Sail-World.com : Louis Vuitton Cup Media Conference: Sirena says Kiwis ahead
Louis Vuitton Cup Media Conference: Sirena says Kiwis ahead
|
'The Louis Vuitton Cup is a crucial part of the build-up for the America’s Cup,' declared Dean Barker, the Emirates Team New Zealand skipper in his opening remarks at the pre-final press conference.
For the past 30 years, winning the Louis Vuitton Cup has been an essential step in the dethroning of the defender. It was in 1983, when for the first time in 132 years, the New York Yacht Club was toppled from its pedestal.
So it was in 1995 when Team New Zealand, skippered by Sir Peter Blake and steered by Russell Coutts, beat Dennis Conner on his home water, and again eight years later when Coutts, at the helm of Alinghi, took the Cup to Switzerland. Now, Coutts as CEO of Oracle Team USA, will face the winner of the up-coming match between Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa.
The Italian team has been in the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup on two previous occasions – in 2000, when it beat AmericaOne (and then went on to meet the Kiwis in the America’s Cup), and in 2007, when it lost to Emirates Team New Zealand in Valencia. Can this third meeting of the teams produce a different result perhaps?
There was much on the minds of both skippers, but Max Sirena of Luna Rossa realised that his team was very much behind the eight-ball. 'While we have improved much in the past two weeks (while beating Artemis Racing in the semi-final), I still believe that Emirates Team New Zealand is the strongest team in the water today,' he said. Later he added: 'Today, New Zealand is ahead of Oracle.'
Glenn Ashby, the Kiwi team’s wing trimmer believed his team had improved too: 'The biggest change,' he said, 'is in the sailing of the boat – it’s in the boat handling.' Obviously there are others who agree as a new 170 degree angle television camera has been fitted to the king-post of each of the finalists. This will enable viewers to see exactly what goes on during a foiling gybe, and not everyone is happy about this.
'Camera 7 (as this one is called) has been planned from the beginning,' said Denis Harvey, the Head of ACTV. Max Sirena sees it as yet another intrusion to help Oracle Team USA: 'Why now? I can only see this as another advantage to the defender. They already have access to our telemetry on the racecourse and we have nothing from them to balance the scales.'
On the question of what possible sanctions might be levied on Oracle Team USA by the International Jury for cheating in the AC-45 World Series, most were tight-lipped. Barker said: 'We have every confidence in the International Jury.' Sirena, privately, was more direct, saying that he believed the sanction should be strong, possibly even the ultimate of dismissing the team from the America’s Cup. If that were the case, the winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup would, by default, take home the America’s Cup.
by Bob Fisher
Click on the FB Like link to post this story to your FB wall
http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?nid=113254
6:44 PM Thu 15 Aug 2013GMT
Click here for printer friendly version
Click here to send us feedback or comments about this story.
Click for further information on
2013 America's Cup
Related News Stories:
MORE STORIES ...
|
It seems a little hard to believe that it was three and half years ago that I first sailed the Weta, off Takapuna Beach on Auckland’s North Shore. An invitation to have another test sail soon got upped into a Media Race – competing against Boating New Zealand.
...
[more]
Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 2013-14 is on day 6 of Race 5. With just over 600 miles until Race 5 finish in Sydney, tactical decisions are starting to play out as the light winds at the front of the fleet threaten to jeopardise the leaders’ positions.
...
[more]
OK Dinghy World Ranking - Greg Wilcox (NZL) returns to the top of the final release for 2013 after another solid season. He climbs two places to retake the world number one position he last held in 2011. Nick Craig (GBR) remains in second while previous world No 1, Jørgen Svendsen (DEN), drops to third.
...
[more]
Five Medal Races wrapped up the action at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne with two nations dominating proceedings.
Australia dominated the multihull and skiff fleets whilst China locked out the opposition to take all six podium places in the RS:X.
...
[more]
Grey skies and a strong northerly wind greeted competitors on the final day of the ISAF World Sailing Cup Melbourne 2013. The winds initially gusting above 30kts, forced officials to hold crews ashore. But a weather window emerged with perfect timing and the winds dropped sufficiently to allow Medals racing to get underway in all five Olympic classes, almost on time at noon.
...
[more]
Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 2013-14 is on day 5 of Race 5. It’s been all change at the top of the leaderboard in the last 24 hours as OneDLL has relinquished its lead in race 5 to Sydney, leaving Derry~Londonderry~Doire to storm ahead of the fleet.
...
[more]
In the Mini Transat, with each arrival brings the same deep happiness, the same relief to be able to say we went after our dream. They do not all express it in the same way, some are more exuberant than others. But everyone knows they battled their fears, sometimes against the hostile elements, at times with boredom. And they won the battle.
...
[more]
The 2013 Laser Masters World Championships in Oman produced a brand new set of champions today, closing the curtain on one of the most successful regattas in recent history.
...
[more]
Enjoy this selection of ISAF Sailing Word Cup Melbourne Laser and Laser Radial Medal Race photos by photographer Jeff Crow.
...
[more]
Jeff Crow was on site at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne to capture this gallery of images during the Finn Medal Race.
...
[more]
Photographer Jeff Crow was out on the water at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne to capture this gallery of images during the 470 Men and 470 Women's Medal Races.
...
[more]
Second gallery of images from the Medal Races - Day 6 of the ISAF World Sailing Cup Melbourne - featuring the Laser Radial (Women), Laser (Men), Finn, Womens 470 and Mens 470.
...
[more]
Sail-World's NZ Editor, Richard Gladwell was on the water for Day 5 of the ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne and filed this second gallery of images.
...
[more]
First gallery of images from the Medal Races - Day 6 of the ISAF World Sailing Cup Melbourne - featuring the Laser Radial (Women), Laser (Men), Finn, Womens 470 and Mens 470.
...
[more]
Star Sailors League 2013 - Update from Cayard Sailing:
Two races were held today in 10-12 knots out of the east. Austin and I went into todays races at the back of the leader board, but had a good day and managed to climb up a few positions.
...
[more]
Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 2013-14 is on day 4 of Race 5. With gusts up to 60 knots expected to batter the fleet within the next 24 to 48 hours, the skippers have been busy preparing their teams - ready for action as the race 5 to Sydney continues.
...
[more]
At the ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne today saw the first day of Olympic boat class medal races with the Men's and Women's 470, Finn, Laser, Laser Radial fleets contesting.
...
[more]
At Weta we have lots of new sailors or people who have come back to sailing after a long time away from it. So we often get a lot of questions about 'how to'. We have started a tips and tricks series to try and help people out and these are a few of our helpful videos!
...
[more]
ISAF World Sailor of the Year, Matt Belcher’s feat of winning his 18th consecutive regatta in the 470 class, has outshone the other results on the penultimate day of the ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne.
...
[more]
Sail-World's NZ Editor, Richard Gladwell was on the water for Day 5 of the ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne and filed this first gallery of images.
...
[more]
Photographer Jeff Crow was on the water today at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne to capture this gallery of images. Enjoy!
...
[more]
In the Mini Transat, as and when boats arrive, the pontoons at Pointe-à-Pitre are abuzz with activity and tales of the sea told time and again. Meanwhile, the fleet of singlehanders still at sea slims down gradually. For now the movement is still slow, but the pace is expected to accelerate during the weekend.
...
[more]
Building upon the success of last year’s initiative to take the 52 Super Series to America for the first time, Quantum Key West looks set to attract seven 52’s including the 2013 world champions, Niklas Zennström’s Rán Racing and 2013 Key West winners, Azzurra, from Europe.
...
[more]
The ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne continued with action on the water today. Photographer Jeff Crow was on site to capture this gallery of action shots.
...
[more]
At the Laser Masters World Championships, the idea that sailing without a hat under a blistering hot sun was harmless, left Jon Emmett sick and languishing deep in the Radial Apprentice fleet, but with one day’s racing to go, he is on the brink of an overall victory after a remarkable recovery.
...
[more]
Photographer Jeff Crow was out on the water at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne to capture this gallery of images.
...
[more]
In the Mini Transat, Geneva-based sailor Justine Mettraux crossed the finish line in Pointe-a-Pitre in second place in the early hours of this morning to sail into the history books as the highest achieving female sailor in the history of the event.
...
[more]
The third edition of the Barcelona World Race will close the first season of the newly defined programme for the IMOCA Ocean Masters World Championship which was launched today. The next Barcelona World Race will be preceded by a double-handed transatlantic race between New York and Barcelona starting on 1st June 2014.
...
[more]
On day two of the Star Sailors League Final, three races were held in perfect conditions, once again. East winds of 10-14 knots and bright sunshine made for another postcard day in Nassau. Austin and I got off to a good start with a fourth place in the first race of the day. We had a great start, good speed upwind so we were able to stay a head of the heavy traffic.
...
[more]
Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 2013-14 is on day 3 of Race 5. It was a day of tense race viewing as OneDLL stormed to victory claiming maximum points in the scoring gate, with Derry~Londonderry~Doire and Henri Lloyd claiming second and third respectively in one of the tightest battles yet.
...
[more]
|
|
Our Advertisers are committed to our sport, please support them!
This site and its contents are © Copyright TetraMedia Pty. Ltd and/or the original author, photographer etc. All Rights Reserved.
Photographs are copyright by law. If you wish to use or buy a photograph you must contact the photographer directly (there is a hyperlink in most cases to their website, or do a Google search.) with your request.
Please do not contact
Sail-World.com
as we cannot give permission for use of other photographer’s images.
Only if the photographer named on the image is Sail-world.com, Powerboat-world.com, Marinebusiness-world.com or NZBoating-World.com.
Contact us
.
Ph: +61 2 8006 1873
or complete our
feedback form
Contact us
.
View our Privacy Policy.
[ Go Home]
[ Banner Advertising Specification]
[Bot Archive ]
Customised news feeds -Marine Industry companies, Clubs and Associations have their own customised version of our news feed on their website.
Look_here_to_see_examples
|
| | |
.jpg)
