A good 5 Beaufort from the west and a brisk tide from the east created conditions reminiscent of a main wash at the start of the America's Cup World Series: steep waves and holes in the water that could easily swallow up a Volkswagen Beetle. The qualifiers in the match race competition therefore had their hands full keeping the bucking boats on course and in the correct swimming position. They had to push themselves to the limit and sometimes even beyond. The disappointment of the Italians, on the other hand, was boundless, as both Luna Rossa boats failed to make it through the preliminary round.
The Koreans, on the other hand, were delighted, as Peter Burling, the youngest skipper in the field, was at the helm for the first time and was able to beat Luna Rossa Piranha with the otherwise so famous Chris Draper on his very first appearance. The lead at the finish was a paltry two seconds. It also helped that the Italians were penalised for exceeding the virtual course limits without permission. But Burling did not let this spoil his mood: "We are very happy about this victory," he said. "After a good start, we were well ahead, but we made it difficult for ourselves at the end."
Phil Robertson and China Team, the cellar children of the ACWS, achieved a sensational victory against Luna Rossa, but their wing broke in a jibe. As a result, the Chinese team had to miss the decisive race against Artemis Red. The promoted teams: Artemis Racing Red (Nathan Outteridge), J. P. Morgan BAR (Ben Ainslie), Team New Zealand (Dean Barker), Energy Team (Loïck Peyron).
The quarter-final pairings
Thu. 12:25 PDT (21:25 CEST)): Team Korea vs. Artemis Racing - White
Thu. 12:42 PDT (21:42 CEST): Energy Team vs. Emirates Team New Zealand
Fri. 16:05 PDT (Sat. 01:05 CEST): Artemis Racing - Red vs. Oracle Team USA Coutts
Fri. 16:22 PDT (Sat. 01:22 CEST): J. P. Morgan BAR vs. Oracle Team USA Spithill
TV, YouTube etc.
In total, the races are organised by 35 television stations This is good for the organisers, but far less good for the millions of internet users who can no longer access the popular short summaries of the day's events on YouTube, as was the case in the first ACWS season. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, a summary of the regatta highlights will be shown on Sport1 and Servus TV on Sunday, but exact broadcast times could not be found. The action can be followed on mobile devices using the America's Cup app, which is now available to download in an updated version for iPhone and Android.
The digital distribution channels
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/AmericasCup
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/americascup
Twitter: http://twitter.com/americascup
VirtualEye: http://americascup.virtualeye.tv/ (requires download of the Unity VideoPlayer)
Website: http://www.americascup.com
Live broadcasts will begin today on the AC YouTube channel, but only Fleetraces will be shown (Fri 01:30 CEST).
Inconsistencies
The Cup organisers had originally planned to install all team bases, including hospitality, on Piers 30-32. However, there is no longer any talk of this, which goes against the grain for some. Too far away from the regatta action, too little visitor traffic, was the official justification. According to Stephen Barclay, head of the America's Cup Event Authority, the million US dollars available for this would be better invested in Marina Green, on the north side of the city, where the regatta course is laid out and the masses of spectators gather.
"I'm shocked," said Dean Barker, skipper of Team New Zealand, who had been expecting the organisers to build the infrastructure needed by the teams on piers 30-32 (about 5km from Marina Green) as discussed. "It's now just a lump of concrete with nothing on it. And we now have to take care of cranes, jetties and all the rest ourselves." In a nutshell: at the America's Cup, the teams can now set up their bases anywhere in the harbour, but they have to create the necessary infrastructure themselves and pay for it out of their budget.
