It just wasn't meant to be. Finally, Chris Draper and the boys from Luna Rossa got off to a good start and were closer on the Kiwis' heels than ever before. "I thought we'd rattle them on the first space, but we had a bit of a crash after the start," explained Draper. "If you catch a hole and the angle of attack of the centreboard is a little off, you're going to stop right there."
At the first buoy after the start, they were still level, but on the outside lane. Then two mediocre jibes cost them valuable metres, which the New Zealanders used to extend their lead. Nevertheless, there was still hope of a real race, as the Italians were 21 seconds behind at the leeward leg.Only That must mean 21 seconds, judging by what was seen in the preliminary rounds.
But then a deflection block broke on the Prada Silver Arrow in the sheeting system that controls the 40 metre high wing, forcing the Italians to retire. Conclusion: Team New Zealand, which had apparently recovered from the spectacular plug on Saturday and the defect on Sunday, sailed to a relaxed finish and now leads by 2:1 points. Another race did not take place as the tide was running out because the cheeky westerly was blowing stronger than the 19.4 knot limit set by the race organisers again in the afternoon. The race will be rescheduled for Wednesday.
And as always, the rumour mill is buzzing: Oracle demonstrated that they are now also able to foil downwind. It remains to be seen whether this is a feint or whether it will actually help (more speed, but also more drift and therefore further distances) as the competition progresses. With their two boats, piloted by Jimmy Spithill and Sir Ben Ainslie respectively, the Americans are trying to run something like an in-house sparring session to sound out weak points, keep the crews on their toes and offer the not exactly spoilt local AC audience a bit of a show.
Oracle foiling on the cross
On the second side front, it was announced that an international jury would be dealing with the allegations of illegal manipulation of the AC45 cats by Oracle and the associated gross misconduct of the team. A hearing is scheduled for the near future. Details are being kept confidential.
The rest of the programme:
Tuesday is a day off.
Wed 21 Aug. Race 4 (13:10 local time/22:10 CEST), Race 5 (14:10/23:10)
Fri 23 Aug Race 6 (start time TBD)
Sat. 24.10. Race 7 (13:10/22:10), Race 8 (14:10/23:10)
