Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice - TeamOrigin into Semi-Finals

by Henry Foster on 17 Nov 2009
Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice - TeamOrigin won their final match in the Round Robin phase of the regatta today against the Franco-German All4One team.

The disadvantage of the port tack entry in a light weather start can be fundamental to the success of the rest of the race, especially when you have match racers of the calibre of the All4One team with the more powerful right hand entry. TeamOrigin’s afterguard strategy called for a close leeward start and skipper Ben Ainslie timed the final approach to the line perfectly to cross at full speed as the gun went quite close to leeward of the opponent.

A long drag race with the pair sailing on starboard tack most of the way to the port tack layline followed with the advantage moving back and forth between the pair before the British team, through superior trimming and the leeward position, started to pull out an advantage.

The Franco-German team tacked away to the right, followed shortly afterwards by TeamOrigin, who set up comfortably to weather and ahead. The advantage to the British team turned into a lead of 23 seconds at the first mark. The remainder of the race saw the British team adopt defensive tactics, letting the opponent do all the work and risk taking. TeamOrigin crossed the finish with a lead of 48 seconds.

Rob Greenhalgh strategist and traveller who has spent most of his time in Nice dangling 80 foot up in the air from the mast using the altitude to spot wind patterns and changes, summarised the first beat when he came ashore: 'At the start the wind was already a long way to the right so a close to leeward start was what we wanted. On the long starboard tack on the first beat when we were to leeward All4One could have tacked earlier and maintained the power of the right. They perhaps waited too long, until they had lost about a boat length to us. That was the key element of the race right there.'

The team has been operating, sailing, training and racing in Nice every day for the last three weeks and having qualified for the Semi Final stage of the Louis Vuitton Trophy a couple of days ago the sailing team will now enjoy a two day break from sailing and some well earned rest. The next stage before tackling either Emirates Team New Zealand, Azzurra or Synergy in the Semi-Finals depends on the results of the final matches of the round and the choice the number one ranked Kiwis will make.

TeamOrigin skipper Ben Ainslie with his mind focussed in the future made this comment: 'It’s great for the whole team that we have progressed to the last four. Now we need to up our game to the level required for the Semi Finals.'

Team Director of TeamOrigin Mike Sanderson summarised the team’s position and feelings at the end of two difficult Round Robins thus: 'It is fantastic to have made the cut to the semi-finals of the Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta here in Nice, although anything less would have been disappointing! The fact that the America's Cup Challenger, and the biggest team in Nice, did not make the cut shows just how tricky this regatta has been so far and that no race win here has been an easy win. We, as TeamOrigin, are still in our infancy - this is just our second major regatta so I am very happy with the way the guys are sailing and the team is functioning. Let’s just hope we can go from strength to strength.'

Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice Côte d’Azur - Current Standings:
Competing teams – (Country) - Skipper - Record (Win-Loss)

Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) - Dean Barker, 9-1
TEAMORIGIN (GBR) - Ben Ainslie, 8-3
Azzurra (ITA) - Francesco Bruni, 7-4
Synergy Russian Sailing Team (RUS) - Karol Jablonski, 6-4
Artemis (SWE) - Paul Cayard, 5-6
BMW ORACLE Racing (USA) - Gavin Brady, 4-7
ALL4ONE (FRA/GER) - Jochen Schueman, 3-8
Team French Spirit (FRA) - Bertrand Pacé, 1-9

Pairing Schedule for Tuesday 17th November:

Flight 7
Match 1 Synergy (99) vs Emirates Team New Zealand (90)

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