What did we learn on day 3 of the Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin?
by Mark Jardine 31 Aug 2024 08:46 PDT
31 August 2024
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli on Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin 1 Day 3 © Ricardo Pinto / America's Cup
A busy and ambitious schedule was set to make up for the lost races on day 2. The wind was around 8 to 10 knots, with a few light spells ready to trip teams up.
We were treated to a mixed bag of exciting racing interspersed with gear failure retirements and races which were decided by a splashdown.
Broadcast
- It was good to see the distance between the boats nearly always displayed.
- Actual windspeed is needed more often on screen, if not permanently. Without it you feel partially blinded as a viewer, and it was clear the commentators were suffering in the same way, relying on comments from the sailors as to what the wind was doing. They have the telemetry coming off the boats, as the true wind speed was displayed once in the INEOS Britannia vs. Alinghi match, so please can we see it more often?
- The VMG speeds become even more important in a close race, like Luna Rossa versus American Magic, so it would be good to see those more often on screen.
- The wind readings on the buoys are now dampened well, but still too small to see on a tablet or phone.
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli vs. New York Yacht Club American Magic
After a delay of five minutes, where American Magic called for a time-out, racing was under way in 9 to 10 knots of wind.
Excellent control in the pre-start by the US team towards the pin end of the line at pace, forcing Luna Rossa to tack away at start time.
Luna Rossa steadily made gains on the right upwind, with the deficit only 2 seconds at the windward gate, and the Italians taking the left-hand buoy, going to the same side they favoured upwind.
At the first cross downwind Luna Rossa had taken the lead. At the next cross, American Magic forced Luna Rossa to dip their stern, showing the right hand side of the course upwind was paying again.
Luna Rossa was again forced to duck American Magic on the first cross upwind, sailing into pressure at the favoured right-hand side of the course and retaking the lead, rounding the second Windward Gate 20 seconds in the lead. Luna Rossa maintained that lead on the second downwind leg.
Luna Rossa coach Philippe Presti said about the race, "Really exciting for the public I guess, but for us it's a little bit hard!"
Luna Rossa forced American Magic left on the second half of the final upwind leg, extending their lead at the Windward Gate to 25 seconds, going on to win by 24 seconds.
Tricky to read too much into speed differentials until we see all the stats, but Luna Rossa's manoeuvres looked particularly smooth, and their downwind speed looked a touch higher than American Magic. This race though was won by better tactical sailing on the Italian boat and gave us the best race to watch of the Louis Vuitton Cup so far.
Emirates Team New Zealand vs. Orient Express Racing Team
A technical issue meant the French team retired against the returning Kiwis, who were looking good in their repaired AC75.
INEOS Britannia vs. Alinghi Red Bull Racing
With the breeze (apparently) down a little, both teams were nervous about staying on the foils in the pre-start. The British team executed a tack on top of Alinghi on the final approach to the line which forced the Swiss off the foils, giving INEOS a free run at the start.
By the time Alinghi got back foiling, INEOS Britannia had opened up an 800-metre lead, which they soon extended to over a kilometre.
After that it was all about avoiding the patches of dirty air and keeping on the foils as the wind dropped beneath 7 knots in places.
Approaching the finish, INEOS Britannia fell off the foils after a gybe, opening the door for an Alinghi comeback, as their 900-metre lead was halved in under a minute. The British boat though managed to get back foiling, gybed in for the finish line, and held on for the win.
Ben Ainslie was quick to say, "Nice job keeping it cool there", as it was a very tense moment for the team.
Orient Express Racing Team vs. New York Yacht Club American Magic
American Magic came in from high in the pre-start, gybing on Orient Express, but the French managed to stay on the foils. America Magic though was too early and down speed, so sailed on beyond the port end of the line, tacked when back up to speed, and performed a dip start, with Orient Express doing the same around ten seconds later.
It was a perfect example of how staying foiling is so critical that actually starting wasn't the most important factor when they'd misjudged their time on distance. A case of taking the least-worst option.
The American team maintained a lead of around 400 metres throughout the first lap as the Race Committee shortened the course length to just one nautical mile in the light wind.
The French made a huge gain on the second upwind leg when American Magic had a low-speed tack and had to bear away to keep the boat foiling. At the second windward gate Orient Express were just 13 second behind.
Unfortunately for Orient Express they fell off the foils at the second leeward gate in dirty air, leading to a loud shout of 'merde' from the French boat. A close race was very quickly turned into a lead of over a kilometre for the US team, ending up at almost a lap at the finish as the French failed to get back foiling.
INEOS Britannia vs. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli
A good start by the British team, forcing the Italian team to tack early, with INEOS Britannia crossing Luna Rossa on port at the first engagement.
A slow tack by the Brits handed a 25 second lead to Luna Rossa going into the first Windward Gate. The lead stayed relatively steady until INEOS Britannia fell off the foils after a gybe approaching the first leeward gate. They got back up relatively quickly, but Luna Rossa's lead was now over a kilometre.
The Italians made no mistakes in the marginal conditions, maintaining their lead, staying on the foils, and winning another race.
A great day for Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.
Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin Results after Day 3: (with Emirates Team New Zealand races removed)
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, 3 points after 3 races
INEOS Britannia, 2 points after 3 races
New York Yacht Club American Magic, 2 points after 4 races
Orient Express Racing Team, 1 point after 3 races
Alinghi Red Bull Racing, 0 points after 3 races