Problems with the Italians' Silver Arrow: shortly before the start sequence, a tear in the wing foil had to be repaired, disrupting practically the entire pre-start phase. As a result, helmsman Chris Draper sailed almost passively across the line behind Artemis, giving the Swede the satisfaction of being in front at the first buoy. However, the difference in class between the two rivals soon became apparent. While Artemis struggled through a conventional gybe and lost a good 10 boat lengths in the process, the Italians showed how it should be done: before the course limit, they jibed high on the foils at full speed and sailed Artemis downwind as if the blue cat were a pirate or a migratory bird.
From that moment on, the race was over, even though Artemis at times moved just as fast as Luna Rossa when travelling straight ahead. And because the repair to the film had held, the Italians easily took the lead and thus the first point in the best-of-seven series to the finish line. Interestingly, although Luna Rossa needed less time, they still had to sail a greater distance. However, with an average speed 1.3 knots higher, this was not a problem.
"Of course we're happy that we got the point, but I'm not happy with the problem on the wing because something like that shouldn't happen at our level," said Luna Roissa skipper Max Sirena self-critically. "But I think we have a bit less pressure now and will do better tomorrow." Colleague Iain Percy from Artemis was happy that the first race had gone quite well after so little training on the new boat. "As we knew, the biggest difference was downwind speed and manoeuvres. We are suffering from the legacy of a boat that was not originally designed for foiling. The position of our rudder and the size of the trim tabs make jibing difficult, but we will improve. When we accelerate and are on top (on the foils), things are going quite well. It's all about the transitions and only training can help."
Summary Louis Vuitton Cup Semifinals 1st race
The next few races will show whether Artemis can get enough of it despite working overtime on the water over the next few days. Viewers were able to gain some interesting insights after the live broadcast when the TV control room played a replay of the start and displayed the so-called wing-wash graphic, which visualised the downwinds of the wing. Also useful was a comparative diagram of the boat speeds before, during and after a gybe. The curve of Artemis dropped significantly more during the manoeuvre than that of Luna Rossa because the boat could not jibe on the foils.
The semi-final is a best-of-seven series, which means that the team with the first four wins advances.
Live broadcast on the America's Cup YouTube channel (where permitted). Otherwise on the America's Cup App or via Virtual Eye.
