provide a foretaste of the Cup spectacle in two years' time, was cancelled for the time being. "We have to live with that," says Spithill. "That can happen in many sports. Even in Formula 1, a sandstorm can make a race impossible." However, such a cancellation is not decisive for the overall picture. "If you look at the entire world series, days like this are the exception, not the rule," said the 36-year-old Australian.
The America's Cup World Series consists of three events this year, Portsmouth, Gothenburg and Bermuda, in which six teams sail against each other on identical 45-foot catamarans.
Cup General Manager Russell Coutts also does not see the new concept jeopardised by the unsuccessful first day. "We've seen the results from Portsmouth," the multiple New Zealand Cup winner told YACHT online in Bermuda's capital Hamilton, "and just one day generated so much attention that we're sure we're doing the right thing." Sailing was also only possible on one day in Portsmouth, but the final day there had to be cancelled due to storms.
Three races are now scheduled for Sunday, which, because they are the Sunday races, will all count for double points. And winds of over 20 knots are forecast.
For Spithill, who is used to winning, the AC World Series represents a special challenge. "Any of the six teams can win, they've all put together crews that have won almost everything there is to win in sailing." But his main focus is on two teams in particular: "We have to be ahead of the New Zealanders, because for me as an Australian that's the way it should be. I also really want to beat Ben Ainslie, he is one of the best sailors in the world and has a strong team in BAR."
The standings in the world series:
1st Emirates Team New Zealand, 72 points
2nd Landrover BAR, 65
3. Oracle Team USA, 64
4. Softbank Team Japan, 56
5. Artemis Racing, 53
6. Groupama Team France, 50
The trailer for Bermuda - this is what it should actually look like
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
