Please select your home edition
Edition
J Composites J/99

Cup Spy Sept 15,- Day 1: The Rain in Spain didn't 'stay mainly the plain,' but came to Vilanova

by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World NZ 15 Sep 2023 07:13 PDT 16 September 2023
Race Day 1 - AC40 - America's Cup Preliminary Regatta - Vilanova - September 15, 2023 © America's Cup Media

"The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain."

Those famous lyrics sung by Professor Henry Higgins in the 1938 musical My Fair Lady were at odds with the weather prevailing in Vilanova for the first day of official racing in the America's Cup Preliminary Event.

Instead of "staying on the plain", the rain bucketed down on the America's Cup crews gathered in Vilanova. The intention was for the boats to leave the dock at 1530hrs CET and for racing to start 40 minutes later, at 1610hrs CET.

At that point (1610hrs), Race Director Iain Murray decided on safety grounds that racing was not to be staged on the day.

At the time, there was heavy rain and only light winds of 10-12kts.

The overriding concern was that of crew and boat safety.

The thunderstorms accompanied by lightning are an explosive mix - as demonstrated earlier this year in SailGP Singapore, where the New Zealand entry was struck by lightning after racing, causing substantial damage to the rig and systems - requiring a complete rewiring of the raceboat.

For the international viewing audience, there was some compensation in viewing what could have been - a replay of the Practice Racing from Friday, where Emirates Team New Zealand, the defending America's Cup champion, trounced the six-team fleet - winning all three races.

Today's start was initially delayed as officials hoped that a severe weather front would bypass the America's Cup fleet on the water off Vilanora. That hope was not realised.

Official weather data supplier Predictwind forecasted heavy rain with 6-7mm/hr of rain forecast for the scheduled start time.

After being delayed from the scheduled start time of 1530hrs CET (1330hrs UTC), Race Director Iain Murray decided to pull the pin for the day at around 1610hrs CET (1410hrs UTC) after heavy rain and thunderstorms approached Vilanova.

Racing should be possible on Day 2, with no rain forecast - and winds from the South of 6-8kts average. There will be heavy cloud cover at times. The prediction is for a moderately heavy sea state from the East of up to 1 metre - which will be very challenging for the crews sailing the 40ft foiling monohulls.

However every (rain) cloud has a silver lining, and for fans that is there will now be four races per day instead of three. The start time is now at the earlier hour of 1505hrs CET or 1305hrs UTC the last start is scgeduled for 1700hrs CET on both Saturday and Sunday.

Quotes from the Boats:

Paul Goodison, co-helmsman/skipper for NYYC American Magic: "It is what it is, in the weather it would have been very difficult to sail with lightning and thunder around, it doesn't feel very nice to be on a boat when all that is happening around you."

"It will be interesting to see if they try and squeeze a couple more races in, it would be nice for us as sailors to do more races because that's what we're here to do but whatever the Race Committee decide, we will go with that."

Nathan Outteridge, co-helmsman for Emirates Team New Zealand: "I think it was the right decision to abandon but it was good to give it a chance as we all want to race. It was pretty wet when we got out there. We had about 10-11 knots when we were hoisting sails so we went for the J2 but by the time we cut the chase it was 4-5 knots and I think after about 10 minutes, Iain Murray realised that this was not a good place to be for everyone and got us all back in. I think everyone just excited to race, the practice races were great and we just want to get into it."

Maxime Bachelin, co-helmsman for Alinghi Red Bull Racing: "We just tried, we went out but it was a bit too stormy, thunderstorms, so for the safety I think it's good to thing to head home. There was not a lot of wind as well, so they did what they can and we will be ready for tomorrow, for sure."

Kevin Peponnet, Orient Express Racing Team: "It was pretty scary when we saw some lightning and we couldn't see above 50 metres so sailing in these foiling boats in more than 25 knots of speed without a clear view of where we are going would be pretty scary. Also with the lightning, we are full carbon and we asked all the sailors and shore team coming on the boat not to touch the mast or shrouds as a lightning strike, as we've seen on other boats, can be dramatic. The call was good to come back."

Giles Scott, co-helmsman for INEOS Britannia: "Yeah good decision. I mean maybe we could have sat it out but looking at the weather now it's still not raceable an hour after the decision. Top wind we saw was 15 knots for about ten minutes but it was all over the place and not raceable and with the visibility and lightning...the weather God's were conspiring unfortunately."

Jimmy Spithill, co-helmsman for Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, was disappointed not to sail but realistic saying: "It was a little worrisome heading out there with the lightning on the radar but look we gave it our best shot, we did everything we could, and sometimes as we all know in our sport you can't control the weather and ultimately it was decided for us."

"If it were up to me I would probably shorten the races up a little and try and fit more in because that's what we want to see, more starts, more mark roundings and I think people would enjoy that."

Additional Images:

This commentary was written and compiled from video, still images and statistical content extracted from the AC37 Joint Recon program and other material available to Sail-World NZ including photo files, and other on the water coverage from the 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2021 America's Cups. Its format is intended to give Sail-World readers a snapshot of all teams' progress on a given day or period.

Related Articles

Three times America's Cup winner passes away
Matt Mitchell won three America's Cup sailing for teams representing three nations. There wasn't a boat Matt Mitchell couldn't race or a challenge he wasn't up for. And, say those closest to the America's Cup star and grassroots sailing champion, no one was spared his good-hearted quips. Posted on 25 Mar
Auckland in venue bid for 38th America's Cup
Events arm of Auckland Council, has confirmed that they are part of a group bidding to hold AC38 Nick Hill, Tataki Auckland Unlimited Chief Executive, the Events arm of Auckland Council, has confirmed that they are part of a group bidding to hold the America's Cup in Auckland. Posted on 5 Mar
€1billion payday for Barcelona from AC37
Study says Barcelona reaps hefty economic return from 2024 America's Cup The University of Barcelona and the Barcelona Capital Nàutica Foundation (FBCN) have released the outcome of their post event economic impact study which reveals over €1 billion positive economic GDP return from AC37 for the host venue Barcelona. Posted on 4 Mar
Cup Spy: Top coach looks at the rise of the Brits
Challenger Finals for the Louis Vuitton Cup - why the Brits were formidable In this interview we cover the Challenger Finals for the Louis Vuitton Cup - why they panned out the way they did, and why INEOS Britannia was so formidable. Posted on 20 Feb
America's Cup: INEOS being sued
New Zealand Rugby owner of the All Blacks brand says it is suing INEOS Following the much publicised split in the INEOS Britannia America's Cup team, NZ Rugby has revealed that it is taking legal action against INEOS [Group], for alleged breach of a $USD36million ($NZD63m) sponsorship deal. Posted on 11 Feb
Cup Spy: Fans get their patience tested
Fans got well used to the sight of AC75s falling off their foils - the Cup is off its foils now. America's Cup fans got well used to the sight of AC75s falling off their foils in the lighter moments of Barcelona. They were cringe-worthy moments. The Cup is well and truly off its foils now. Posted on 8 Feb
America's Cup: War of the Roses - a brief truce?
The embattled Houses of Ratcliffe and Ainslie are expected to stage a brief truce, this weekend The embattled Houses of Ratcliffe and Ainslie are expected to stage a brief truce, this weekend, for the first meeting of the teams involved in the 2027 America's Cup. Posted on 31 Jan
America's Cup: CEO ousting starts War of the Roses
A previously strong British America's Cup effort has nosedived after an acrimonious split A split between the skipper and backer of the 2024 British America's Cup team has significant implications for the Cup as two Knights of the Realm line up with legal lances ready for a bloody joust. Posted on 23 Jan
Cup Spy: Best race-craft key factor in Kiwi's win
Best race-craft cited by top America's Cup coach as key factor behind Barcelona win Top America's Cup coach on why the cards fell the Kiwi's way in their successful Defence in Barcelona - but the win was a lot closer than Auckland despite the similar score-line. Posted on 20 Dec 2024
Dalton reflects on another extraordinary year
ETNZ managed an unprecedented third successive America's Cup victory winning 7-2 2024 has been another extraordinary year for Emirates Team New Zealand which managed an unprecedented third successive America's Cup victory winning 7-2 in the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup against INEOS Britannia in Barcelona. Posted on 20 Dec 2024
Doyle_SailWorld_728X90px-02 BOTTOMAllen Dynamic 40 FooterCyclops Marine 2023 November - FOOTER