Americas Cup World Series at Plymouth, UK - Day 9
by 34th America’s Cup media 18 Sep 2011 20:54 BST
10-18 September 2011
Spithill and crew thrive to win treacherous Fleet Racing Championship as capsizes and collisions mark the final day in Plymouth
Crowds on Plymouth Hoe were treated to thrills and spills, capsizes and collisions, as the America's Cup World Series raced to a dramatic conclusion on Sunday.
ORACLE Racing Spithill won the Plymouth Fleet Racing Championship after an action-packed final day of the America’s Cup World Series in south-west England.
James Spithill made amends for a lackluster Match Race Championship with an emphatic victory in today’s winner-takes-all race in the fleet racing. “It’s redemption after the match racing,” said Spithill, who seemed unfazed by the breeze that bulleted across the course. With winds gusting up to 30 knots (55 km/h / 35 mph), merely avoiding a capsize or a collision was a major challenge but Spithill commented: “I still think we had a bit left in the tank to be honest. The puffiness and change in direction made it challenging, but what a fun race!”
Other sailors might have a different perspective on today. In the anxious minutes leading up to the start, Energy Team capsized trying to avoid Team Korea, although Loick Peyron’s crew managed to get the boat upright very quickly and rejoin the race. Moments later there was a dramatic collision with Artemis Racing riding up over the back of Green Comm Racing, with the skipper Vasilij Zbogar falling off the back of the Spanish boat and suffering a minor injury to his hand. With their boat damaged in the collision, Green Comm retired without crossing the start line.
“Vasco (Vasilij Zbogar) and the entire crew are doing well, nobody has been seriously hurt and we will try to be back on the water as soon as possible,” said team Executive Chairman Francesco de Leo.
Steering clear of trouble in the pre-start, the two ORACLE Racing boats and Emirates Team New Zealand burst off the start line with other teams following behind. At the first mark China Team capsized but got up and running again. In fact when Artemis capsized later in the race, Charlie Ogletree’s Chinese team moved past and managed to cross the finish line 9 minutes and 54 seconds after the winner, just six seconds inside the finishing time limit. A great result for China Team, and a great result for Aleph who moved past Team Korea in the closing stages of the race to take 4th across the line.
With boats touching speeds in excess of 50km/h, it was a wild ride, and while the Kiwis battled hard with the two ORACLE boats, Spithill moved clear on the final lap and Dean Barker had to satisfy himself with 2nd place ahead of Russell Coutts. “Today it was racing and survival,” said Barker, the Emirates skipper. “When the wind cranked in it was full on. The hard thing was not the wind speed but the big puffs which were unpredictable. We always like to win, but nice to get past Russell and take second.”
The crowds on Plymouth Hoe increased throughout the week, as the city embraced the World Series and the teams.
“Plymouth has been buzzing with excitement since you arrived,” said Councillor Vivien Pengelly. “It is estimated that over 115 000 people have lined the Hoe over the past week to see some of the most exciting racing to ever come to British waters. I have to take my hat off to all of the teams. Your skills are amazing. We’ve been thrilled to have you here.”
The America’s Cup World Series now moves on to San Diego, with the first practice races scheduled to take place beginning Saturday November 12. On Wednesday, November 16, the San Diego Match Racing Championship begins, along with television and YouTube live-streaming of the races.
Final Day Video Highlights:
Quotes of the day can be found on www.americascup.com
Fleet Racing Championship Results:
1. ORACLE Racing Spithill
2. Emirates Team New Zealand
3. ORACLE Racing Coutts
4. Aleph
5. Team Korea
6. Energy Team
7. China Team
8. Artemis Racing
8. Green Comm Racing
Match Racing Championship Results:
1. Emirates Team New Zealand
2. Team Korea
3. Artemis Racing
4. ORACLE Racing Coutts
5. ORACLE Racing Spithill
6. Energy Team
7. Green Comm Racing
8. China Team
9. Aleph
ORACLE Racing takes 1st, 3rd in ACWS Plymouth super Sunday finale (from ORACLE Racing)
ORACLE Racing ended the America’s Cup World Series Plymouth on a high note by placing first and third in a raucous race on Plymouth Sound.
“We’re very happy with today’s performance,” said winning skipper Jimmy Spithill who passed teammate Russell Coutts to the ACWS Plymouth Fleet Racing Championship. “We were disappointed after the match racing round, so it was nice to get one back today.”
Both the ORACLE Racing boats reveled in the conditions, regularly clocking speeds in excess of 45 km/h or 30 mph on the downwind legs.
“It was challenging but incredibly exciting. We loved it. We were quite on the edge at times, but it was incredibly enjoyable,” said Spithill.
ORACLE Racing Coutts placed third, about 30 seconds behind their teammates. "We had a good start, held the lead but didn't quite pull it off," said skipper Russell Coutts.
“It was a great day, a fantastic race. This format is meant to test the best sailors in the world. Not everyone could get around the track, but that’s what the game’s about.
“It was physical and challenging, but it wasn’t that extreme,” Coutts continued. “You just had to have your eyes out of the boat and see the puffs coming.”
With the winds forecast to blow 20 to 25 knots and with gusts upwards of 30 knots, Regatta Director Iain Murray cancelled the Guest Racer program from riding aboard the AC45 wingsail cats. At the bottom end of the range the wind was a manageable 15 knots or less.
French legend Loïck Peryon recorded what’s believed to be his team’s first ever capsize as Energy Team staggered over in the pre-start while trying to avoid Team Korea. Seconds later Artemis Racing became entangled with Green Comm Racing when the windward hull of the Swedish cat dug in the water and under the port transom of Green Comm. After the race had started China Team lost its equilibrium at the first reach mark and capsized. Later, Artemis Racing capsized in a monster puff of 30-plus.
In a nod to seamanship, Peyron’s Energy Team came back to place sixth for the race with Team Korea finishing fifth.
ORACLE Racing Coutts, ORACLE Racing Spithill and Emirates Team New Zealand were the only three crews to make a clean start and quickly were launched down the course. Reaching top speeds of 31-32 mph, the three crews each took a turn leading the race.
ORACLE Racing Spithill gained control on the second upwind leg and held on around the course for a bit of redemption. They won the race with an elapsed time of 34 minutes and 48 seconds.
The America’s Cup World Series next moves to San Diego, Calif., for event No. 3 in mid-November.
An incredible final day in Plymouth (from Energy Team)
Today’s fleet race marked the conclusion of the America's Cup World Series in Plymouth. The nine competitors faced a 25-30 knot wind for a race that will go down in the history books. It began with a series of capsizes starting with Energy Team, as they attempted to avoid Team Korea and went over two minutes before the start. Even more incredible, thanks to the work of the Energy Team crew and support team, they managed to right the catamaran in just a few seconds and made it to the start line.
At 1545 hrs on Sunday, the Race Directors decided to go for course number 6 with the usual starboard start. This was down to the strong conditions out on the water, which according to James Spithill, today’s winner, were “similar to San Francisco”. For Energy Team, the result was all down to the start phase, with their capsize two minutes before crossing the line to avoid Team Korea. But there was no way the French challenger was going to give up and Peyron’s men got their boat upright a few seconds later, rather like a water start for a windsurfer. Loïck Peyron: “The time it took to get the helm down, and to get out of there as the rocks weren’t far away, to throw a tow line to our support team and tell them how to pull on the boat, I managed to get the mainsail in and we got off to a water start. It all went smoothly? It could have been much worse, as we could have hit the Koreans and caused a lot of damage. It’s true that the gusts of wind close to the rocks meant we were on the edge.”
Out on the water, the show went on with a collision between Artemis and Green Comm: the Spaniards were forced to retire, but the Swedish team managed to race in spite of a damaged float.
And the top teams are off...
Both Oracle boats and Team New Zealand got of to a good start, followed by China Team, Energy Team and Aleph, but China Team would also capsize. As soon as they crossed the line, the gap widened and there were three races in one: three boats close together at the front : Oracle-Spithill, Team New Zealand and Oracle-Coutts, followed by Aleph and Team Korea with Energy Team and Artemis further back. Energy Team, which was back in eighth place fought back at the leeward mark, and made it to the windward mark in sixth place. The French carried out some long tacks, right out to the edge of the race course. After 22 minutes of racing, Energy Team rounded the windward mark, as Spithill was rounding the windward buoy, so a leg separated the leader from the sixth boat. Sailing at full speed on the downwind leg and tacking well on the upwind legs, the French team remained in sixth place, 20 seconds behind the three leaders. Energy Team kept the speed up behind the leading trio on the downwind leg. Artemis did not manage to catch them on the upwind leg, but were on the heels of Energy Team as the rounded the windward mark. It was a difficult rounding, but the French team made a wise decision as they changed tack, leaving the Swedes ten seconds behind. Shortly after that they would capsize with one of their crewmen falling through the wing sail on the catamaran. Energy Team kept going to the finish, more or less upwind and sailed across the finishing line without taking too many risks, as behind them there were no real threats. So the French challenger finishes in sixth place.
Dramatic finish to ACWS - Plymouth (from Artemis Racing)
Boat speeds over 50 km/hr and winds gusting up to 35 knots made for exciting racing on the final day of the America’s Cup World Series – Plymouth.
A collision just seconds before the start between GreenComm and Artemis Racing ultimately meant the race for Skipper Terry Hutchinson and the crew. It was a port starboard incident and the umpires swiftly gave the penalty to the Spanish team however, recent changes to the rules do not allow for redress.
Describing the incident Skipper Terry Hutchinson said; “We were set up behind the fleet gauging a good spot with ORACLE Racing 5 just ahead of us. GreenComm somehow ended up on port tack in front of us. They were stuck in irons so we tried to sail around them.”
Despite damage to the starboard bow, the Swedish team surged on in the tough conditions, which saw China Team and Energy Team both capsize.
Battling the way around the course, checking the starboard hull on each downwind leg as it gradually filled with water, the team fought on endeavoring to finish this important race. But on the penultimate leg, in a gust of wind the bows went down and Artemis Racing pitch poled through the air and capsized. Bowman Andy Fethers actually went through the wing but fortunately, no one was injured.
“It’s really disappointing. We sailed the entire race taking on water in our starboard hull. You could feel the inertia on starboard tack and at every bottom mark there was a bit more water,” said Terry. “It was definitely frustrating to not have finished the race, we got the boat back up and went around the gybe mark, but we couldn’t finish within the time limit. That said, there are a lot of positive takeaways for us here. We are very happy with how we sailed. The fleet racing went well and the match racing was OK. But all total we have a long way to go to get better.”
“When I found out we were coming to Plymouth, I said to expect cold and windy conditions and that is what we got. Today was disappointing, but overall, we are pleased with the week. We dominated the fleet racing and it was a big step forward for the team. We are looking forward to the next event,” said Tactician Iain Percy.
ORACLE Racing Spithill won today's Championship Race, with Emirates Team New Zealand in second, followed by ORACLE Racing Coutts.
For the shore crew it will be a long night of repairs before the AC45 and base are packed and loaded on the ship for San Diego.
Green Comm Racing finishes ACWS Plymouth with dramatic race (from Green Comm Racing)
Green Comm Racing is forced to retire after two incidents in the prestart, under very strong and tough wind conditions. Helmsman, Vasilij Zbogar, was thrown off the back of the boat and suffered only minor injuries on his right hand.
Saying that conditions in Plymouth on Sunday were dramatic would the understatement of the year. There was plenty of drama under a breeze that made even the winner of the 33rd America's Cup, James Spithill, worry when he was getting off the dock. Winds over 25 knots, with gusts over 30, were blowing on Plymouth Sound and forced the world's most acclaimed sailors to test the limits of their boats and capsize. Green Comm Racing was forced to retire following two crashes in the prestart procedure.
The Green Comm Racing yacht was getting into the starting box when it was hit by a big gust. They were trying to get down and they were on port, trying to line up on starboard when they were hit by a very big gust and Aleph that were sailing on starboard hit the Green Comm Racing boat just behind the daggerboards.
While trying to untangle from the French boat, Green Comm racing was hit by Sweden's Artemis. While removing themselves from that second incident, the boat bore away, accelerated and helsman Vasilij Zbogar was thrown off the back. He was immediately recovered by the on-the-water medics and brought ashore. He, fortunately, only suffered minor injuries on his right hand and is eager to be back on the water as soon as possible.
As Francesco de Leo, Executive Chairman of Green Comm Racing, stated these incidents are part of the game in such conditions. The team's only preoccupation is the health and safety of the crew and the focus is now solely on the next America's Cup World Series regatta in San Diego.
Francesco de Leo, Executive Chairman: “Today's tough conditions make such kind of incidents a factor of life. The only thing we care about right now is the crew's safety and health. Vasco and the entire crew are doing well, nobody has been seriously hurt and we will try to be back on the water as soon as possible.
We look forward to the next America's Cup World Series event in San Diego”