The first German challenger in the history of the America's Cup has claimed its first victory in the Louis Vuitton Act 6 in Malmö, Sweden. In the fourth race of the match race series, "United Internet Team Germany" successfully beat "China Team" by a margin of six minutes and 32 seconds.
Thanks to an excellent performance in the start phase, a well-chosen tactical line and the massive problems of the opponents on the course, the "GER-72" was able to repeat its success in Valencia against the French-Chinese syndicate. The result was overshadowed by an accident after the mainsail recovery, in which sailor Christian Buck injured his mast.
Experienced match racer Jesper Bank laid the foundation for the success in the most aggressive start phase of the first two days of the Louis Vuitton Act 6 to date. At first, everything looked like a clear-cut case for the French-Chinese syndicate, as the "GER-72" entered the start box very late and was almost prevented from entering by the "CHN-69".
However, the Danish skipper slipped through at the last moment on the left side of the start box and then used an escort boat to shake off his rival. As the race progressed, Bank involved his opponent in a tactical little game near the start line. With success: shortly before the start, the French helmsman Pierre Mas was level with the start line and crossed it too early.
United Internet Team Germany capitalised on this mistake and pulled away on the left-hand side of the course by four to five boat lengths - thanks to their opponent's necessary second start. The chosen line then proved to be ideal on the starting cross, as the German challenger was able to take advantage of the more favourable wind shifts in the duel between the hitherto winless teams.
Up to the first windward mark, which was rounded very carefully and conservatively due to the strong winds (up to 20 knots), the surprise team from Valencia was able to extend its lead at the start to 55 seconds.
On the downwind leg, "China Team" then caused all the accompanying boats to hold their breath when, during a gybe, the spinnaker heeled the Americas Cupper in an unbelievable way due to a gust and the mast was almost pulled to the waterline.
As a result, the boat flying the Chinese flag briefly got out of control, which not only increased the Germans' lead to a comfortable five minutes and 32 seconds at the leeward gate, but also meant that the preliminary decision in this race was made.
After the victory, however, the joy faded faster than it had arisen. Crew member Christian Buck was injured after the mainsail was hoisted. When the 27-year-old from Rostock was lowered from the mast, he could no longer hold on after a hard wave contact of the cupper and was thrown against the jumper, which broke as a result.
Buck was immediately rescued and transported to the hospital in Lund, where he is currently being treated. There was initially no information about the severity of the injuries.
