Louis Vuitton Pacific Series at Auckland, New Zealand Day 11
by Keith Taylor 10 Feb 2009 08:57 GMT
30 January - 14 February 2009
British, Italian teams earn Quarter Final berths
Pre-race favourite teams battled ferociously in the Rangitoto Channel today to secure their places in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series quarter finals to be sailed tomorrow.
Italy’s Luna Rossa skippered by Peter Holmberg pulled out a heart-stopping one-second win over the China Team while Britain’s TEAMORIGIN was under the gun until skipper Ben Ainslie scored a penalty against France’s Pataugas K-Challenge in a spinnaker luffing confrontation that took them far above their proper course.
With just four days of competition remaining, TEAMORIGIN will race tomorrow against Damiani Italy Challenge in one quarter final match. The other quarter final will be America’s BMW Oracle Racing against Luna Rossa. Weather permitting, the semi finalists will race tomorrow to determine who will race the top seed Swiss boat Alinghi in the Challenger Final. The winning challenger will meet Emirates Team New Zealand in a seven-race match on Friday and Saturday.
Peter Holmberg’s victory came as Luna Rossa completed a penalty turn on the finish line. British match race champion Ian Williams steering China Team had laid the penalty on the Italians 30 seconds before the start as they fought for the right hand position on the line.
With the penalty hanging over him Holmberg enjoyed a small lead at the start and ever so gradually eked it out to a 150 metre lead at the finish. He jammed his boat around in a tight turn bringing it almost to a halt as it spun around. Williams carried fresh breeze down to the line and crossed at speed but not before Holmberg crawled across to take the gun,
“I’ve done a lot of penalty turns in my career,” Holmberg said afterwards, “but it’s tough making 24 tons go 360 degrees and keep it moving!”
A penalty featured in the other match too as TEAMORIGIN fought a drama-filled skirmish with the charged-up French K-Challenge to stay in the regatta. Ainslie did an outstanding job to start on port tack right next to the committee, forcing K-Challenge helmsman Sebastian Col to tack away. The British boat protected the right up the beat, but the French instigated a tacking duel that evened up the game.
With the top mark in sight, TEAMORIGIN dialed down and tacked just in front of K-Challenge, holding them out by nine seconds at the top mark. However the British spinnaker set was slow and K-Challenge rolled them. In the ensuing drama, Ainslie luffed the French boat up twice. The French were penalized for failing to keep clear and lost time recovering their spinnaker, which sagged off to leeward after the halyard let go. Ainslie led the rest of the way, secure in the knowledge that the French still had to complete their penalty turn.
The breeze died after the completion of two races this morning. A long and fruitless wait for wind in warm, damp and humid conditions ended at 1600 hours.
The results table and scoring chart for the regatta can be accessed at www.louisvuitton-pacificseries.com/staging/DOWNLOADS/LVPSResults.pdf
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.
The Louis Vuitton Pacific Series is organised in association with the New Zealand Government, Emirates Team New Zealand, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Auckland City and SKYCITY Entertainment Group.
Pataugas by K-Challenge now looking at the future (from Stephanie Nadin, Pataugas by K-Challenge)
The Challenger Sail Off are now over, and unfortunately Pataugas by K-Challenge didn't defeat Team Origin today. This team now moves up to the quarter finals against Damiani Italia Challenge.
In the other Sail Off, Luna Rossa won over China Team the second spot for the quarters.
Sebastien Col, Skipper and Helmsman: “it is always very frustrating to lose in match racing, as there is no second.
We were not at our best today on the start line, and there are some small adjustments to make in the information and communication process, but also for the coordination. We didn't do big mistakes during this regatta, but we missed some time to make these adjustments.
On this last race against Team Origin, we had the opportunity to put pressure on our opponent, in order to take the lead. But when this was the right moment after the spinnaker hoist at the first mark, we didn't manage to do it as we were blocked between Team Origin, who had the priority, and the obstruction zone.
Then we stayed close, but we lost the electronics (measuring the wind's strength and direction at the top of the mast). So we didn't get the right infos any more, and it was more difficult for us to get a good position on the race course. After that there was a wind shift on the right about 25 to 30 degrees for the two last legs, which considerably reduced the options to reach our opponent, and then there were no real opportunities any more.
These small missed details are very frustrating as we gathered a convincing team, with a very good spirit and experience, and this is one goal that we reached successfully. But our small mistakes cost us a lot in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, just as it is the case for any top level match racing competition. We need more time working together in advance to reach performance.”
Stephane Kandler, K-Challenge's CEO concludes about the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series: “Unfortunately there was no surprise against a solid competitor who confirmed its status of favorite. Our crew did its best to stay in the match, but after a penalty in a luffing match on the first downwind leg, it was difficult to come back. Hierarchy has been respected in this event, even if the races were more opened than ever.
We took the risk to invest and to come with a new crew, as we believe in our ambition which is to create positive dynamics for the next America's Cup. We often missed some details this time to take the advantage. This group has a future, and it now needs the chance to continue to work together, as it is the key to success in the long term. It will be my goal for the coming months, but I want to thank again all the crew and our sponsors who made it possible to give this new start to the French team : Pataugas, Saint Honore, Canal+, Chateau Tourril, Gaastra and the French Sailing Federation. We will carry on our efforts in the coming months to be ready as we are one of the official challengers, as soon as the 33rd America´s Cup will start again.”
Pataugas by K-Challenge is now actively preparing the future, and in particular to be ready for when the 33rd America's Cup will start, which is something we will know soon thanks to the Court decision that should come out soon in the case between BMW Oracle Racing and Alinghi.