Louis Vuitton Trophy - Nice - Day 1 Race reports - Team Origin win
by Louis Vuitton Media on 7 Nov 2009
Team Origin leads Synergy in the first race of the Louis Vuitton Trophy series Paul Todd/Outside Images
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Team Origin had an easy first race, on the opening day of the Louis Vuitton Trophy at Nice, after scoring a double penalty over Synergy (Russia) who were having their first race in an America's Cup boat. Catch the racing live on www.louisvuittontrophy.com - it is outstanding coverage.
Round Robin 1 : TeamOrigin - Synergy
Day 1 of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice Côte d’Azur has dawned bright and sunny with a 10-knot northerly wind blowing.
An 8-knot north/northwesterly was blowing on the Baie des Anges, or Bay of Angels, this morning close to shore, but farther offshore the wind was more from the southwest. The forecast has it increasing this afternoon to 16 knots from the southwest.
The first match this morning sees TeamOrigin and its golden skipper Ben Ainslie taking on Russia Synergy, a new team to AC class racing. Ainslie has won three gold medals in the Olympics and is a formidable foe for Russia Synergy, which is led by Poland’s Karol Jablonski as skipper. Jablonski is no slouch, however, having won the match racing world championship and three DN Ice Boat Gold Cup championships.
Synergy will race GBR-75 while TeamOrigin is aboard FRA-93 and enters the start box from the starboard end.
The scheduled 0900 warning signal was postponed for 10 minutes when the clew ring on TeamOrigin’s A2 headsail pulled off. The sail was replaced and a new warning signal was scheduled for 0910.
TeamOrigin led Synergy at the first windward mark by 46 seconds. Synergy started at the pin end of the start line, but had to perform an 270-degree penalty turn after entering the racecourse due to a red flag penalty in the pre-start. A red flag means the penalty must be completed at the soonest possible moment. Lacking a red flag, the penalty may be completed at any time prior to finishing.
TeamOrigin sailed as much as a knot faster on the first run of its match against Russia Synergy and has opened a comfortable advantage at the leeward gate. Russia Synergy trailed by 2:04 at the gate, a loss of more than 1 minute on the 2-mile run.
TeamOrigin kept its foot on the throat of Russia Synergy up the second beat and increased its lead to 4:06 at the second windward mark. The wind has faded to about 5 knots from the north/northwest. The two crews are on the run to the finish.
With the Bay of Angels virtually calm skipper Ben Ainslie led TeamOrigin across the finish line at 1026.32 to win Match 1 of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice Côte d'Azur. Russia Synergy finished 1:03 behind. Synergy made a big gain on the final run due to a windshift, but was too far behind to overcome the 4-minute deficit at the last windward mark.
The next scheduled match is Emirates Team New Zealand versus TFS -- Pages Jaunes, but it is currently under postponement. The wind on the Bay of Angels has died away to almost nothing. The forecast calls for the wind to build up to 15 knots from the southwest this afternoon.
Match 2 : Emirates Team New Zealand -- TFS - Pages Jaunes
Match 2 of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice Côte d’Azur sees old teammates Dean Barker of Emirates Team New Zealand and Bertrand Pace of TFS – Pages Jaunes squaring off. Barker and Pacé were teammates in Team New Zealand’s defence of the America’s Cup in 2003.
The skippers led their teams onto the racecourse on opposite tacks. Barker took starboard off the line while Pacé was on port.
The racecourse for this match has been set on an axis of 240 degrees and the distance to the windward mark is 1.4 nautical miles from the start line. The wind is blowing between 8 and 10 knots and is forecast to build to 15 knots through the afternoon.
Emirates Team New Zealand led TFS - Pages Jaunes by 40 seconds at the first windward mark of Match 2. The wind was around 8 knots and the sea calm on the Bay of Angels.
She went on to extend her lead to 100secs by the race finish
Match 3 : Azzurra -- BMW Oracle Racing
The third match of the day between BMW Oracle Racing (USA) and Azzurra (ITA) was abandoned just before the finish when Azzurra had a lead of over 1000metres, having led from the start. Azzurra was denied victory when the leg time limit of 20 minutes expired.
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