Please select your home edition
Edition
Lloyd Stevenson - TTSkorpios 728x90px TOP

Cup Spy Sept 16: Day 2 - Light air foiling prowess determines outcome of first day of racing.

by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World NZ 17 Sep 04:20 NZST 17 September 2023
Closing the finish - Race 1 - Race Day 2 - AC40 - America's Cup Preliminary Regatta - Vilanova - September 16, 2023 © America's Cup Media

The second day of racing at Vilanova proved the maxim of the new breed of America's Cup class raceboats - that your ability to foil in the light is more important that that last knot of speed in the big breeze.

Like the key Race 7 in the 2021 America's Cup, both races were decided on light airs foiling ability, or maybe that should be inability.

Race 1

To some it was the Day of the Underdog in Race 1, with the newest entry Orient Express Racing Team taking the first race win of the 2024 America's Cup Preliminary Regatta.

However that is forgetting that the French crew are a regular competitor on the SailGP circuit, and are the only team to run both a SailGP team and and America's Cup program.

The French got the whiff and fizz of popped champagne, for the rest, except second placed American Magic, it was a day of regrets.

The America's Cup holder Emirates Team New Zealand got away to an adequate start, and soon overtook the early leader American Magic. The boats were foiling and the Kiwis looked to be lifting off the hip of the US team. When they crossed the Kiwis were ahead and rounded the first mark in the lead.

Unfortunately the Kiwis squeezed to high at the rounding of Mark 1, and dropped off their foils - never to rise again.

The Brits, repeating some of their performances in Auckland in 2021, dropping off their foils after having to give way to another boat on the first windward leg. They were the first to get in the foiling quicksand - with their speed dropping to 7.9kts while the others romped away at speeds of 22kts.

As the boats rounded the top mark, the wind, like a deflating tyre slowly lost pressure, and depending on where they were on the course, the others joined the Brits down the back of the class.

We then had the slightly ridiculous sight of the two lead boats Orient Express Racing and Luna Ross Prada Pirelli sailing for the race finish which was now reduced to two legs.

The pantomime continued with the French pulling a too close gybe when they crossed with Luna Rossa. After a very pregnant pause - broken twice by the Italians telling the Umpires they wish to protest - the unsurprising penalty was awarded against the French - whose penalty was to drop behind the Italians.

But that wasn't the end of it and the French came back, this time crossing ahead of Luna Rossa and taking the race win.

A few minutes after crossing the finish line, the Italians were called up by the Chief Umpire and advised that they had not started correctly, and were being scored as DNS (Did Not Start).

That call, tipped the points table into the realm of the absurd, with Orient Express Racing being declared the winner, followed by American Magic, who was promoted up from third. For the rest of the fleet, because none finished the race inside the time limit, the points were awarded on the basis of their position at the previous mark.

That pulled Emirates Team New Zealand up to third, Alinghi Red Bull Racing into fourth, and INEOS Britannia in fifth place.

But there was more to come on a day of surprises. Following a review of the starting protocols undertaken on course, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli were been re-instated in second place in Race 1, scoring 7 points.

Points from Race 1:

  • 10pts Orient Express Racing Team
  • 7pts Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli
  • 5pts American Magic
  • 3pts Emirates Team New Zealand
  • 2pts Alinghi Red Bull Racing
  • 1pts INEOS Britannia

Race 2:

After a long delay with the wind not reaching the required 6.5kts minimum, the Race Director decided to take advantage of an increase in pressure, in the hope that it would build. Certainly the sight of the six teams all foiling easily, would have encouraged a positive response.

All boats had been towed onto their foils but were not permitted to receive assistance in the 3 minute period before race start. It is not easy holding your apparent wind when cornering in these conditions, and five of the six competitors dropped their bundles one by one. By race start time only the Swiss entry Alinghi Red Bull Racing, with a very impressive piece of sailing, managed to retain their pre-start advantage, and at start time were on the right side of the line and streaking up the track at 22-25kts.

The other competitors moved up the first leg in displacement mode, and by the time they rounded the first mark, the Swiss were still foiling and almost down to the second mark. However they lost it just before the leg's end, and rounded in displacement mode.

The current America's Cup champions and the team with the most AC40 sailing in their logbook, were able to water-start - unassisted of course - and provided they could hold up the race was over. This they managed to do, sweeping past the Swiss early on the second leg. They fell off their foils at the end of the second leg in a race now shortened to just two legs, and limped across the line to take maximum points.

It transpired that the Kiwis and Swiss were the only teams to score points, as the other teams were all still on Leg 2, had not rounded the second mark, and scored zero points for the race.

Points from Race 2:

  • 10pts Emirates Team New Zealand
  • 7pts Alinghi Red Bull racing
  • 5pts Orient Express Racing Team
  • 3pts INEOS Britannia
  • 2pts American Magic
  • 1pts Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli

That left the subsequently amended overnight leaderboard with just two races sailed as:

    15pts Orient Express Racing Team
  • 13pts Emirates Team New Zealand
  • 9pts Alinghi Red Bull Racing
  • 8pts Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli
  • 7pts American Magic
  • 4pts INEOS Britannia

NB Following a review of the starting protocols undertaken on course, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli were been re-instated in second place in Race 1, scoring 7 points. This change is incorporated in the overnight points table above.


Individual Race Video and Interviews:

NB: Despite the titling, Race 2 is actually Race 1, and Race 1 is Race 2. This is an uploading error by the Event Media

Pre-Race

There is no reliable now-casting of the current wind strength and direction at Vilanova. But if we flit 25nm up the coast to Barcelona, we can see that the southerly breeze has been steadily increasing for the last hour, and around 130hrs CET gusted to 12kts, before backing off a little.

We can see from webcams in the area that the wind appears to be light, with quite a seastate running from the East - and one that is out of proportion to the breeze.

Quite what happens in Vilanova will be interesting to see, with both the wind and seastate. The skies over Barcelona are about 50% covered in high white cloud, meaning there should be some thermal warming which should help the breeze to build.

Live coverage has started. But already there has been a short delay called as the wind had failed the minimum wind strength requirement. However the AC40s are foiling.

Related Articles

Cup Spy Aug 22-23: Swiss coy on new system
Brits stop test session after foil cracks identified The week ended with several America's Cup team members competing in the Italy SailGP, with AC co-helms finishing in the top four places on the leaderboard. The testing continued off Barcelona, with the Swiss and Brits testing sails and foils. Posted today at 8:59 am
Cup Spy Aug 21: Brits get into fencing
British tried a new style of wingfoil - equipped with 'Fences' designed to impede foil ventilation Two Cup teams sailed - with American Magic focused on boat maneuvers, while the British tried a new style of wingfoil - equipped with 'Fences' designed to impede foil ventilation. Alinghi Red Bull Racing have repurposed their AC75 as a high dive platform. Posted on 23 Sep
Cup Spy Aug 18-20: Cup teams back in action
Two Cup teams have resumed sailing off Barcelona encountering some testing conditions Two Cup Challengers have been sailing off Barcelona, on three days of this week. Alinghi did sail testing on Monday and capsized at the end of the session. American Magic sailed twice, encountering a building fresh breeze 15kts gusting 23kts on Wednesday. Posted on 21 Sep
Cup Spy Sept 17: A magic day for America
American Magic showed they are back in the America's Cup with a polished performance on Day 3 After being the first team to exit the 2021 America's Cup in Auckland, the New York Yacht Club's American Magic won the first Preliminary Regatta of the 2024 America's Cup. Posted on 18 Sep
Orient Express Racing Team win podium place
The French Challenger posted a third place overall showing real pace around the racecourse Orient Express Racing Team took their place on the podium after producing a positive performance and gaining valuable experience at the first America's Cup Preliminary Regatta in Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain. Posted on 18 Sep
America's Cup: Luna Rossa report Day 2
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli places second in Race 1. Unable to recover from foil-fall in Race 2 In light and unstable winds only two races were sailed today. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli placed second in Race 1. They were unable to recover from course conditions in Race 2. Posted on 17 Sep
Changes to coverage of Preliminary Regatta
Four races will be held today - starting at 1305CET. Catch live video coverage on Sail-World Goven that the first day's racing did not happen, there will now be four races per day starting at 1305hrsCET. We will have live video coverage on the Sail-World home page. Posted on 16 Sep
Cup Spy Sept 15: - Day 1 - The Rain in Spain
Today was the day when the rain in Spain didn't stay "mainly in the plain". Instead it bucketed down After being delayed from the scheduled start time of 1530hrs CET (1330hrs UTC) Race Director Iain Murray decided to pull the pin for the day at around 1610hrs CET (1410hrs UTC) after heavy rain and thunder storms approached Vilanova. Posted on 15 Sep
Red Bull Racing mix foiling and aerobatics
Italian pilot Dario Costa performs a stunning aerial spectacle.over and between two AC40s Alinghi Red Bull Racing and Luna Rossa engaged in a high-speed fly-by with an aerobatic aeroplane flown by stunt pilot Dario Costa mixing the power and grace of a foiling AC40 with the speed and quickness of a stunt plane. Posted on 14 Sep
America's Cup: No surprises in Kiwi AC40 team
Emirates Team NZ have named a six man sailing squad as they gear up for their first AC40 Regatta Emirates Team New Zealand have named a six man sailing squad as they gear up for the first Preliminary Regatta of the 37th America's Cup. It will be contested, in a nine race, three day event later this week in Vilanova. Posted on 12 Sep
C-Tech 2021 America's Cup 728x90 BOTTOMDoyle Sails 2020 - Redefining Boundaries 728x90 BOTTOMPredictWind - GPS 728x90 BOTTOM