First two-boat race of the Louis Vuitton Cup
by 34th America's Cup media 14 Jul 2013 12:46 BST
11 July 2013
Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa Challenge are familiar partners in the America's Cup arena. The two teams contested the 2000 America's Cup Match, were finalists in the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup Final, and have shared a design package and many hours of training together in the lead up to the 2013 America's Cup.
Today the familiar foes contested the first two-boat race of the 2013 Louis Vuitton Cup, the
America's Cup Challenger Series, and the reigning champions from New Zealand came out
on top.
Skipper Dean Barker and the Emirates Team New Zealand crew made today's race look
effortless. With the wind blowing around 17 knots, Emirates Team New Zealand held up
Luna Rossa in the pre-start and then sailed away to win by nearly five and a half minutes on
the 15.47-nautical-mile course.
The Kiwis completed the course in 43 minutes, 52 seconds. They recorded a top speed of
42.33 knots (48 mph), compared to Luna Rossa's 39.95 knots (46 mph).
"There was a really nice public turnout today, good to have two boats out there on the
racecourse," said the 40-year-old Barker. "It can only make you better because you put
yourself in different positions; you get to find out what's going on around the start line and the first reach. That's all paramount to how the race plays out."
"We ended up almost where we thought we'd be, probably a little bit worse off," said Luna
Rossa helmsman Chris Draper of the final result. "I think the majority of the losses were in
boathandling and a little bit in upwind boatspeed. But it's all fixable and we knew that was
there, so no massive surprise."
The first race was met with great anticipation. The AC72 is the fastest yacht designed to a
rule created specifically for the America's Cup. At top speeds, the wing sail catamarans are
capable of sailing their 72-foot length in a single second. The introduction of hydrofoils adds a technological dimension that captivates attention.
"We are going to see, for the first time ever, the two fastest, round-the-course racing vessels that have ever existed on this planet," said Regatta Director Iain Murray at his morning briefing. "When we see those two crews approaching the first mark probably at speeds of 40 knots (48 mph) or more, and then see them employ the tactics of racing on these
unbelievable craft, it'll be a world first."
The pre-start ramped up the anticipation for the race. Emirates Team New Zealand tacked to
leeward of Luna Rossa and luffed up its opponent. The two crews started late, but Barker
had the enviable leeward position and was able to speed away at 41 knots while Luna
Rossa was doing 39 knots.
"There aren't too many moves you can pull off in this type of start," said Ray Davies,
Emirates Team New Zealand tactician. "It's a short time period, enough for one or two
maneuvers. That's a standard move we'll see. If you opponent doesn't get out of that tack
well, there's an option to tack to leeward and stop the race."
"We've done a few pre-starts against them and have generally come off better," Draper said.
"So it was frustrating to make a pickle of it then. But to be honest it was 10 seconds of the
race and they beat us by 5 minutes, so the pre-start didn't mean a whole lot."
On the racecourse, the Kiwi crew was far superior to the Italian crew. Barker steadily
increased his team's advantage at each mark rounding, especially on the upwind legs.
"It's important to be in front at the bottom, so you have to be fast downwind to capitalize
there," said Barker. "Luna Rossa has stepped it up on the downwind stuff. They probably
have some work to do on the upwind stuff, but it's early days for them and their new systems
and setup. They'll get better for sure."
Update from Artemis Racing
Following the Jury ruling, which leaves uncertainty with respect to the event and Artemis Racing's position in the competition, the Regatta Director started discussions with the teams and the US Coast Guard. Artemis Racing is supportive of these efforts.
On Thursday, ETNZ offered a solution that would enable all teams to comply with the Safety Recommendations so not to put the US Coast Guard permit in jeopardy. Artemis Racing welcomed the ETNZ solution to support the event and Artemis Racing in its current challenge. Unfortunately, not all teams supported ETNZ's offer and the current state of the race for the teams remains in question.
Artemis Racing continues to progress towards racing. Today, we have completed the structural testing of our boat. Final assembly will take place next week with the goal of getting on the water by the end of next week. Our entire team has been working tirelessly for two months and we are all eager to race. We will keep supporting the America's Cup.