America's Cup - Emirates Team NZ struggle on Day 1 in Portsmouth

by Sail-World.com on 24 Jul 2016 A light and shifty day in Portsmouth for the first racing day of the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series saw Emirates Team New Zealand claim third fourth and sixth as the current outweighed the breeze in stages of all three races sailed.

A headsail snag in the first race saw the team with new helmsman Glenn Ashby hold his nerve through a windless patch on the final downwind leg, to squeeze past Soft Bank and Artemis Racing to grab a podium place, 'we will take that one for sure', said Tactician Ray Davies after slicing past the Japanese and Swedish boat on the line.

The second and third races were more of a challenge for the team, with the breeze struggling to get above six knots, getting clean air off the line was vital to be able to break clear of the pack as skipper Ashby confirmed, 'If you were with the majority of boats it was a challenge to break clear. Home team BAR managed to slingshot from way back and go round the bulk of us all locked together in more current than breeze. It's about inches at the start of the race, getting the edge on the other guys and breaking clear. Everyone is pushing here and penalties for breaking the start were common today.'

With crew rotation onboard for the Portsmouth event, yesterday was the first race start skipper Ashby has ever had as helmsman on an AC 45, meaning the team gained a lot of knowledge out on the race course.

'With Sunday's forecast for stronger and constant breeze, it looks solid that all the boats will foil for the majority of time in the races. Sunday is double points day, we have taken a lot from today, we still top the leader board and I can tell you the guys on board are focused on staying there,' he said.



Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Portsmouth Leaderboard:

Land Rover BAR (GBR) 26
Groupama Team France 26
Softbank Team Japan 23
Oracle Team USA 23
Emirates Team NZ 20
Artemis Racing (SWE) 17

Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Overall Leaderboard:

Emirates Team NZ 315
Land Rover BAR 311
Oracle Team USA 308
Softbank Team Japan 282
Artemis Racing 279
Groupama Team France 260