A first place finish is worth its weight in gold in the America's Cup World Series, as 40 points are awarded instead of the usual twelve. And Spithill, who had to fight his way forward from the leg to do so, took this bonus, passing everyone else, including stable mate Russell Coutts (2nd) and Terry Hutchinson with Artemis White (3rd), but also Ben Ainslie and JP Morgan, who had been leading the fleet race until then. But the record Olympic champion was not helped by a fourth place, because despite being tied on points with Spithill (79), the overall victory was still lost due to the tie-break rule.
Spithill, who also easily won the match race final against Team New Zealand on Saturday after a spectacular capsize in a fleet race, is the first sailor to achieve the coveted double at the ACWS. "We were behind at the start, but that didn't bother us," said the Australian afterwards. "We are a team of fighters." You also have to be able to sail from the back to the front and put mistakes behind you, he continued, joking: "I tried that out on Saturday with the capsize."
After his unsuccessful match race performance, Ainslie's second place in the end was nevertheless a huge leap up from his first AC-45 appearance in September. With a total of three race wins and all other places in the top four, the Briton showed that he has made the most of his training time and is now getting to grips with the boat and his crew very well. Both Artemis boats also improved with 3rd place for Terry Hutchinson and 6th place for Nathan Outteridge in the first regatta for his new employer. Team New Zealand wanted to make up for their disappointing performance in September, but with a fourth place in the fleet race and the unsuccessful match race final, the Kiwis fell short of their high expectations.
This time both boats of the Italian Luna Rossa team, which sailed much better in September, were at the back of the field, which is normally reserved for small and financially weak teams. Chris Draper was particularly disappointing in 9th place, finishing behind Loïck Peyron's Energy Team (7th) and Team Korea, which was racing for the first time with 21-year-old skiff sailor Peter Curling as helmsman. The Spanish sailing hero Iker Martinez, who piloted Luna Rossa Swordfish, had to pay a bitter price, finishing 11th and last behind the mostly inferior China Team.
The ACWS is now taking a break until 16 April 2013 in Venice.
The Event page and all Results
