Editorial- Making a mark at Valencia

by nzeditor@sail-world.com on 26 Jun 2006 As New Zealand shivers through yet another cold snap, the attention over the weekend has been on the warmer climes of Europe.

Emirates Team New Zealand lie on the top of the points table after four days of match racing in the Louis Vuitton Act 12. This event is really the last match racing opportunity for the Class of 2007 to test each other. After the conclusion of Act 12, Alinghi gets to stand by themselves in the corner, while the Challengers continue to buildup amongst themselves for another nine months or so.

A good performance in Act 12 is essential for the top teams to establish a good base camp from which to launch a final assault on the 32nd America’s Cup. Emirates Team NZ has yet to come up against Alinghi and BMW Oracle Racing and the results to date indicate that any of the lower ranked challengers are capable of springing an upset as did the Swedish Victory team against Alinghi overnight.

We are providing timing sheets, of the close matches, as part of our America’s Cup reporting. These are normally in the Media Centre only and give a very good analysis of the margins on a leg by leg basis, also showing changes in wind shift and direction which can play a big part in what looks to be a comfortable win, or an apparent upset. You need to analyse these to understand the full picture of what is happening in Valencia. Look for the big Deltas and the consistent patterns in margins on a leg by leg basis.

In Kiel, Dan Slater sailing in the ASB Olympic Finn has scored a good win. Other notable performances came from Michael Bullot in the Laser fleet – beating YNZ Olympic Squad member , Andrew Murdoch. Hopefully Michael can maintain this form and carry it onto the Laser Worlds. Same too for Geoff Woolley and Mark Overington in the 470 class, who came through their best performance in a difficult regatta.

We have had an interesting response to the 'P class vs Opti' debate and some new responses have been posted.

Ian and Andrea Treleaven have resumed their 'Letters from the Med' series and are about to embark on a new cruise. We feature their latest report.

Good Sailing!

Richard Gladwell
NZ Editor