Louis Vuitton Pacific Series at Auckland, New Zealand Day 6
by Keith Taylor 5 Feb 2009 08:37 GMT
30 January - 14 February 2009
Home Team falls To Italian newcomers
Racing in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series took on fresh intensity today as a newcomer team from Italy defeated hosts Emirates Team New Zealand and champion Swiss team Alinghi snatched a last minute victory from Britain's TEAMORIGIN.
The biggest upset of the day came as the newcomer, Damiani Italia Challenge, steered by Francesco Bruni convincingly put away undefeated Emirates Team New Zealand in the best tacking duel seen in this series after winning the start. Kiwi skipper Dean Barker said: "We tried to end the race at the start and due to my misjudgement we ended up in a bad position. Damiani didn't put a foot wrong and sailed very well."
The ten international teams were racing in the first of five day's competition in the second round of the match race regatta on Auckland Harbour. After a long wait for a northerly breeze to fill in they raced in conditions that ranged from ten knots for the first of five races to 18 knots by the end of the day.
The nailbiter race came as the new British TEAMORIGIN led America's Cup champions Alinghi around the first three legs of a four leg course, only to lose ground with some untidy gennaker work that gave Ed Baird, skipper of the Swiss boat the edge he needed to overtake and win. China Team, which cut its teeth on Louis Vuitton Cup competition in Valencia in 2007, showed excellent form today against South Africa's Shosholoza.
China skipper Ian Williams narrowly held off Shosholoza's Paolo Cian until the start of the second run when the South African boat had gennaker problems that saw them trawling the big chute like a giant drogue.
There were two other races. Cup champion Russell Coutts dished out a master class on starting technique in his matchup with Italy's Luna Rossa sailed by Peter Holmberg. The Americans won by 58 seconds.
There was a closer race between Gavin Brady steering the Greek Challenge and the French boat Pataugas K-Challenge with Sebastian Col at the helm. The French prevailed all around the course.
Day 6 Results:
Alinghi beat Team Origin by 15 sec
K Challenge beat Greek Challenge by 26 sec
Damiani Italia Challenge beat Emirates Team New Zealand by 19 sec
China Team beat Team Shosholoza by 55 sec
BMW Oracle beat Luna Ross by 59 sec
Tomorrow’s draw:
Alinghi v Damiani Italia Team
Team Shosholoza v Pataugas K-Challenge
Team Origin v BMW Oracle Racing
Greek Challenge v China Team
Emirates Team New Zealand v Luna Rossa
The event web site www.louisvuitton-pacificseries.com has content in English French and Italian. Race reports, press reports, features and photographs are being updated daily. The site includes a link to live streaming radio commentary about the racing originating from Auckland’s radio BSport Sailing 103FM.
Competition opens up in round robin two (from Warren Douglas, Emirates Team New Zealand)
The first day of the second round robin saw the two unbeaten teams of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series have their first losses, upsetting the form guide and setting the stage for four more days of great racing.
Alinghi beat Origin and Damiani Italia beat Emirates Team New Zealand.
The big interest today was in the first race – Alinghi v Origin. With former Emirates Team New Zealand backup helmsman Ben Ainslie at the helm, Origin beat Alinghi in the first round robin.
Today Origin won the start and managed a narrow lead around the track until halfway down the second run. Alinghi stayed close to windward and grabbed the chance when it was offered, sailing over Origin and taking a 15 sec win.
Emirates Team New Zealand had its first loss of the regatta.
Grant Dalton: “We didn’t expect to go through the regatta without a loss. There’s some class opposition here and they’ll take every chance offered.
“Once Damiani got the lead, they worked really hard to keep it. We attacked and attacked again but they were very cool under pressure. They didn’t waver and they didn’t give us a chance to pass. These short courses can be really brutal if you’re trying to come from behind.
“We are not happy at the loss, but we’re delighted for the event. We wanted good, tough racing right to the end and today’s results put some more spark into the competition. Now, every team has something to prove.”
The start was relatively even; both yachts on starboard tack with the Italians to windward with a slight advantage in the right. Damiani crossed ahead and ETNZ continued to the right, but the lift was in the left and the Italians used the advantage they gained to control the rest of the beat.
Damiani rounded 11 sec ahead and were able to extend to 20 sec at the next mark. The second beat was a repeat of the first with Damiani rounding 24 sec ahead. At the finish the margin was 19 sec.
Skipper Dean Barker said Damiani deserved their win. “We let them off the hook before the start and they took advantage of it. They worked hard to shut us down and ensure there were no passing lanes.
“We never thought we were going to get right through unscathed. Everyone here is a top-level sailor. We made a couple of mistakes and they didn’t let us recover.”
Tactician Ray Davies said: “Make a mistake and all the teams are good enough to control the race to the finish… we tried to keep the race close as we could, and the Italians did well to defend their lead
“We like to win every race but that’s impossible out here.”
Pataugas by K-Challenge wins its first race of Round Robin 2 (from Stephanie Nadin, K-Challenge)
First race of Round Robin 2 in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series today in Auckland, where «Pataugas by K-Challenge» won its first point in the silver fleet group against Greek Challenge.
The key moment of the match was the first upwind leg, when the French team who was leading the match got enough clearness to cross and sail on the left after a tacking battle, even if the tactical situation was unexpected. The team had to stay really calm in that particular situation while the final goal was important.
Sebastien Col, Skipper and Helmsman for Pataugas by K-Challenge : “all our matches in the silver fleet in Round Robin 2 are «must win matches», and it is great to start the Round Robin with a point for the team. It was very tight, as we made small mistakes, but they didn't cost us the race. But we have more things to work on.
Today we were port entry at the start in light air, so it is never easy in that configuration with an aggressive helmsman like Gavin Brady. But we had a good start with the same timing. Then we had some key moments, mainly when we approached the first mark: we did a cross that was a bit better for us as we were faster, but we were not on the best spot on the race course. However, we managed to take the most out of our manoeuvre at the upwind buoy, and then to increase our lead that we kept till the end. I´m very happy for the team, it will help us to build confidence and aggressiveness for the competition.
I don't prefer light airs compared to sea breeze, but I´m not difficult as we seemed to be fast, and we will be starboard entry for our two other races in Round Robin 2, which will be an advantage, even if we don´t control that and we have to play with it.
Tomorrow will be an other important match against Team Shosholoza, and we really have to use this positive day to get some confidence out of it, and to do less small mistakes under the pressure of our opponent. We need to manage to give all that we have tomorrow, and we have to be confident.”
Christian Scherrer, Trimmer: « for me the key moment were the close tacks on the first upwind leg, even if we lost some meters and we left him sail on the right. We took the left, and our opponent came back, we managed to round the buoy just in front of him, but it was tight. Then we did a better hoist of our spinnaker, we were close, but we were faster. We managed to take some wind from them, as their spinnaker didn't inflate straight away, so we increased our lead.
The other tough moment was when we reached the downwind mark, where we changed our mind on the mark to round, but we defended and we stayed in front.”
Pataugas by K-Challlenge will sail tomorrow for the first time during the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series against the South African Team Shosholoza (they lost their today´s match against China Team).
Greek Challenge loses to Pataugas K-Challenge in emotional and nail biting match (from Pierre Orphanidis)
The pupils faced their mentors today on the waters of Auckland’s harbor. Greek Challenge raced France’s Pataugas K-Challenge in an emotional and nail biting match. It was doubly emotional, not only because of the very tight and close racing and the lead changes but also because K-Challenge were the instructors that the Greeks had in their very first contact with America’s Cup boats in Valencia only one month ago.
With only a smattering of foreigners on the Greek Challenge yacht, today’s result was a huge achievement and shows that bigger and better things could be realized in the future. As one local commentator put it, “the Greeks are learning and absorbing this experience like the famous sponges in their home waters”.
Greek Challenge held it tight and close and Gavin Brady together with the rest of the crew put extreme pressure on the French boat, steered by match racing top-ranked Sébastien Col. Brady clearly wanted the left and got it, hitting the starting line a bit slower then Col. The first beat turned into an intensive tacking duel with the French ahead in the first crossing. Greek Challenge then opted for the right side of the course and approached the top mark ahead of the French.
The two yachts faced a clash situation at the top mark. Brady managed to sneak inside the French and the two were practically side-by-side when they rounded the mark. Greek Challenge had the advantage and could have started the run in a leading position but the fledgling team suffered from a moment of miscommunication. Col grabbed the opportunity and passed the Greek boat.
Despite the very tidy gybes the Greeks threw at the French and the intense fight, they couldn’t find the right opportunity to pass and crossed the finish line a mere 27 seconds behind proving that even the slightest error can cost dearly in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series.
In the other match of the Silver Fleet, China Team scored a decisive victory over South Africa’s Shosholoza. As a result, the Greeks will have to beat the Chinese team in tomorrow’s match, if they are to keep their chances to advance in the event’s quarterfinals.
Quotes of the day
Mark Lagesse (RSA), navigator on Greek Challenge: “It was a good race and yet another step into the right direction. We just didn’t go out on the water to simply sail but to do proper match racing. We can position our yacht tactically and not just defend. The boat is sailing faster by the day.
We had a good start and got the left side, just like we wanted. The French got off the starting line slightly faster than us but in the first beat we were able to put pressure on them. We reached the top mark in a very aggressive match race situation, a true clash and sneaked inside them. We could have luffed harder on them and maybe cause damage but we followed the spirit of the event. This is about friendly sailing not about breaking the boats. The aim is not to win at all cost. Unfortunately, we had a split second of miscommunication aboard and gave up our advantage at the top mark. The French passed us and despite the pressure we put on them they didn’t commit any error.
Without any doubt, the Greeks have made massive improvement since I met them in Valencia for the first time, just a short month ago; massive improvement.”
Sotiris Buseas (GRE), aft grinder and Greek Challenge CEO: “Just like the rest of races this one was a learning experience but with an emotional angle for me. K-Challenge was the team that showed us the ropes in Valencia during a one-week crash course in America’s Cup sailing. It’s a joy for us they won. I wish them the best and look forward to facing them again in the quarterfinals.
We have already achieved our goal in this event. Despite our inexperience, we sailed very well, scored one victory and learned a lot. The aim is to now learn as much as possible in the few days left in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series.
I’m probably the smallest and least powerful grinder in the fleet but don’t forget that Greeks grind not only with their muscles but also their minds and guts. Still, for me it is the best place in order to observe the crew. I’m at the back of the boat and I can view the crew’s performance and behavior. I get much-needed first-hand experience.”
Terry Serepisos (GRE-NZL), 18th man and owner of the NZ football club Wellington Phoenix: “It was an amazing and unforgettable experience. Not only was it the first time ever I set foot on a sailing yacht, it had to be an America’s Cup boat.
I was surprised to see the amount of work put by the crew during a race. I would have never imagined the preparation and effort needed to sail these yachts in such a competitive race. They also sail much faster than I thought and being onboard is a great privilege.
I’m the owner of a football club and if I compare it to the sport I know, this is like driving a Ferrari car. In football you watch the match from a distance while here you right in the middle of the action.
Congratulations to Greek Challenge. They sailed very well and fought really hard.”
18th man
The Greek team was honored today by the presence of Terry Serepisos, a Wellington-based Greek-Kiwi property developer and owner of the Wellington Phoenix, the only New Zealand football club competing in the Australian A-League.
Few people are more closely associated with Wellington’s inner city renaissance than Terry Serepisos. With contemporary style, sophistication, as well as tradition, in mind, Serepisos’ focus has been on the investment and development of several impressive Wellington landmark sites.
Serepisos has also invested in and developed many upmarket residential properties, which have also added to the character and style of Wellington architecture.