"Cool stuff," enthused Dean Barker from Team New Zealand. "You can't complain when you're sailing in conditions like this." Such a statement is a matter of perspective. After all, Barker and his colleagues are leading the field of nine boats after the first day of the America's Cup World Series on the rough Neapolitan waters. The bucking, sputtering and sometimes flying AC45s put on a spectacular show for spectators along the waterfront and on computers around the world.
At three to one, the Kiwis have as many points as Oracle Spithill, who were one to three, but the tiebreaker favoured the New Zealanders. Team Korea also did very well with new helmsman Nathan Outteridge from Australia. Like his predecessor Chris Draper, he is a real speed freak and had an excellent command of the swimming equipment. "You can't hope for more at the start," said Outteridge. It's true, because 4th and 2nd place and the six points that come with them are just as many as the highly rated French Energy Team have to show after two races. Yann Guichard's team built on their good performance in San Diego in December, where they showed that even as a spare-farmer you can successfully keep up with the fully financed favourites, as long as the sails fit and the teamwork works.
Not everything worked out for Luna Rossa, who, like Oracle, have two boats at the start. Team Luna Rossa, with Paul Campbell-James at the helm, finished in 5th place, a tad better than their colleagues from Luna Rossa with Chris Draper at the helm. Nothing went right for Artemis, who were in second place in the first race when they made a wet exit when rounding a barrel and damaged the wing in the process. The Swedes, already disappointing in San Diego, are still in crisis. And even with a new team, China Team has the same old problems: little money, little time on the boat and correspondingly few orders in such difficult conditions. In addition, they suffered damage to the wing, which forced them to retire, as did the Oracle Bundock breakage victims, whose rough landing in the first race led to unspecified hull damage. As a result, the field was much thinner in the second race of the day.
Wild start in Italy
The match and fleet racing continues on Thursday. The first start is at 13:30 CET.
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