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America's Cup Rialto: November 23 - A weird day on the Waitemata

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World NZ 23 Nov 2020 01:20 PST 23 November 2020
Te Rehutai with Britannia partially obscured by haze out to sea - November 23, 2020 - Waitemata Harbour - America's Cup 36 © Richard Gladwell / Sail-World.com

Monday was a day in waiting. Waiting for a weather system to pass through with strong easterlies predicted for the following day.

The Waitemata exhibited all the usual signs of a strong onshore blow out of the east - Gulf islands "floating" on the horizon, and light to no breeze for most of the morning.

The two teams, INEOS Team UK and Emirates Team New Zealand both set up to the north of Rangitoto Island sailing in whatever wind they could find.

Eventually the wind settled in from the North/North West - which on a race day would have brought Course B into play which runs the length of the Rangitoto Channel, and parallels the North Shore beaches - great for the cliff top and beach viewers, with Takapuna Grammar School being the prime spot if the breeze blows from this direction during one of the three upcoming regattas.

Emirates Team New Zealand was first to tow out, splashing at 1000hrs and docking out an hour later. The Brits took a more measured view of the forecast and left a couple of hours later.

A steady breeze of 6-7kts eventually settled in, with Te Rehutai returning after a seven hour session - long by the Kiwi standards, but probably necessary as they worked up the new boat.

Britannia showed up around 1730hrs doing a few speed runs in the race course area before heading home.

Winds peaked around the minimum wind strength for racing 6-7kts.

For those on shore, the most interesting aspect of the day was having a squiz at Te Rehutai - which proved to be a very interesting piece of design as come of the images below reveal.

Calling all Cup Fans - support your favorite team

This America's Cup will be different for international fans, who thanks to COVID-19 travel restrictions into New Zealand won't be able to attend the regatta, unless they hold, a New Zealand passport and are prepared to live in two weeks of quarantine.

But you can still show your support for the team and feel part of the event - at racing watch parties and similar.

Or order now for a unique Christmas gift for that special America's Cup fan you know.

Get your favorite team clothing from the store.americascup.com/collections official supplier for all teams and the America's Cup event.

For American Magic's range click on store.americascup.com/collections/american-magic

For Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli's range click on store.americascup.com/collections/luna-rossa-prada-pirelli-team

For INEOS Team UK's range click on store.americascup.com/collections/ineos

For Emirates Team New Zealand's range click on store.americascup.com/collections/team-emirates-team-new-zealand

For the America's Cup AC36 Event range of clothing and kit click on store.americascup.com/collections/cup-collection

For the North Sails AC36 range of clothing and kit click on store.americascup.com/collections/ac-by-north-sails

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