NZL-92 wins in the greatest of comebacks

by nzeditor@sail-world.com on 27 Jun 2007
The third race in the 32nd America's Cup got underway after a 2hr delay and the second attempt at starting in a breeze of 7-9 kts and a course axis of 105 degrees. The race started at 5.00pm.

In spite of the expected initial fireworks, NZL-92 did not engage early, driving deep and did not even try to meet SUI-100. Both reached away to the starboard side of the starting box. Alinghi got up early to the line, clearly wanting the port or pin end of the line..

ETNZ left their tack very late in a split tack start looking for the starboard hand side of the line and did not cross with full speed. Alinghi hit the port hand end of the start line at full pace and got an excellent start and had a 60 metre lead off the start line.

Alinghi came back after two minutes and was almost even with NZL-92.

ETNZ came across almost immediately and jumped out to almost a 100 metre lead initially with the call from the boat with Ray Davies saying 'there there was not much runway left to the right'. At the first cross five minutes after the start Emirates Team New Zealand were 112 metres in front when they crossed back to cover Alinghi.

The split tacks seven minutes into the race, with NZL-92 heading to the starboard layline before tacking to put a loose cover on Alinghi which was headed to port, but the New Zealand yacht was still 100 metres apart and looked to have consolidated their lead.

NZL-92 was careful to maintain contact with Alinghi, not wanting to allow the Swiss yacht to separate laterally and maybe pick up the advantage of a good small shift/more pressure to erode their lead.

Calls from Ray Davies indicated that there was always more pressure to the right and NZL-92 strove to protect this side, while Alinghi tried to pull the game back into the centre of the course. The lead from the RNZYS yacht had now increased to almost 200 metres just 13 minutes after the start.

In spite of trying to play it tight, NZL-92 carried better speed and VMG from the increased pressure and separation stretched to 800 metres and the lead to 328 metres. It was very significant for so early in the race.

The boats had done a long lifting tack into the centre of the course with NZL-92 clearly on a lifting and divergent course from SUI-100 crossing with a margin of 300 metres 20 minutes into the start of the race.

Both boats tacked heading back to the starboard layline for the last time and NZL-92 lifted again, piling on even more metres on their already obese lead, and were 340 metres in front closing to the top mark.

A course change was signalled at the top , NZL-92 had a 420 metre lead, and SUI-100 rounded 83 seconds astern.

Leg 2:

Running into the second leg, NZL-92 held onto port with SUI-100 breaking early onto starboard, and picked up some more pressure enabling them to run deeper with better VMG, however NZL-92 got a sniff of the same breeze and also began to run a deeper angle to match the Defender.

Boat speeds were similar at just over 10kts downwind, with the lead settling down to 340 metres.

Emirates Team NZ, maintained a safe but loose cover on Alinghi as they moved down through the centre of the course, with the lead sitting at 300 metres or more.

The breeze began to die as expected so late in the day with an hour gone in the race. However the breeze at two metres above sea level was still 9.3 knots from 116 degrees with a VMG off the boats of 10kts.

SUI-100 made a gain of around 100 metres as they approached the leeward mark but still NZL-92 hung onto a 240 metre lead, which reduced further to 220 metres.

At the bottom mark NZL-92 got hit with a big header worked against Team NZ a little and they had to do a double gybe at the end to get to the other gate, rounding the starboard gate 62 seconds and 120 metres ahead.

Leg 3:

Team NZ had a problem with the spinnaker drop with it jammed into the genoa by the drop string. The string line caught on the clew of the genoa and for the first two tacks had the spinnaker went around with the jib each tack before being freed. The sail prevented NZL-92 from tacking at will and Alinghi got into a significant lift making a good gain as NZL-92 got out of phase.

The two boats then separated out to over 1000metres with NZL-92 going to the starboard side of the course and a lead of 100 metres. Alinghi picked up a good left hand shift.

Alinghi let the separation grow to 1282 metres before coming across to follow TNZ out to the right hand side. However the lead was cut down to just 30 metres or a boat length. but began to expand as the two close to 42 metres, but reduced further as the two closed before Alinghi forced Team New Zealand to tack to leeward, and SUI-100 took a 17 metre lead, as they headed to the starboard layline.

In hindsight the tack was too early allowing Alinghi to live on their hip, however the New Zealanders eased away before the got to the layline.

Emirates Team NZ tacked short of the layline with the boats even after the speed built following the tack.

The breeze built out of the right and NZL-92 lifted as well with NZL-92 growing their lead to 54 metres as both were committed to sailing down the starboard hand layline. Course changed signalled for the bottom mark to 290 as they closed the top mark, for the final time.

The lead switched back to Alinghi as the boats were headed with a led of 21 metres being shown to Alinghi as they tacked to come across to Team New Zealand on starboard and forced Alinghi back onto port by dropping their bow forcing two low speed tacks.

Alinghi crossed ahead on port as Emirates Team NZ they approached the top mark on starboard and Alinghi rounded in front by 15 seconds margin or 75 metres. At the top mark the breeze was down to 7kts.

Leg 4

Alinghi stretched out to a lead of 170 metres as Emirates Team New Zealand separated with the margin growing out to over 800 metres.

NZL-92 appeared to gain reducing to 90 metres.

Emirates Team New Zealand separated off the starboard layline with Alinghi allowing the gap to grow to over 1000 metres. At the point of the gybe back, NZL-92 was 58 metres behind, but when Emirates gybed back again to run down the starboard layline, they eased into the Swiss lead with the lead changing at one point to NZL by 30 metres.

Ray Davies, calling they have good pressure in a header which is a double gain for Emirates Team NZ downwind as they can soak lower and sail faster.

NZL-92 closed with starboard rights and 60 metres, but still with a gap of 1000 metres lateral and 600 metres left to the finish. Alinghi came down the port tack layline as the lead grew for NZL-92 by 95 metres.

At 365 metres left to run the margin for NZL-92 was 80 metres.

Team New Zealand then gybed for the finish and led the white spinnakered Alinghi by 74 metres in the greatest comeback since Lazarus, with Alinghi crossing 25 seconds astern.

NZL is now 2-1 up in the series.

Comment

This was possibly the defining moment of the 32nd America's Cup, as the lead see sawed back and forth. In the end it was the ability of the Emirates Team New Zealand afterguard which carried the day - their experience in tight situations in the Louis Vuitton Cup standing them in good stead.

Emirates Team New Zealand jumped to a good lead, obviously as a result of a strong weather call for the right, which paid off handsomely early in the piece. Surprisingly Alinghi had a clear preference for the left, and it is hard to understand how two weather teams could have got such a different view of similar data.

Fortunately for the Kiwi supporters their boat came out on top early in the race, and NZL-92 clocked up a large lead which would always be difficult to defend in the conditions.

The problem for New Zealand came at the leeward gate with some dramatic windshifts causing two changes of option as to which gate to round. In the end they got the right gate, bu