At the end of the preliminary round, the Louis Vuitton Cup was a real dead heat. Apparently none of the three teams really wanted to sail. The Kiwis didn't because they didn't need to. The Italians didn't because they are slow, and Artemis didn't because they can't (yet).
Larry Ellison's chief cheerleader Tom Ehman, who as vice-commodore of the host Golden Gate Yacht Club circulated many an unrealistic bon mot via Facebook last week, called such a day, which did not allow any racing due to a lack of interest from those involved, "a low-key day". This could of course be translated in many different ways, but suffice it to say that the spectacle hoped for and promised by the organisers is still a long time coming. Perhaps Luna Rossa and Artemis are similar in terms of performance potential, which would offer a glimmer of hope that something like excitement could arise in the semi-final races. Whether this is actually the case will be revealed on Tuesday at 13.15 local time (22.15 CEST).
Over the past five days, the Kiwis have dismantled their car into its individual parts, put it through its paces, modified it and put it back together again. Yesterday they took it out for testing in a strong breeze. Artemis and Luna Rossa also moved their vehicles, but made the turn towards the harbour before the wind reached typical San Francisco strength. The pictures in the gallery show how differently the three teams sail.
Of course, the Kiwis didn't tell anyone what they had changed, but when you see how they whipped their AC72 across the bay with competence and confidence in barely 6 force winds and made everything else on the water look like it was set in concrete, you have to take your hat off in admiration. But one must also silently hope that they will be spared from the defect and capsize devil in order to be prepared for the inevitable encounter with Oracle at the actual Cup in September.
This article was updated on Sunday, 4 August, at 18:20.
