Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Portsmouth - Overall
by ACWS Portsmouth 26 Jul 2015 19:50 BST
23-26 July 2015
Royal congratulations for winner Ben Ainslie
Extreme winds forced the cancellation of racing at the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series in Portsmouth on Sunday, but didn't dampen enthusiasm for a Royal visit from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
With no racing to close out the weekend, the results from Saturday stand, meaning Land Rover BAR is the winner of the first event of the 35th America's Cup cycle.
Ainslie and his team were congratulated on their win at the official prize giving by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who were on site all day on Sunday and met with all of the teams, presenting the awards for the regatta. Michael Burke, the CEO of Louis Vuitton, was on hand to present each of the skippers with a gift.
"We're absolutely delighted to win the first Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series event here in Portsmouth. This is a great start for us in our America's Cup journey," said Ben Ainslie, skipper of Land Rover BAR.
"With the conditions that we saw yesterday and the standard these teams are sailing at, it's absolutely amazing racing and looks wonderful on TV. In my sailing career, I've never seen anything like it - the amount of people who came out on the water, on the shoreline, supporting the event, supporting us as the home team...
"It's a real shame we couldn't race today considering all the effort that's gone into the event and the support we've had from the local fans here in Portsmouth. But that is the weather and we can't control it."
Emirates Team New Zealand claimed second place with rookie Peter Burling on the helm at his first America's Cup regatta.
"For a 24 year old, what a great opportunity for him to come through as a young guy. His skill level is really, really, high. This fast-paced, quick action, quick decision making really suits him," said his skipper, Glenn Ashby.
ORACLE TEAM USA rounded out the podium in third place.
"The racing was great. We had some good sailing out there. Lots of lead changes, six competitive teams, the level is really, really high," said skipper Jimmy Spithill. "We're disappointed we couldn't get out there again today."
Fourth place belongs to Groupama Team France whose skipper, Franck Cammas, was philosophical about not being able to race.
"The sailing world depends on wind. Too much, not enough, there is no race. It's normal for us as sailors. Today was clearly too windy to race without a big risk. It was the right decision," Cammas said.
"But I'm happy about what happened here. There were so many people watching and it was well organized for the first event on the circuit. I'm very confident for the future as we look ahead.
"It was great to be able to race against the others," Cammas continued. "At home, we train alone and when you sail alone you are always the world champion! So we found the level here is very high. Not a surprise, but good to see, and very motivating for us to improve."
Dean Barker's new SoftBank Team Japan squad finished on equal points with the French, but fell to fifth place in the tie-breaker.
"We wanted to get into it again today, but it would have been impossible to race in these conditions," Barker said.
"The foiling AC45 race boats are great. But for us, we know we have a lot of work to do. This is just the first step in a long two-year program. Gothenburg next month will be a great opportunity to get back out there and get into the racing. That will have different challenges in terms of the race course, so more to adapt to there as well. We're excited we get to race again in a month's time."
The Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series in Gothenburg from August 28-30 is the home event for Artemis Racing. The Swedish challenger will be looking to improve on a last place finish here in Portsmouth.
"We're excited to get there and see the support for Artemis Racing. We've had great enthusiasm for the team at home in Sweden over the last couple of years and we're really looking forward to racing there," said skipper Nathan Outteridge.
Highlights from the racing can be viewed on the BBC iPlayer here
Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Portsmouth Results:
1. Land Rover BAR - 19 points
2. Emirates Team New Zealand - 18 points
3. ORACLE TEAM USA - 16 points
4. Groupama Team France - 13 points
5. SoftBank Team Japan - 13 points
6. Artemis Racing - 11 points
acws-portsmouth.americascup.com
Next event: Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Gothenburg - August 28-30
Land Rover BAR take victorious first step down path to bring the Cup home (from Land Rover BAR)
The second day of competition for the 35th America's Cup was cancelled as a low pressure system swept across Britain, bringing gale force winds. The loss of the final two races on Super Sunday meant that the prizes were settled on Saturday's results – leaving Land Rover BAR as winners.
Amongst many disappointed spectators were the royal couple, Their Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Like hundreds of thousands of others, they had visited Portsmouth hoping to see the America's Cup contenders go into battle.
Despite the lack of action on the water they still had a busy day, meeting the sailors from the different teams, and many of the people that had helped put on the event. They also visited the new home of Land Rover BAR, to meet both team members and their families, meet with the 1851 Trust, of which The Duchess is Royal Patron and concluded the day by presenting the prizes in a ceremony at the Historic Dockyard.
Gusts over 37 knots were recorded at Southsea Common, and the Waterfront Festival and Fanzone Arenas had to be shut down for public safety. Race organisers initially rescheduled the racing to a midday start, to try to beat the arrival of the worst of the weather. It wasn't to be though, and as the wind howled and the rain beat down, organisers reluctantly abandoned their efforts to put on the show.
It wasn't the end of the weather story though, as the teams struggled to get their boats out of the water. The process involves hoisting them on a crane, and the strong winds meant that the boats were swinging unpredictably taking many hands to bring them under control and safely to rest on the dock.
Overall thoughts on the event
Skipper and Team Principal; Ben Ainslie: "I'm really proud of what the team has achieved this weekend, not just on the water but with our team here at the facility in Portsmouth. To win the first Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series of 2015 in front of our home crowd is massive for our team, and sets us up for a very exciting future."
Bowman and tactician; Giles Scott: "I think that as a crew we feel bad for all the people that turned up today. We've felt pretty confident sailing in a breeze, and we felt pretty good this morning - but it was too windy to go racing today, and it would have been a bit too much out there. So we just have to take that, a win is a win. Psychologically it's important. What we've managed to do all week is to make ourselves the team that everyone else is aiming at, racing these AC45Fs. So that felt good going into the regatta, and to get a good solid day yesterday with a one-two backed it up. To be consistent in those sort of conditions is always difficult, it was shifty, the wind was up and down – so to be able to pull that off was good."
Wing trimmer; Paul 'CJ' Campbell-James: "My first feeling when I heard the news was that I was absolutely gutted. Today would have just been the most awesome day for the tv and the spectators and for us out there sailing it would have been really good fun. I was also quite confident in our boat handling and preparation for big breeze, so there's a little bit of disappointment in there, but the overwhelming thing is that it's the first job done. There are many more steps to go, but we can only count this weekend as a success."
Trimmer; Nick Hutton: "We've just had a pretty hard time getting the boat out of the water and dropping the wing, so it was clearly too windy to race today. But having said that, we're pretty disappointed, we wanted to race, we've worked hard, and we wanted people to see that. But we've got the win and I think we just want to say thank you to all the people that came out to watch in the rain, and we're sorry we couldn't put on a show today."
Sailing Team Manager; Jono Macbeth: "I think it just goes to show that you need to go out there every day and race your hardest. The boys did a fantastic job yesterday, they got the boat round the track and they did what was required. We were hoping for another day like yesterday, but that wasn't to be, conditions out there were past top end, and not suitable for sailing. Onward and upwards, we have Gothenburg and Bermuda coming up, we're going to have a fantastic series and I think there's a lot of excitement to come in the future."
A Royal Second for Emirates Team New Zealand (from Emirates Team New Zealand)
The weather had the final say at the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series in Portsmouth with racing abandoned for the day after wind was blowing up to 30 knots out on the race course which was deemed to dangerous for the fleet of foiling AC45F's
The decision by the race committee that yesterdays results equate to the final standings at this first event with Emirates Team New Zealand ending up a narrow 2nd, just a single point behind the local favourites Land Rover BAR Racing, and two points ahead of America's Cup defenders Oracle Team USA.
Speaking about the decision to call off racing, helmsman Peter Burling said, "Its just part of our sport, you can't control the weather- officials deemed it unsafe so we cant go racing. Obviously a little disappointed not to be able to go out and give it another crack to take the overall win but really happy to have come in second in this first America's Cup event."
"But in the end it was really pleasing for us to put together two solid races like we did yesterday. Congratulations must go to Land Rover BAR for winning, but of course it was really pleasing for us to beat the current America's Cup holders Oracle Team USA, who have been doing more sailing than most, in our first event as a new team."
The second placed result was by no means beyond the ability of the new Emirates Team New Zealand crew, but not necessarily expected given the amount of time the team has had actually had on the water.
"We are absolutely wrapped with our second position," said skipper Glenn Ashby. "There are a lot of other teams out there that have been doing a lot more sailing than we have in the last 18 months. So for our 10th day of sailing effectively to be able to come away with a second place out of the fleet we are very pleased."
"In saying that, we have a huge amount to work on going forward once we get back to NZ. We have massive room for improvement in so many areas."
"This event in Portsmouth has been a really solid platform to spring from for the next few years. Sailing with the young guys has been fantastic, the mix of experience and youth has proved to be a great recipe for success for the the future." Ashby concluded.
The most of the team now return to New Zealand, while Burling and Tuke head for Rio for the 49er Olympic test event where they will look to continue their unbeaten run in the class to 19 straight wins.
Meanwhile the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge reacquainted themselves with the team when they visited the Emirates Team New Zealand base today to visit a host of dignitaries, including Emirates Airline President Sir Tim Clark.
Podium finish for ORACLE TEAM USA in season opener (from ORACLE TEAM USA)
ORACLE TEAM USA has opened its 35th America's Cup campaign with a podium finish - third place - in Portsmouth.
The two double-point races scheduled for Sunday were cancelled, meaning the results following Saturday's racing stand as final for the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Portsmouth.
"We're all disappointed that we couldn't get out there today, with the double points, it's all about the Sunday," said skipper Jimmy Spithill.
While the third place finish leaves room for improvement, Spithill said he was pleased with how the crew responded to adversity during the racing on Saturday.
"I was impressed with how the guys handled it," he said. "We were in some pretty tough situations on the race track and the guys had to dig deep and stay calm and they did. We were all pretty candid with each other after racing yesterday and went through our lessons, and I'm pleased with how we're working together."
This was the first time ORACLE TEAM USA sailed on the foiling AC45 class that is being used in the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series.
"These boats are a brutal test. It's another step on that we didn't think could happen but it did," he said. "These boats are so physical - it's a real workout.
"There's times where you're just hanging on, you're on the edge of control. That's what you want. We like to be challenged and here, the good guys got it right."
Spithill was referring to Land Rover BAR, the home team that took the win in Portsmouth. Much to the delight of the local crowds.
"It just shows how great it is to have a British team back in the America's Cup competition. There was some serious interest here – you look at the estimated spectator numbers on and off the water, it was as if the actual America's Cup was being raced in terms of crowd size, it was really comparable.
"It's just so cool to see a competitive team come from here and I know from past experiences that the Brits get behind their home sporting teams. These guys will be tough."
The team was honoured to be greeted by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during the Official Prizegiving ceremony.
ORACLE TEAM USA will reconvene in Bermuda in early August for a foiling camp at homebase before heading to Sweden for the next event of the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series.
A very promising fourth place (from Groupama Team France)
Ultimately the first event of the ACWS for the 35th America's Cup was contested over one day instead of the two originally planned in Portsmouth. The reason for this was the rather unfavourable weather, with over 30 knots of southerly wind dished up today, instead of the maximum limit of 25. With victory going to the local of the leg, Sir Ben Ainslie, ahead of Emirates Team New Zealand and the Americans on Oracle, the Portsmouth leg enabled Groupama Team France to confirm its considerable potential against the world's elite.
The decision to cancel the two races scheduled for Sunday by Race Director, Ian Murray, came as no surprise to the crew of Groupama Team France, who had been observing the evolution of the wind from early on this morning: "It's a shame not to be able to race, but it's the weather that dictates. Frankly, it would have been pretty unreasonable to leave the mooring, especially to go and sail in the Solent with big seas. There really was a lot of wind and our boats are not designed to confront such conditions," stated Franck Cammas.
This upper limit of 25 knots is not specific to the AC45s and the America's Cup. Also in force in the Olympic series, it aims to protect the sailors, who are sailing increasingly quick, high performance boats. For those in any doubt, you just have to refer back to the tragic death of Bart Simpson, crewman on Artemis, during the 34th Cup in San Francisco.
Beyond the justified disappointment of the six competing crews and the huge British and French crowds, who had made the journey to attend the event (60,000 spectators on Saturday), the analysis of Groupama Team France's performance at the end of the two races contested in the Solent is incredibly positive: "We finished fourth in the overall ranking. With regards to the competing teams, who have been part of the Cup circuit for many years, it's very encouraging. It's not yet good enough of course, but we're on the right track," explains the skipper of Groupama Team France.
In Portsmouth with Michel Desjoyeaux to support Cammas and his crew, Olivier de Kersauson was pleased: "We're aboard the train. Of course, we're in one of the coaches at the back for now, but I have no doubt as to the team's ability and determination to catch up with the locomotive between now and 2017. What I've seen here has greatly appealed to me and the atmosphere is excellent".
Alongside him, the team's coach, Bertrand Pacé has a few words to add: "We still have a lot of work to do to reach the top of our game, but we've got a solid base. The level of the different teams is fairly uniform, though it's still a little too early to draw any conclusions, as we've only competed in two races. In any case, the crew is very professional. I like working in this context".
For Thierry Fouchier, one of the very few Frenchmen to have won the America's Cup as a member of the sailing team (33rd edition), the English stage of the LVACWS has been an important one: "We didn't really know how to position ourselves in relation to our rivals, who are familiar faces on the circuit and in the Cup. The two races contested are a good reflection of where we're at. In the first race, we made lots of minor errors, which translated as a last place, but we corrected that in the second by being able to jockey for position at the front of the fleet with Emirates Team New Zealand. We really have a good team with considerable potential. It's great!"
Fourth in the overall ranking behind the three big teams, Land Rover BAR, Emirates Team New Zealand and Oracle Team USA, Groupama Team France can be suitably proud of this introduction, which saw them finish ahead of specialists like Dean Barker on Soft Bank Team Japan and Nathan Outteridge on Artemis Racing, who was accompanied by another Frenchman, Loïck Peyron, also present in Portsmouth.
Next up, Groupama Team France will have to follow through on this positive introduction at the second event of the year, from 27 to 30 August in Gothenburg, on Artemis Racing's home waters: "Unfortunately we won't be able to get anymore sailing in before the next event as the rules prohibit this so as to limit costs. As such, we'll have to make the most of the five days' training, which precede the event to up our game," continues the skipper of Groupama Team France.
We very much hope that the weather conditions will be more favourable in Sweden than they have been in Britain: "We need to compete in more races, especially when we know that the weather conditions are set to deteriorate. It's a point we're going to broach with the other skippers as it's a real shame to see this incredible public and televisual device only being used for two 30-minute races," concludes Franck Cammas.
Another point to be dealt with is the televisual accessibility to the races in France, where Canal+ managed to acquire the broadcasting rights. Broadcast later on via Canal+ Sport, the two races contested on Saturday could not be viewed on the Cup's payable digital application, which caused considerable frustration among passionate fans of Groupama Team France.
Warmly applauded during the prize-giving ceremony on Sunday afternoon, the crew of Groupama Team France will now take a few days' well earned rest. That includes Franck Cammas, which is saying something...