There is nothing to say about the race itself. There was no race. Once again, the New Zealanders sailed alone. The Italian team Luna Rossa did not compete in the first scheduled race because it was sailing against a Protest lodged against rule change had. Last night it would have been the turn of the Swedish team Artemis, but they don't even have a boat in the water yet.
Without opponents, however, a race is just a race, not a bet. You can feel sorry for the commentators as they have to summarise a "great day" and celebrate Emirates Team New Zealand's second point as if its win had been in doubt. It's a bit like applauding the pilot of the holiday plane after landing.
Nevertheless, I watched almost all of the race footage. The images are simply fascinating. Grandiose shots from the helicopter, from the support boat and from cameras further away are skilfully edited. It's impressive how the daggerboards throw up fountains of spray, the rapid drop after the windward mark, how the crew is constantly on the move, changing sides on the trampoline as if the boat were standing safely and calmly on land. This is action, high-tech sport.
The cat shoots along downwind at a crazy 40 knots, downwind it's about 20 knots. The jibes are foiled on both centreboards, as they say. The hulls do not touch the water. The racing boat still makes over 30 knots. I think anyone who has ever tried to sail a boat fast simply can't look away. If I may say so, it's simply awesome.
However, the upwind courses are a little bland. There is no flying, the cat glides along undramatically. Cruising without opponents is already quite boring in cruising sailing, and the Cup doesn't make it any better. To the commentators' credit, however, they do a very good job of bridging this phase with technical explanations, assuming the viewer has a good command of English.
All in all, a very good presentation, which was to be expected after the pre-regattas in the AC45. The only thing missing was the betting dispute, the opponents.
During the night, the protesting parties sat together to decide whether the proposed rule changes will stand or not. The outcome will determine which opponents appear on the race course. If the rule change goes ahead, Luna Rossa might pack up, if it doesn't, Artemis won't compete. At least that's what team boss Paul Cayard has announced.
But it doesn't really matter. Neither should stand a chance against the New Zealanders in the elimination round, as in the current YACHT explained in detail becomes.
The question remains as to whether we should skip straight to the Cup final, the match between Emirates Team New Zealand and Oracle Team USA. Because as fascinating as these first images may be, without competitive opponents, the scenes will become the same and wear out.
What was your impression of this first Cup presentation? Join the discussion!
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
