Please select your home edition
Edition
Barton Marine Pipe Glands

Barker to face Coutts in semi of America's Cup World Series

by Warren Douglas on 16 Sep 2011
Emirates Team New Zealand start the first race of day four of the America’s Cup World Series in Plymouth, England. Chris Cameron/ETNZ http://www.chriscameron.co.nz

Dean Barker faces off against his former team mate Russell Coutts in the match race semi-final of the America's Cup World Series regatta being sailed in Plymouth, England.

Emirates Team New Zealand was seeded second and Oracle 5 third after six fleet races on Wednesday and Thursday.

With two second placing and a fourth on Thursday, Barker was on 50 points at day’s end, six adrift of a consistent Artemis with two firsts and a second.

First, second and third seeds go straight through to the match racing semis while the lower seeds sail a series of sudden-death races.

Friday and Saturday sees the end of match racing and the final fleet race – a winner-takes-all race to find the Plymouth fleet racing champion - takes place on Sunday.


Today the breeze was much lighter at Plymouth with a shifty 6-12 knots from the south. Once again some of the les-fancied teams showed that there are no certainties on the ACWS circuit.

China Team pulled off a well-deserved third place in the third match of the day while the winner of the 34th America’s Cup James Spithill was eighth. His boss Russell Coutts won the race comfortably after a series of mid-fleet finishes.

A dramatic fighting finish by Emirates Team New Zealand almost snatched the win in the first fleet race sailed on Thursday. Artemis took the early lead and defended well, as a match race developed for first and second places.

Approaching the last mark, Emirates Team New Zealand came in at speed, closing quickly. Artemis, slower, dropped its gennaker as it rounded the mark while Barker held on to his for the short reach to the finish line. With greater speed, Barker closed right up and ran out of race course just before he could overtake. Artemis’ delta was a mere three seconds.


The result of race two was a repeat of the first. Artemis first , Emirates Team New Zealand second.

Barker, Winston Macfarlane, Glenn Ashby, James Dagg and Ray Davies showed again how they can recover from a seemingly impossible position. They rounded the first mark in fourth place, the second mark in sixth.

By leg 6, only Oracle 4 and Artemis were ahead. Barker gybed inside Oracle and rolled over them as they approached the mark. Then with Spithill chasing hard, Barker held on to cross the finish line second.

Just as the forecasters said, the wind started to drop away as the start of the third and final race of the day approached.

Emirates Team New Zealand led from the start, led around the first two marks and then fell victim to a wind shift, slipping back in the fleet to finish fourth behind Oracle 5, China and Artemis.


Switch One DesignPalm Beach Motor YachtsAllen Dynamic 40 Footer

Related Articles

All smiles among first finishers of the AEGEAN 600
The fastest teams crossed the finish line today at Cape Sounion As the fastest teams crossed the finish line today at Cape Sounion and made their way to the harbour at Olympic Marine, there were exhausted smiles all around.
Posted on 10 Jul
British Classic Week day 4
It was a classic Solent day in Cowes for the OneSails inshore race It was a classic Solent day in Cowes for day 4 of British Classic Week with hot temperatures, sunshine and no breeze in the morning before the sea breeze kicked in from the west and it was time to go racing.
Posted on 10 Jul
iQFOiL Worlds a Aarhus day 5
Finalists locked in for new Medal Series format With the sea breeze stubbornly refusing to make an appearance, Day 5 of the iQFOiL World Championship turned into a long waiting game both ashore and on the water.
Posted on 10 Jul
Jazz Turner Video Interview
How she Faced Everything And Rose during Project FEAR I travelled to Brighton Marina to catch up with Jazz, talking about her own sailing, the challenges she faced during the circumnavigation, how the money raised will be used, and a glimpse of her future projects!
Posted on 10 Jul
CYCS SailMV's Vineyard Cup Preview
The regatta will feature stunning classics racing around the beautiful island of Martha's Vineyard. The second Classic Yacht Challenge Series (CYCS) event of the 2025 season gets under way on Friday, July 11 with the Vineyard Cup organized by Sail Martha's Vineyard (SailMV).
Posted on 10 Jul
America's Cup: Luna Rossa to sail for Naples club.
Italian Challenger Luna Rossa will contest the next America's Cup as the team of a Naples club. Italian Challenger Luna Rossa will contest its seventh America's Cup as the team of the Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia of Naples, as club that is new to the America's Cup.
Posted on 10 Jul
International Moth Worlds at Lake Garda Day 3
Big breeze in the morning, calm in the afternoon The third day of racing at the 2025 Moth World Championship kicked off early, with the first warning signal for the Blue fleet scheduled for 8:30 AM. Due to strong northerly winds, however, the fleet's departure was postponed to 9:00.
Posted on 10 Jul
Introducing the Micro Gateway from Cyclops Marine
Live load data, simplified - smaller, smarter, even more connected At Cyclops Marine, we're driven by the pursuit of precision, performance, and progress. As the marine industry continues to embrace digital transformation, our technology is evolving rapidly.
Posted on 10 Jul
Everything to know about The Ocean Race Europe
One month to go to the race start in Kiel One month out from the start of the 2025 edition of The Ocean Race Europe seven mixed-gender crews made up of sailors from across 13 nations are in the throes of their final preparations for the Race start in Kiel, Germany.
Posted on 10 Jul
The countdown to the Race to Mackinac
2025 is a landmark year for the Chicago Yacht Club 2025 is a landmark year for the Chicago Yacht Club and the Race to Mackinac presented by Wintrust Financial Corporation.
Posted on 10 Jul