America's Cup - Grudge Match of 2013 Final on Day 1 in Bermuda

by Richard Gladwell on 27 May 2017 The 35th America's Cup will get underway a day late, but in excellent weather that was worth the wait.

There will be plenty of interest in the key race of the day - Race 5 where Emirates Team New Zealand comes up against Oracle Team USA in a replay of the 2013 America's Cup Match, which will occur just after 4.00pm in race 5 of the extended program.

Winds are expected to be 10-14kts for all six races today in the extended program which sees each of the six teams race twice. For the current forecast and real time wether readings in Bermuda go to www.predictwind.com for their special Bermuda weather package.



At this morning's media briefing, Regatta Director Iain Murray said that he thought the moderate conditions today would be on the cusp of the cutover point for teams to go from their high lift boards to their high speed daggerboards. He said that expected the change over point to be different for each team. 'They will all have their sweet-spots,' Murray commented.

All boats went out early for a morning sail ahead of the race start at 2.00pm local time.

Emirates Team New Zealand was first off at 10.00am with the others following soon after.

Currently (1247hrs local time) the wind is about 8-10kts with flat seas and bright sunshine.

Murray was expecting the key points in the race to be at the start, where the individual skippers all had their own style, with Land Rover BAR's Ben Ainslie and Oracle Team USA's Jimmy Spithill being the most agressive, while the two 49er skippers Nathan Outteridge (Artemis Racing) and Peter Burling (Emirates Team New Zealand) expected to settle for a fast time on distance start.

He noted that to date all collisions had occurred during the pre-start in the starting box.

The course loop is expected to be 1.2 to 1.25nm long on a course set between 260-280 degrees depending on the wind direction.

Based on what had been seen during the Practice Sessions, Murray explained that the start and first leg were probably the most critical part of the race. 'It is crucial to hit the start line fast, probably 30-40kts, and right on the split second of the start time. It is surprising how adept these crews at at judging this speed and time to sail to the line.'

He added that the first leg was the fastest part of the course, emphaising how essential it was for the crews to be right on the start line at full pace. Murray, himself a former America's Cup skipper, believed that the best start in the AC 50's was to windward of your competitor and right on the start line at full pace.

Chief Umpire Richard Slater ran through the new Redress rule which will come into play if and when there is damage or injury caused by collision during the racing.

In the event of contact between the boats, the on the two water umpires in conjunction with the three booth umpires would make a decision as to fault.

'They are only concerned with the immediate race, and not the bigger picture, which gets resolved later in the Jury Room.'

He noted that the recent rule change means that the damage situation is now codified and it is just a matter of applying the facts and getting an outcome from the new Rule.