The tension mounts at the 35th America's Cup
by 35th America's Cup 2 Jun 2017 07:28 BST
1 June 2017
The Louis Vuitton America's Cup Qualifiers burst back into action on the first day of June with all the America's Cup teams, bar Artemis Racing, in action on the Great Sound.
Catching up with the previous day's race schedule, postponed due to light winds, in the first race of the afternoon (Round Robin 2, Race 4), SoftBank Team Japan gained a much needed victory as they overcame fellow strugglers Groupama Team France.
In light winds, the Japanese team made the better start, increasing their lead when their French opponents suffered a slight nosedive early on in the run up to mark 1.
Helmed by Dean Barker, SoftBank Team Japan managed to stay up on their foils in the light winds for longer periods than the French and maintained a healthy lead throughout the first race of the afternoon.
With the light winds in mind, America's Cup Race Management (ACRM) took the decision to shorten the racecourse which meant that a victory for the Japanese team, rarely looking in doubt, was confirmed sooner than perhaps expected, as they crossed the revised finish line over five minutes ahead of Groupama Team France.
"Ultimately it was a good day for us," said SoftBank Team Japan's helmsman Dean Barker, whose team also suffered a defeat against ORACLE TEAM USA leaving them on three points in the standings, a point ahead of bottom-placed Groupama Team France.
"In the first race we did a fantastic job and to get that win was great. We also led in the second race against ORACLE TEAM USA but we made a bad decision at the fifth gate and that let them in, we just made the wrong decision.
"It was a shame not to win both races but today was an important day and it is good to gain that point buffer, but our progression is far from assured."
Land Rover BAR's first outing in race 5 proved a forgettable one for Sir Ben Ainslie's team, as they were soundly beaten by the impressive Emirates Team New Zealand.
Having taken a welcome win over Artemis Racing on Tuesday, the British team were unable to build on the momentum of what had been only their second victory in the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Qualifiers. They were overtaken by their rivals in the lead to mark 1 and, from that point, were unable to close the gap to the Kiwis.
Things went from bad to worse for the Brits and, while jibing on leg two, they came off of their foils, touching down into the water and from that point there was to be no comeback.
In contrast, Emirates Team New Zealand were problem-free, sailing off into the distance with their lead reaching a massive six minutes and 25 seconds on the fourth leg, a full lap ahead of their British opponents.
With Land Rover BAR still out on the racecourse, Emirates Team New Zealand crossed the finish line, leaving Sir Ben Ainslie to concede defeat over the radio to the umpires, confirming that his team were retiring from the race. In the post-race press conference, Sir Ben said that, to the best of his knowledge, that was the very first time he had retired from a race of his own volition.
"We were really happy with our racing today," said Kiwi helmsman Peter Burling, whose team remained in second place in the standings, now on six points, assuring their progression into the the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Challenger Playoff Semi-Finals.
"The light winds made things difficult and meant a lot of effort was needed but the guys did a great job.
"It was also good to have the opportunity to race in a different condition and that allows us to keep learning about our boat."
ORACLE TEAM USA once again showed their pedigree in race 6, as they denied SoftBank Team Japan a second win on the day, beating the Japanese team by 32 seconds.
The Defenders of the 'Auld Mug' had to do it the hard way however, after being handed a penalty in the pre-start sequence for not entering the entry box in time, allowing their opponents to take a healthy lead which they maintained for the first four gates.
However, despite the initial setback, ORACLE TEAM USA remained in pursuit of SoftBank Team Japan, cutting the deficit on every passing leg.
The pressure finally told at gate 5 as the American team not only cut the lead completely but also passed their rivals, building to a 35 second lead in the closing stages.
It was an advantage they did not relinquish, crossing the finish line 32 seconds ahead of SoftBank Team Japan as they maintained their position at the top of the standings, moving on to seven points.
Despite already having their passage through to the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Challenger Playoff Semi-Finals assured as the Defenders of the 'Auld Mug', ORACLE TEAM USA helmsman Jimmy Spithill reiterated his desire to win these qualifying stages with a possible valuable point on offer to take into the 35th America's Cup Match presented by Louis Vuitton.
"In difficult conditions, the guys sailed really well and we took another victory," said Spithill.
"That bonus point on offer is key and we are definitely going for it. It is a big advantage to have it and so we will being going all out to win the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Qualifiers."
The final race of the day, race 7, proved the closest encounter with Land Rover BAR claiming a very slender victory over Groupama Team France.
Having suffered defeat to Emirates Team New Zealand in race 5, Sir Ben Ainslie's team were handed an early advantage, as the French team were handed a penalty in the pre-start sequence.
However, with light winds remaining over the racecourse, victory never looked assured for Land Rover BAR and the lead changed hands multiple times throughout the race.
However, there was real drama as the teams headed for the finish line neck and neck. In the end it was the Brits who ultimately prevailed, crossing the finish-line narrowly ahead of their rivals to claim a victory which takes them on to five points, ensuring their progression into the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Challenger Playoff Semi-Finals.
"It has been a tough day all round and we struggled in the light-wind setup," said Land Rover BAR helmsman Sir Ben Ainslie.
"We suffered a technical issue with the systems controlling our daggerboard against New Zealand but the guys did brilliantly to fix the issue ahead of the second race with Groupama Team France.
"We managed to hang in against Franck (Cammas) in that race and won by the smallest of margins.
"It is a relief to have got through to the next stage because that is the first goal for all the teams competing here.
"I'm very happy to be through but I'm also very mindful that there is a lot for us to improve on.
"There is still a long way for us to go and so unfortunately there will be no party for us tonight."
While Land Rover BAR have secured their progression through to the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Challenger Playoff Semi-Finals, Groupama Team France in contrast, remain precariously on a knife edge, needing to win both of their remaining Louis Vuitton America's Cup Qualifiers races to stand a chance of progression.
"There is definitely a lot of pressure on us," conceded Franck Cammas, Groupama Team France helmsman.
"Things are looking very tough but we are still alive and will do the best we can.
"We will make it through? I'm not sure but we will keep fighting and so we will see."
Louis Vuitton America's Cup Qualifiers Round Robin 2 Race Results:
- Race 4: SoftBank Team Japan beat Groupama Team France (Groupama team France DNF)
- Race 5: Emirates Team New Zealand beat Land Rover BAR (Land Rover BAR retired)
- Race 6: ORACLE TEAM USA beat SoftBank Team Japan by 32 seconds
- Race 7: Land Rover BAR beat Groupama Team France by 23 seconds
Behind-the-scenes at the America's Cup with The Sailor Girl
First I caught up with Peter Burling on just how smooth and stable Emirates Team New Zealand are looking. At one point today I saw them doing close to 26 knots of boat speed in 6 knots of pressure?! Then I spoke to Ben Ainslie on Land Rover BAR's day, a win against Groupama Team France with some serious 'leap frogging'. Ben put it down again to Giles Scott and his superior tactics. In the race against ETNZ, I spoke to him about the reach mark and just what went wrong on board - the poor guys suffered a system failure so couldn't control their boat. Next I caught up with Dean Barker of SoftBank Team Japan who had one win, against BAR, and one loss. James Spithill was my last interview, I let him know just how "good" his pre-start was (hehe!), but that I was happy to see a dial up. I also spoke to him about his thoughts on ETNZ versus themselves in the lighter air. He was also impressed! More tomorrow - two more days of Round Robin 2 to go!
We will have another Nautical Channel update out first thing Friday Bermuda time with racing action and commentary, as well as our radio show happening again during racing! All of our content is posted directly in our AC blog, www.nicdouglass.org/ac35
For more adventures head to www.AdventuresofaSailorGirl.com, or subscribe to "Adventures Weekly", and for live action, be sure to tune in to our social medial channels; Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @sailorgirlHQ.
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ORACLE TEAM USA engineer come-from-behind win (from ORACLE TEAM USA)
ORACLE TEAM USA made an "unforced error" in the pre-start that allowed SoftBank Team Japan to grab an early lead but skipper Jimmy Spithill and tactician Tom Slingsby were able to fashion an impressive come-from-behind win.
Holding the starboard tack advantage in the start, SoftBank Team Japan was able to dial-up the American defender, preventing Spithill from entering the start box and pushing them outside the boundary for a penalty.
ORACLE TEAM USA trailed by 18-seconds at the start and 26-seconds at mark one. But from then, the fightback was on.
"It was a bit of an unforced error in the pre-start," said wing trimmer Kyle Langford. "We got off on the backfoot, but we worked our way back into it."
At the second bottom gate, Sptihill and tactician Tom Slingsby sacrificed distance with an extra maneuver to pick up a split heading into the final upwind leg in a bid to make a pass.
The separation produced a good gain, and on the next cross, ORACLE TEAM USA was able to split sides for a second time and take the lead.
"We always want to get that split at the bottom mark if we're trailing and Tom did a great job of that. We got into different pressure and ultimately that's what won us the race."
At the top gate for the final time the lead was firmly with ORACLE TEAM USA and at the finish, Spithill and team had a 32-second advantage.
"The boys really kept their composure and Tommy did a great job of getting us back in the race and as you can see, it's never over in these boats," Spithill said after the race.
"The Japanese allowed us a split and let us go," Spithill said. "It was a great move by Tom and that was it."
The win means ORACLE TEAM USA is sitting on a 6-1 record, at the top of the leaderboard.
Emirates Team New Zealand beat Land Rover BAR (from Emirates Team New Zealand)
Another light air day in Bermuda but with just enough extra breeze to get the racing underway and the boats foiling.
Emirates Team New Zealand entered from the starboard end of the line, both boats popping straight up onto their foils in the pre-start dance for placement off the line.
The Kiwis trailed the British across the line but had more pace on the reach, with Ben Ainslie trying to force Peter Burling up to windward.
But the Kiwi helmsman still managed to roll over Land River BAR wide of mark one, forcing the British into a bad gybe. The BAR boat crashed down off its foils and sat dead in the water, struggling to get back up.
Meanwhile Emirates Team New Zealand was flying high and fast down the track, opening up a 400 metre lead by the time they reached the bottom mark.
"In these light air races it can really come down to the manoeuvring," said Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Glenn Ashby. "The boats are extremely tricky to get wound up and get out of the manoeuvre. While you look comfortable going into a manoeuvre it is actually the exit that can be very difficult. And we were just fortunate that we managed to pull off that first gybe well today and keep our boat on its foils for longer than the British."
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On the first upwind leg Emirates Team New Zealand tacked onto port as they approached the left hand boundary, with Land Rover BAR - still coming downwind on starboard - quick to lodge a protest. But Burling was equally quick in taking evasive action and the umpires ruled no penalty.
By the time Emirates Team New Zealand rounded the fourth mark, a visibly frustrated Ben Ainslie and crew had not yet rounded the 3rd mark at the top of the course.
The race had become a procession with Emirates Team New Zealand not far from lapping Ben Ainslie Racing. And after the Kiwis crossed the finish Ainslie racing informed the Race Committee they were retiring. The last recorded delta had the Kiwis leading by a massive 6 minutes 25 seconds.
In the usual search for improvement Emirates Team skipper Glenn Ashby said: "Certainly very difficult to sail in those conditions, but it is a really good challenge for all of the teams. It is what the America's Cup is all about.We have a wide range of wind conditions... 6- 24 knots... and you have to be able to sail well in all conditions, so we still have plenty more to improve on."
Tomorrow Emirates Team New Zealand face Softbank Team Japan & Groupama Team France