Winning start for Swedish Victory in Louis Vuitton series

by Fiona McIlroy on 4 Oct 2002 The long awaited first clash for Victory Challenge proved worth the wait on Friday, as the Swedish syndicate took the gun one minute and six seconds ahead of their French rivals, Le Defi Areva.

The duo produced the most tactical start we've seen so far, in these early stage of racing, with both boats heading deep into the box, away from the start line, with less than 30 seconds to the gun.

The French, in the windward position, were able to hold the Swedes down the pin end of the line, but it was SWE63 who crossed the start a couple of seconds ahead with pace.

Both yachts then headed out to the favoured right side of the course.

The crew on board FRA69 were left rueing what might have been, as a few tactical errors, combined with bad luck down the first run, saw them in the Swede's wake for the entire race.

A tacking duel up the first beat saw both boats to be quite evenly paced. But it was Orn who led, by 26 seconds, around the first mark, and by 38 seconds around the second mark. The 12 second gain a result of the French mishaps rather than Victory's efforts.

The French lost a few boat lengths by overlaying the top mark on leg one and then disaster struck with their spinnaker ripping during the launch.

However, the young inexperienced crew stayed calm, and tripped the shoot allowing the old shredded sail to drop and a new one to be set, without the uproar and mayhem one might expect, although the whole process took a little longer than they might have liked.

Ripped sails is a common sight in America's Cup races but being the first for the competition is not something to be proud of.

Meanwhile, Victory Challenge's Danish helmsman Jesper Bank made the most of the situation by gibing into the centre of the course to maximise their lead.

A huge left hand shift on leg three then saw the Swedish able to push the French out to the layline, extending their lead to 32 seconds around the top mark, and they then extended it even further around the final downwind mark, rounding 48 seconds ahead.

By the fifth and final mark rounding the crew on board Orn had extended their lead to one minute and they cruised to the finish with realative ease.

Source: nzoom.co.nz