The gaps are sometimes astonishing, as is the dominance of the big two. In Act 9, the last pre-regatta of the America's Cup in the 2005 season, Alinghi and BMW Oracle Racing demonstrate their complete superiority
In around 15 knots of wind, Alinghi got off to a good start in the first race of the day and the Swiss Cup defender quickly took the lead of the 12-boat fleet. Ed Baird's team kept BMW Oracle Racing under control on the left side of the course. At the first mark, Alinghi was 12 seconds ahead of BOR.
In winds of around 12 knots, Alinghi performed a perfect spinnaker manoeuvre a little later and caught the gusts and wind shifts best. After the second buoy, Alinghi sailed ahead of the fleet on the right-hand side of the course before switching to starboard in the middle of the third leg. At the last rounding, the Swiss team was 36 seconds ahead of the Americans. On the downwind leg, Alinghi further increased its lead over its toughest rival to 50 seconds and took its second victory in the third fleet race.
Private race between Alinghi and BMW Oracle Racing
In the second race, Alinghi and BMW Oracle again sailed a "private race" ahead of the rest of the fleet. This time Alinghi started the race in the centre of the start line, moved to the left and controlled Victory Challenge with a beat to the right before the whole fleet tried to take advantage of an early wind shift to the left.
But the breeze came back to the right side, where Alinghi prevailed against BMW and rounded the first mark with a 24-second lead. Although the lead at the second buoy was only 17 seconds, Alinghi's victory was never in danger.
The Swiss crossed the fleet smoothly on the upwind course and increased their lead to 53 seconds. With their second victory of the day, they also took the lead in the intermediate classification - one point ahead of BMW Oracle Racing and well ahead of Emirates Team New Zealand.
For the Challenger of Record, Oracle Racing, sponsored by BMW and Allianz, second place in today's two races means that everything is still in play for overall victory in Act 9. Tomorrow's final race must decide the outcome.
The races took place under bright blue skies and were watched by a huge fleet of spectators surrounding the regatta field. The wind conditions were the now familiar mix of gybes and pressure differences that make the area a constant challenge for the Afterguard.
"This area is really not easy to sail"
"Sometimes you have to take risky decisions and hope they pay off," said Bertrand Pacé, tactician at BMW Oracle Racing. "We do it this way, Alinghi also has a similar style - and these two teams are at the top. Emirates Team New Zealand is a bit more conservative and tacks more often on the cross."
The windward mark was set today near the large island to the west of Trapani, explained Pacé. "The wind was oscillating strongly around the island, so deciding which bow to finish the cross on was extremely difficult."
Team Germany completely out of step
The German campaign had little luck with the decisions on board. While the management dispute escalated on land (see previous daily reports), Jesper Bank's sailing team finished second last and last in the two races on the water on Saturday. Their worst result of the day so far - after everything had gone so well yesterday.
In the intermediate classification, United Internet Team Germany slipped back to 7th place among twelve yachts after four of five races, tied on points with two other teams. Foresailor Geordie Shaver (USA) said in the evening: "There are days like this and they are no reason to hang our heads. We have quite a young afterguard and they took the results a bit hard today. But they shouldn't be too depressed."
Skipper Jesper Bank said self-critically: "I feel a bit stupid, because it wasn't necessary for us to take some pretty radical shots today."
The team of the day in Trapani was once again the South African Shosholoza with Hamburg boat captain Tim Kröger. With third place in the third race in Louis Vuitton Act 9, the Cup newcomers achieved their first podium finish since the team was founded.
The hard work on the boat and with the crew paid off. The South Africans, supported by T-Systems, were also within striking distance of the best behind Alinghi and Oracle for a long time in the second race. In the end, they finished seventh, consolidating fourth place in the provisional overall ranking of the Act.
Shosholoza's guest of honour Andrew Mlangeni, who also spent 26 years in prison on Robben Island off Cape Town as a companion of Nelson Mandela, said in Trapani: "This team represents the world I have always believed in." Since the 82-year-old Shosholoza fan has been in Sicily, the Cup rookies' performance curve has risen steeply. "I think I've brought a bit of magic with me from South Africa," joked the likeable amateur golfer.
Trapani and its fans inspire the Cup pros
On Saturday, the America's Cup organisers welcomed the one millionth visitor to an America's Cup Park since the Louis Vuitton Acts began off Marseille in 2004. Once again, more than 100,000 fans flocked to the small Sicilian harbour town. The celebrations on land and on the water were characterised by Italian passion.
Jochen Schümann says: "Italy is a great country for the America's Cup for good reason."
Louis Vuitton Act 9, intermediate classification after races 3 and 4
1 Alinghi - 46 points *
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2 BMW ORACLE Racing - 45 points
3 Emirates Team New Zealand - 39 points
4 Team Shosholoza - 32 points
5 Desafio Espanol 2007 - 28 points
6 Luna Rossa Challenge - 25 points
7 United Internet Team Germany - 18 points
8 Victory Challenge - 18 points
9 +39 Challenge - 18 points
10 Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia - 17 points
11 China Team - 13 points
12 K-Challenge - 12 points
- As the Cup defender, Alinghi plays no part in the final ranking of the challengers, leaving BMW Oracle Racing in the nominal lead in the Act 9 standings
Jochen Rieker
Herausgeber YACHT
