Barcelona, once again, put on its finest display today on day two of the Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta with outstanding sailing conditions for the sailors and wonderful viewing opportunities for the spectators. All along the Barceloneta beachfront and at the free-to-enter Official Race Village and Fanzones, the crowds were out in force for a spectacle of high-octane racing at its very best.
The standings show that Emirates Team New Zealand sit on top of the leaderboard tonight and today, the Defenders of the Louis Vuitton 37thAmerica’s Cup, were on it right from the start. A first race against INEOS Britannia was sublime with Peter Burling and Nathan Outteridge tying Ben Ainslie and Dylan Fletcher up and forcing them off their foils in the final approaches to the start line. From there it was all one-way traffic, and the Kiwis romped to a 52 second win.
The Kiwis second race was against Orient Express Racing Team in the last match of the day, but unfortunately the French had to retire ahead of the start with what skipper Quentin Delapierre described as a “major issue” that could not be resolved on the water, but Delapierre confirmed they would be back for racing on Saturday.
Speaking afterwards, Blair Tuke, Flight Controller and Trimmer for Emirates Team New Zealand was pleased with day but still saw the bigger picture saying: “Well we had a great start against INEOS, real battle there, they haven’t been shy in throwing the boat around in the pre-start and we’ve been seeing that for a number of days now, and so we knew that was coming, and I guess we just got the better of them there with that last minute double tack that we executed better, got on the inside of them and they flopped off the foils so race over. So good for us, it was a well-executed start, you know we’ve come into this series really wanting to get the most out of it. We don’t get that many opportunities to get battle hardened so we are trying to get as much out of every race as we can and we’ve certainly done that so far.”
For INEOS Britannia, it was their second straight defeat today, but the team are well aware that this regatta is a warm-up in their eyes for the Louis Vuitton Cup starting on the 29th August. Talking about the race Sir Ben Ainslie said: “it was a shame because it’s over at the start. We made a mess of the execution on the double tack, they did a really nice job of getting inside us to force us of the foil so, shame, a missed chance to line up against the Defenders and after that we just had to make our own way around the course. Performance wise there was a bit difference in headsail choice which is quite interesting, so a few things to take away. Obviously disappointed with the start but this is why we’re here, and we will try and get that right for the next one.”
Performance coach for INEOS Britannia Xabi Fernandez, echoed Ben’s views saying:“A tough day and we feel like it was a missed opportunity to measure ourselves against the Kiwis. We went for a move that was, I would say, not aggressive, but we tried something new in the start box and the double tack didn’t happen.”
Asked about the difficult start to the regatta for the British crew, Fernandez commented: “It’s not been the start that we wanted but, you know, we have been here before, and I think we are able to see the big picture. When you start to line up with the others and you have some new data it’s amazing what you can improve and learn, so the mood in the team is good.”
NYYC American Magic also had two races today with the first against Alinghi Red Bull Racing being a superb opener to the second day of racing. NYYC American Magic aced that encounter by 56 seconds after a solid start and first cross, but then faced down the significant challenge of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli where they succumbed to a 40 second loss, having been forced high by the Italians on the starting line in the final approaches.
Paul Goodison, port helm on ‘Patriot’ was positive about the day, saying: “Like every team, we have to learn how to dominate the start box. I think anybody who is out there and dominating the starts is going to be really tough to beat. We did a great job of that in the first race, got off clean, and managed to get our nose just in front. From there we sailed really well, were able to dominate the sides of the course we wanted to and slowly stepped away – which was really, really promising. We had a similar plan for the second start, but it didn’t go our way. The Italians did a good job of holding us outside the line, which was tough for us. But the reaction on board was really good, the way we kept communicating, and we didn’t let it turn into an easy runaway. So, all-in-all, quite a positive day.”
Arnaud Psarofaghis, skipper of Alinghi Red Bull Racing, was sanguine about their first loss of the regatta and saw the positives in defeat, saying: “It was a really interesting race in all aspects. We just misjudged the start, came back a little late to push American Magic but they nailed it really nicely, from there the race was won and they really locked the game down, and so we just tried to sail our boat well and try to get as much data as possible to see what we can improve for tomorrow and mainly for next week. But really positive day for us, massive learning and I mean we didn’t win the race, but we learned a lot of stuff.”
Francesco Bruni, helmsman for Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, who looked remarkably slick all around the racecourse, acknowledged the challenge before them but was pleased with how the team raced today, saying: “It’s a positive phase for the team, and for sure the boat is going well. The team is sailing well, but we have to stay focused because things can change very quickly from one day to another and we know that all the teams are looking at us and looking how to improve, so we have to keep improving that’s the most important thing. We can’t just say ‘okay we are good, we are fast’ because if we stop improving, it’s going to be at the end so yes, we had a good race with a good day but my mantra is just to keep, keep, keep, improving.”
For Quentin Delapierre of Orient Express Racing Team, it was a tough day but he kept things in perspective saying: “Yeah nothing major just a little thing on the FCS (Foil Cant System) so I mean we will fix it for tomorrow. I think today, it wasn’t super important for us to go against the Defender, but the next few days are really, really, important for the team, so we just wanted to make sure that the boat will been in shape for all the next few days.”
The weekend brings more incredible action out on the glistening waters of Barcelona and the forecast is looking promising for Saturday but a complete switch in wind direction on Sunday. The race for the Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta is heating up – don’t miss a second of it.
(Magnus Wheatley)
