America's Cup World Series Gothenburg analysis - what was learned?

by Richard Gladwell on 6 Sep 2015 Emirates Team New Zealand took a big step down their road to America’s Cup redemption with a pressure win on the final day of the America’s Cup World Series Gothenburg.

It was a regatta of two halves with Oracle Team USA being absolutely dominant on the first day when stronger winds of 13-17kts resulted in the AC45’s foiling downwind at speeds of up to 25kts.

The America’s Cup Defender led for every leg of the five-leg track – a total of 20 legs, and the rest of the six boat fleet looked set for another shellacking the next day.

But a drop in the breeze on Day 2 to just 5-7kts meant that tactics and boat positioning came into play where on a day when none of the competitors got foil-borne.

Despite Artemis Racing doing a bolter on the first race of the day, giving the home-crowd some heart, Emirates Team New Zealand were the most consistent notching up a second and a first.

Their worst placing in the three days or six races of America’s Cup World Series Sailing, to date, is a third place.

The Kiwis are back - almost
Top international yachting correspondent, Stuart Alexander writing in The Independent (UK), described it this way:
It was Barker’s old team that was setting the pace. Having already posted two third placings and a second in the opening three races, a win in the fourth on the double points scoring Sunday put the restructured ETNZ on top of the heap.

In typical low-key style, they had come to the opening regatta in Portsmouth in July saying they were in tight financial straits and did not expect anything much from this season having had so little time to train. But, behind the scenes, as well as helmsman Peter Burling winning gold in the 49er world championship and the Olympic test event in Rio de Janeiro, the results of a co-operation agreement between ETNZ and its old friends at the Prada-backed Luna Rossa were bearing fruit. A boat was soon on its way from Italy, and Luna Rossa people, including skipper Max Sirena, were lending their hands to the pump. With the talented Glenn Ashby on board as skipper and the canny manoeuvrings of Grant Dalton and Kevin Shoebridge in the background, the Kiwis are alive, well, and dangerous.

For Stuart Alexander's full report click here

Emirates Team New Zealand looked to be short of a pre-regatta gallop on the first race day of the Gothenburg regatta.

Some damage to their under-rigging on the Practice Day resulted in the Kiwis returning to shore and missed all racing in the fresh breeze that remained up for the first race day.

Team NZ had failed to realise that the cross-over for the Code Zero in the AC45F was around 10kts and below. They had not rigged the extra foresail. A fast finishing Land Rover BAR caught the Kiwis just before the finish of the second race when the fresh breeze dropped away. Team NZ were caught without their Code Zero rigged, and could only wave the Brits through.

Gothenburg was an America’s Cup World Series regatta from which all teams will have left pleased with some aspects and knowing where they have to improve.

Team New Zealand will need to look carefully at their performance on the first day. On the second race day their positioning on the course was a feature of racing. With one exception, they expertly judged their approaches to the rounding marks, avoiding the serious speed drops caused by sharp turns, and generally lined up a fast approach and exit to the mark plus heading for the favoured side.

Oracle Team USA on another level on Day 1
Oracle Team USA will look to build on their performance on the first day when the combination between skipper Jimmy Spithill and tactician Tom Slingsby just went from strength to strength – sailing on confidence as only Australians can. On the second day, the magic wasn’t there, and the America’s Cup Defender looked very ordinary, and sailed themselves into trouble on at a least a couple of occasions.

Land Rover BAR looked set to take over from where they left off in Portsmouth, and like Oracle Team USA, looked very good on the opening day, but lost ground at crucial places on the second day.

At the end of the Race 3 (first race of Day 2) all three of Land Rover BAR, Oracle Team USA and Emirates Team NZ were locked up on 34pts each – so the highs and lows and inconsistencies had evened out to some extent. This group were a step ahead of the other three - Softbank Team Japan, Groupama Team France and Artemis Racing. But the latter three all had their own highlights and will look to consolidate around these at the next regatta in Bermuda in October.

Softbank Team Japan flashed their form in the first race of Day 2, and then became Kingmaker in the second race of the day, when they led briefly, gassed Oracle Team USA, and let Emirates Team NZ escape for a win. Dean Barker consolidated this advantage to finish second – easily their best moment of the two regattas.

Groupama Team France had their moments in the regatta, and like Softbank Team Japan showed flashes of form as they had in Portsmouth. Their best effort was third in Race 4, the final race of the second day.

Artemis Racing will be encouraged greatly by their win in Race 3, and were clearly rocked by their unfortunate grounding after Race 1. They need to work on their consistency – clearly they have the ability based on their race win. They have three Olympic Gold Medalists aboard – and don’t lack for sailing talent. It is a question of whether they can meld it together into a winning package.

Looking ahead to Round 3
Quite what happens next, will be intriguing.

If the third round of the America’s Cup World Series is sailed in Bermuda in foiling conditions then clearly Oracle Team USA have to be favoured based on their performance on the first day of Gothenburg when they were absolutely dominant for each of the 20 legs. Their starting was unbelievable – right on the line, fast and on the shortest trajectory to the first rounding mark. That is sheer class.

If the breeze in Bermuda is up and down, then watch for Team New Zealand to make the running with their ability to puddle-jump the zones of better wind pressure and play the shifts, as well as sail themselves out of trouble. This new crew is still working up as a combination and will get better, as they get more regattas in their logbooks. A key will be how quickly they can get access to sailing time with the Luna Rossa foiling AC45’s. Peter Burling is more than race sharp through competing on the 49er World circuits, which the other skippers are lacking (with the exception of Nathan Outteridge).

Land Rover BAR, like Oracle Team USA, looked to be more at home when the boat was foiling. The Brits have clearly benefited from time in the AC45F and also sailing their surrogate boat. Their performance in Race 3 at Gothenburg was a surprise, where at one stage they were well behind the fleet fighting with Oracle Team USA to avoid last place.

Of course, the America’s Cup proper and its qualifying series are sailed on a match racing basis, not the fleet racing used in the ACWS. And match racing, at this stage is Team NZ’s weak point. Peter Burling is a much less experienced match racer than either Ben Ainslie or Jimmy Spithill.

For sure it is Early Days, but based on what we have seen to date, the 35th America’s Cup looks like being a cracker.