Super Sunday to be bigger than ever in Bermuda
by 35th America's Cup 18 Oct 2015 07:55 BST
16-18 October 2015
Sunday's racing in Bermuda will have more points on offer than any other day in the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series to date.
After racing was abandoned on Saturday due to extremely light winds, a third race has been added to the schedule on Sunday. All three races will have double-point scoring, meaning up to 60 points are available. Racing is scheduled to start at 14:10 ADT.
"Three 20-point races can be pretty powerful in the grand scheme of things in the series," said SoftBank Team Japan tactician Chris Draper. "If you can smash the final day it will make a massive difference on the leaderboard."
Weather models show the light conditions of Saturday giving way to 8-12 knots of wind on Sunday, building stronger later in the day. On Saturday, the wind never breached the 6-knot lower limit to allow racing.
"We're looking forward to tomorrow, the forecast looks very positive for racing," said ORACLE TEAM USA tactician Tom Slingsby. "I think it will be perfect sailing conditions for these boats. It's all to play for and we'll be looking to come out on top."
After racing was abandoned, an exhibition race took place inside the Harbour. The sailors were unanimous in paying tribute to the enthusiasm of the Bermudian crowd and the ability of the course marshals and race management team. Hundreds of boats relocated from the Great Sound race course area to the Harbour in short order, without incident, allowing for an exhibition race.
"We came over from Dockyard at about 12:15 in the chase boat and we couldn't believe how many boats were out there," Draper said. "It's a shame we didn't get a point-scoring race. But we had a little exhibition in Hamilton Harbour at the end there so hopefully that gives everyone a little taster ahead of tomorrow."
"It's amazing. The island has gotten behind the America's Cup and it's great to see," said Land Rover BAR sailor Giles Scott. "It felt like there were thousands of boats out there. It was quite the spectacle today. I'm sure tomorrow will be even better."
"It was great to see all these people on the water. We stayed in the harbour and we didn't see all the boats, but when we finally went out to race this huge spectator fleet came in – very impressive. Now we have to do a good show for them tomorrow!"
Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Leaderboard: (after two events)
1. Emirates Team New Zealand – 72pts
2. Land Rover BAR – 65pts
3. ORACLE TEAM USA – 64pts
4. SoftBank Team Japan – 56pts
5. Artemis Racing – 53pts
6. Groupama Team France – 50pts
Adventures of a Sailor Girl Interviews (from Nic Douglass)
What a day. No racing again for the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series, but today due to no wind, rather than excessive breeze as in Portsmouth earlier this year.
It means that tomorrow we will be looking at three shorter races, that will all be double points. So there is a bit on for all competitors on top of rehydrating after today!
I was lucky enough to go on a tour of the Oracle Team USA base this morning. Photography was limited, so you will just have to listen to my recount amongst select imagery, but it was absolutely brilliant to see the inner cockpits and the wing "at work" for the development boats.
The video also has some pretty in-depth interviews with:
- Chris Draper; the level playing field of the America's Cup World Series and what is to come for Softbank Team Japan
- Tom Slingsby; being the "Bermudian" team and living in Bermuda.
- Giles Scott; crossover between the Finn and the AC and ISAF World Sailor of the Year nomination
- Franck Cammas; the improvements of Groupama Team France and how the team is aiming to involve the French sailing community with the AC
- Glenn Ashby; broader discussion on whether he ever thought Cats would be in the America's Cup as well at the A-Class Worlds.
Make sure you watch right to the end for a guest appearance from "The Master of Clicking"...
More adventures at www.AdventuresofaSailorGirl.com, via bit.ly/SailorGirlApp (free App), or on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
A no show for the wind leaves the world series wide open (from Land Rover BAR)
Race officials were unable to start the action in Bermuda at the third and final event of the 2015 Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series when the wind failed to show up.
Despite being disappointed and frustrated, the sailors are looking forward to a huge day of action tomorrow, when the schedule will be adjusted to run three races. Fortunately, the meteorologists are promising much better conditions on Super Sunday. And with the racing counting for double points, there will be everything to play for as the 2015 World Series concludes.
Thoughts from the team
Tactician, Giles Scott: "Today was disappointing, there's no way to dodge that fact; we wanted to race, the crowds wanted to see us race, but the weather just didn't cooperate. The best thing we can say about today is that because we didn't sail they will change the schedule and we will now have the chance to do three races, rather than two tomorrow. That's good news, the forecast looks good and it's still all on."
Wing Trimmer, Paul 'C-J' Campbell-James: "The fact that the racing didn't happen today makes Super Sunday all the more important, now there are three double points races tomorrow and only 7 points between the top three teams. So tomorrow will be the single most important day of racing in the whole season so far. There's a great forecast, the team feels good and we're excited for it. Bermuda is always awesome, it was great to see the crowd at the opening ceremony, and we're looking forward to some more 'home team' support tomorrow!"
Racing is scheduled to start at 14:10 ADT - 18:10 BST. Check out all Land Rover BAR's social channels for the latest team news and updates, and if you are in the UK and Ireland, then the live coverage starts on BT Sport 1 from 17:30 BST.
Full round up of all the broadcast coverage right here.
Super Sunday ahead for ORACLE TEAM USA (from ORACLE TEAM USA)
Light winds were predicted, and the forecast held true for the first day of the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Bermuda on Saturday. ORACLE TEAM USA and the fleet made a late effort to complete one race, but the winds did not rise above the required 6 knots, and the day's racing was abandoned.
"We were postponed for a long time, the wind wasn't playing ball with us, and we were forced ashore," said tactician Tom Slingsby. "Eventually we got out, we got a race in – unfortunately, it was after the time limit for racing. So, we did a little exhibition race."
The fleet was held onshore, and around 15:30 local they headed out on the water with hopes of completing one race. The course was moved inside Hamilton Harbor, and spectator boats lined the boundaries.
At the same time, race management kept an eye on the wind speed. However, the breeze failed to pick up, and Regatta Director Iain Murray radioed the teams, thanking all for their patience. ORACLE TEAM USA and a few of the crews remained on the water for a demonstration race, plus a little bit of training before tomorrow's final races.
"It was a really nice course here in Hamilton Harbour," Slingsby said. "The fans got a little bit of a taste, even though it was very light winds."
Sunday's schedule in Bermuda now features three races, all counting for double points – a true Super Sunday. For each race tomorrow, 20 points will be on the table. Racing begins as scheduled at 14:10 local.
ORACLE TEAM USA will look to use the high-scoring day to move up in the overall standings. The team currently sits at third place with 64 points behind Land Rover BAR (65 points) and series leader, Emirates Team New Zealand, with 72 points.
"We're looking forward to tomorrow. We think it's going to be a lot more breeze, and perfect sailing conditions for these boats – 12-14 knots is what I've seen on the forecast," Slingsby said. "With three, double-point races, anyone can win. It's all to play for, and hopefully we're going to be on top."
Off with a bang... Slow to get started (from Emirates Team New Zealand)
All was set and ready for an explosive start to Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series in Bermuda. Except the wind had other ideas...