Luna Rossa down to Emirates Team New Zealand again

by Paolo Martinoni on 3 Jun 2007
Second match of Louis Vuitton Finals with Luna Rossa facing off against Emirates Team New Zealand. The breeze on the northern course is between 12-14 knots from the east-south-east with calm seas and sunny skies.

The boats enter the pre-start box at 2.55 p.m. with the Kiwis coming in from starboard and forcing Luna Rossa into a dial up. NZL 92 falls off to port followed by ITA 94. One minute and a half before the start both boats sail toward the line with Emirates, to leeward of Luna Rossa, trying to push the Italians out of the box. Spithill manages to hang on to his position, cuts the line on the Committee boat end to windward of the Kiwis and tacks shortly thereafter sailing towards the right hand side of the course. One minute after the start the winds shifts towards the left and Emirates Team New Zealand gains a boat length lead. A tacking duel immediately begins and at the top mark NZL 92 has a 25 second and 80 meter margin on ITA 94. From here on Luna Rossa is firmly under the control of her opponent, trailing by 35 seconds at the leeward gate, 39 seconds at mark 3 and 40 seconds at the finishing line. Emirates Team New Zealand leads 2-0. The third race is scheduled to take place tomorrow.

Michele Ivaldi, Luna Rossa’s navigator, stated at the end of the race: 'Today we had a stronger call on the importance of obtaining the right compared to yesterday, but Emirates Team New Zealand did a good job in the pre-start. We got the right but it cost us slower initial boat speed. The good start by the Kiwis made the difference in the race. Weather wise the wind was really puffy and patchy. I believe our performance is still good both upwind and downwind. I don’t think our game plan is going to change, we know we are facing a really strong team and will analyze the race in the debrief this evening.'

Crew
1. Skipper - Francesco de Angelis
2. Helmsman - James Spithill
3. Tactician - Torben Grael
4. Navigator - Michele Ivaldi
5. Afterguard - Ben Durham
6. Traveller - Andrew Horton
7. Runner - Magnus Augustson
8. Main Trimmer - Jonathan McKee
9. Main Grinder - Gilberto Nobili
10. Trimmer - Joe Newton
11. Trimmer - Christian Kamp
12. Grinder - Emanuele Marino
13. Grinder - Andrew Taylor
14. Pitman - Simone de Mari
15. Mast - Shannon Falcone
16. Mid-Bow - Max Sirena
17. Bow - Alan Smith

Today’s results
'Louis Vuitton Cup' - Finals - Race 2
Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL 92) wins against Luna Rossa Challenge (ITA 94)

'Louis Vuitton Cup' - Finals - Results table
Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL 92) 2
Luna Rossa Challenge (ITA 94) 0