From caribbeanracing.com
Before racing this week, fhe crew has been putting Alinghi SUI-64 through her paces in the waters off Marseille every day since 25 August, whilst the shore team has focused for long hours on perfecting every tiny detail that could squeeze the last few hundredths of a knot from the boat. New sails have been designed and built especially for this event and are being used with the best-performing mast and rigging. "We've had some great sailing conditions", says Alinghi Tactician Brad Butterworth. "And, more importantly, we've come head-to-head against Team New Zealand in speed testing and in practicing pre-start maneuvers. My own feeling is that we're ready". The competition - a first for Europe - promises to be spectacular. For Alinghi, the objective is clear: the cup holder is here to win. "Most of the effort we've put in over the last 18 months has been directed at design", explains Alinghi Team General Manager Grant Simmer. "On the other hand, we've eased off on the sporting aspects to give our crew time to recover after what was a very demanding campaign. Now though, our objective is clear". The America's Cup defender won the first fleet race of Act 1 in Marseille after a superb duel with Emirates Team New Zealand. Team Alinghi led the race from start to finish giving no quarter to her 5 competitors. With the start delayed by two and a half hours, the race was, as promised, a spectacular event with wind conditions that demanded a great deal of every crew, Making 11 knots, Team Alinghi soon took the lead, pursued very closely by her adversary from the 31st America's Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand. The two finalists from the last Cup competition then joined in a gripping duel that created an air of déjà vu for the hordes on board the flotilla of spectator boats. Not only did the battle appear promising from the outset, but it soon proved to be a contest of high drama.
The first reach tack was to be decisive. The pressure on the challengers increased, along with the wind speed. Gusting up to 25 knots, it caused a series of problems for competitors. Le Défi was the first to blow out her spinnaker, followed by Alinghi, which abandoned hers in the water, soon to be emulated by Emirates Team New Zealand. Team Shosholoza dropped her spinnaker straight onto the deck and K-Challenge broke her spinnaker boom. The American team had no choice but to turn back in their tracks. Alinghi managed to keep her lead as the sea roughened and left her opponents no opportunity. On the second reach tack, SUI 64 took no risks, but did take maximum care of her spinnaker, as did the New Zealanders and USA 76. Vigilant to the end, the Swiss crew, which has not done a great deal of sailing for the last year and a half, turned in an excellent performance, pocketing the first 6 points of Act 1 by finishing 35 seconds ahead of Emirates Team New Zealand, followed home by BMW Oracle Racing, K-Challenge, Team Shosholoza and Le Défi. On the second day of racing, after an excellent start, Team Alinghi locked horns with Emirates Team New Zealand, her opponent of yesterday and the last America's Cup. But today's real danger came from the Americans. BMW Oracle Racing and Le Défi both jumped the gun to make false starts. Forced to return and restart 20 seconds behind, USA-76 staged a spectacular comeback on the first beating leg, moving up from fifth to third. Alinghi, then second behind K-Challenge, was caught at the windward mark by BMW Oracle Racing, determined not to be left behind in this race. On the first reaching leg, the Cup defender and the Louis Vuitton Cup finalist overtook the French crew to engage in a spectacular duel in an ever-strengthening wind that freshened from 17 to 22 knots. Alinghi, with Peter Holmberg at the helm, managed to keep ahead but, slowed by a broken winch, SUI-64 let the Americans escape to the left (more favourable) side of the course. On this final beating leg, they found even more wind, this time from a better direction. Hugging the left of the course and forcing SUI-64 to the right, USA-76 increased her lead. At the windward mark, the die was cast. Team Alinghi crossed the line second, 26 seconds behind the race winner. Nevertheless, the Swiss team retains its lead in the overall rankings, 1 point ahead of BMW Oracle Racing. Peter Holmberg, Skipper of Tea\m Alinghi, commented after the day’s race, “The end of the first lap proved the decisive point for the outcome of this race. We had an equipment problem when a winch broke, forcing us to gybe in front of BMW Oracle Racing, which was then able take the mark on the right and gain the left side of the course. On the first beating leg, we probably made a mistake by focusing too heavily on Emirates Team New Zealand, even though we could have covered everyone. At the time we thought that BMW Oracle Racing was out of the running because of her late start. But we got the start we wanted, the crew sailed very well and we're still in a very good position. We'll do better tomorrow!“ Behind the first two finishers, there were two other gripping duels going on; the first between K-Challenge and Emirates Team New Zealand and the second, a little further back, between Team Shosholoza and Le Défi. The second race of the day was postponed when the wind, then averaging 28 knots, became simply too violent for a race start. Two more fleet races are scheduled for September 7, with the first starting at 12:40. Overall rankings. ------------------ 1 Alinghi, 11 points. 2 BMW Oracle Racing, 10 points 3 Emirates Team New Zealand, 9 points 4 K-Challenge, 6 points 5 Team Shosholoza, 4 points 6 Le Défi, 2 points © Copyright 2001/2002/2003/2004/2005 caribbeanracing.com |
