Please select your home edition
Edition
Selden 2020 - LEADERBOARD

Fisher's View- Cooler, Rain, and Fickle Breeze

by Bob Fisher on 27 Apr 2007
Bob Fisher
Never mind the weather, never mind the rain; there was a pot full of excitement when Areva met Victory in the most dramatic match to date.

Penalties and mistakes were there and a nail-biting finish thrown in for good measure. And if we thought that was good, the match between Luna Rossa and Emirates Team New Zealand was equally dramatic.

The French made an appalling start – 25 seconds late, but went right and hooked into a good shift on that side of the course. When they tacked and approached Victory Challenge, Magnus Holmberg erred by tacking too close and the Swedish boat was penalised by the umpires. Areva led at the windward mark by seven seconds.

Downwind Areva increased that lead by three seconds, but upwind Holmberg reversed the position. He still had the penalty to clear. Downwind the Swedish boat drew away to be 120 metres ahead on the gain line as she approached the finish line. It was touch and go as to whether she could clear her penalty and cross the line ahead.

It was a manoeuvre that the Swedes had practiced and as they were six lengths from the line, the jib was hoisted and as Victory began to round up, the spinnaker came down and the boat was tacked around the finish line buoy – penalty cleared. Holmberg still had the wheel right over and Victory bore away to gybe inside Areva, claim the overlap and cross the line still overlapped.

What had happened to the perfect starts that Barker made yesterday? The Kiwis’ skipper made a gross error when entering on port to meet Luna Rossa.

He failed to tack in time and a 'Y' flag from Torben Grael on Luna Rossa was answered by a blue one from the umpires – Barker was penalised with four minutes to go to the start.

A big split appeared between the boats as Luna Rossa went left and Emirates Team New Zealand went right. When they eventually converged, Luna Rossa was ahead and after a short tacking duel and a luffing match at the starboard side of the mark, dipped back ahead to round the buoy 10 seconds in front..

Luna Rossa gybed immediately after rounding and another split occurred.

Luna Rossa was on the left side of the course and found better breeze to round the gate mark 26 seconds ahead. The Kiwis came back and once more the two boats were overlapped and luffing at the windward mark, but this time on the correct side to round it. Both boats set spinnakers before rounding the mark.

Emirates Team New Zealand gybed quickly and headed to the left hand side, picking up better pressure. Towards the end of the run, the Kiwis were two boat’s lengths ahead and as they approached the line, the jib was hoisted and the spinnaker came down in an attempt to catch Luna Rossa unawares. But the Kiwi boat had lost speed and despite the luff, Luna Rossa was able to roll over her opponent, bear off and cross the line for a well-deserved win.

In an attempt to complete flight 9, Harold Bennett left the South course where the wind was decidedly unstable, and moved to the North course and just beat the time limit to have his two races away.

The Chinese took no part in the racing because of damage to the keel box of China Team and it will be Sunday before this is repaired.
X-Yachts X4.0North Sails Loft 57 PodcastHyde Sails 2024 - One Design

Related Articles

Record fleet set for 13ft Skiff 2026 Championships
The biggest fleet in the event's history is set to line up in January The pain of handing over the national 13ft crown after owning it for a year is driving Manly's Theo Franklin to recapture the title when the biggest fleet in the event's history lines up for the 2026 Australian Championships in January.
Posted today at 5:29 am
2025 Six Metre World Championship Day 2
Eau Vive and Jill claim first victories in Oyster Bay After the disappointment of a wind and raceless day one, the 2025 International Six Metre World Championships at the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club finally got under way in warm sunshine and a south-westerly of around 6-8 knots.
Posted today at 3:23 am
46th Cannes Royal Regatta day 2
A dream day! If we had to give a score for the entry of the "classic " and 5.5 m on Tuesday 23 September, we would hesitate between an 18 and 19/20... knowing that you never put a 20/20!
Posted on 23 Sep
Middle Sea Race set to attract exceptional fleet
Royal Malta YC has 118 entries already At midnight on Friday, 19 September the 46th Rolex Middle Sea Race had amassed a fleet of 118 yachts. The entrants represent 30 countries and territories: from Australia and New Zealand to Finland and Norway, and from the United States to Romania.
Posted on 23 Sep
52 Super Series 2025 Porto Cervo day 1
Solid Sled earn early lead in Sardinia Takashi Okura's Sled lead the 52 SUPER SERIES - Porto Cervo - Range Rover regatta after the first two windward leeward races.
Posted on 23 Sep
Melges 24 Worlds 2025 at Trieste, Italy Day 1
No racing possible on the first day Good things are worth waiting for, and that was the adage at the opening day of the Melges 24 Worlds, which ended without any races in the scoreline. The weather in Trieste proved too unstable, with storms in the morning followed by a lack of wind.
Posted on 23 Sep
Formula Kite Worlds Quartu Sant'Elena preview
9th Sardinia Grand Slam is the first major step towards Los Angeles 2028 Next September 28th to October 5th, the Poetto beach will host the event that crowns the new World Champions. Among the top contenders: Maeder, Vodišek, and Pianosi in the men's fleet; Nolot, Aldridge, and Kampman among women
Posted on 23 Sep
SailGP, TOR Europe, Women's Match Racing Worlds
Good things often happen when preparation meets opportunity Good things often happen when preparation meets opportunity. Such was the case for the Germany SailGP Team presented by Deutsche Bank squad when they notched their first-ever SailGP event win at last weekend's Rolex Switzerland Sail Grand Prix.
Posted on 23 Sep
Melges 15 Fittings Guide
A breakdown of the fittings based on a complete Allen Brothers fit-out If you are looking to upgrade or replace the hardware on your Melges 15, it helps to know exactly which fittings you need and what their role is on the boat.
Posted on 23 Sep
46th Cannes Royal Regatta day 1
The Dragons and the 12 Metres opened the ball with a bang After four exceptional editions, the 47th Cannes Royal Regatta promises to be under the best auspices again this year.
Posted on 23 Sep