What did we learn on day 2 of the Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin?
by Mark Jardine 31 Aug 2024 00:33 AEST
30 August 2024
New York Yacht Club American Magic vs. Alinghi Red Bull Racing on Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin 1 Day 2 © Ricardo Pinto / America's Cup
With Emirates Team New Zealand off the water after damage caused during a crane malfunction last night, only two of the four scheduled matches on Day 2 of the Louis Vuitton Cup would involve two boats.
The Protocol says that the other two races must start, so we saw INEOS Britannia and Orient Express Racing start a race without opposition. Since the races involved the America's Cup Defender they weren't for Louis Vuitton Cup points anyway.
Remarkably, Grand Dalton believes the Kiwis could be back on the water as early as Saturday, which is astounding considering he said the boat dropped six metres into its cradle.
Friday saw a lot of 'failing the wind limit' in the pre-start, leading to frustrating delays and eventually abandonment, with only half the scheduled races completed, but we've always been at the mercy of Mother Nature when it comes to the breeze.
Broadcast
Seeing the windspeed and direction at the four marks in the pre-start is a welcome addition. The damping on the windspeed probably needs to be increased, as does the font size, which is tiny, but seeing what was happening on the course was very useful.
The view from the stern combined with the two helms (now that they have name tags on screen) is good and gives the 'personal' feel to the boat.
It's good to see the cyclors telemetry, with their heart hate and energy generated occasionally on screen, but it would be nice to have 'cyclor cam' as well. The effort these guys put in is phenomenal, and I think it should be recognised more.
When races are pushing the time limit, it would be good to see a countdown timer to show the race against the clock to finish.
New York Yacht Club American Magic vs. Alinghi Red Bull Racing
Alinghi sailed straight through the wash of American Magic in the pre-start and dropped off the foils in the light winds, leaving the US team to sail to an instant 500 metre lead.
Alinghi looked like they were holding on, just a minute behind the Americans, but they fell off the foils at the leeward mark after having to put in an extra gybe at the leeward gate, highlighting how critical the lay line calls are.
There were clearly big holes in the wind, as American Magic also fell off the foils on the second upwind leg, but managed to skim for 30 seconds, before lifting off again. The Race Committee shortened the course to just 0.9 nm in the dying breeze.
It wasn't long before both boats fell off the foils again, with Alinghi utterly becalmed at times, and the Race Committee shortened the course to four legs.
American Magic crawled over the finish line in 31 minutes 54 seconds, as the Swiss passed the windward gate more than 15 minutes behind. Finding a puff of wind, they foiled all the way down the final leg to finish just 2 minutes 58 seconds behind the US team.
It was not the greatest of races, but was interesting to watch how New York Yacht Club American Magic kept their boat skimming in the lulls.
Emirates Team New Zealand vs. INEOS Britannia
After a long delay waiting for the wind, INEOS Britannia completed the race start cleanly on the foils. With the formalities over, Emirates Team New Zealand promptly retired from ashore, handing the Brits the race win.
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli vs. New York Yacht Club American Magic
The wind died again across the race area, leading to the Race Committee abandoning racing for the day.