What did we learn on day 5 of the Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin?
by Mark Jardine 3 Sep 06:50 PDT
3 September 2024
A lightning bolt hits close to Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and Emirates Team New Zealand on Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin Day 5 © America's Cup
A wet day in Barcelona saw the breeze coming over the land with many shifts and gusts providing anything between 8 and 15 knots of wind.
An AC75 is a handful at the best of times, but these conditions made things even harder, especially for the cyclors with the increased trimming in the gusts and lulls.
The day ended prematurely when a lightning bolt struck the race area.
Alinghi Red Bull Racing vs. Orient Express Racing Team
Round Robin 2 opened with an absolutely vital match at the bottom of the leaderboard.
Alinghi had the best start, with Orient Express dip starting at the committee boat end, slightly late so having to skew it rounded faster than they've have liked.
With Alinghi in control, Orient lost control of the rudder, going high on the foils and then splashing down head to wind. Alinghi rounded the top mark with a 1 minute 38 second lead, which equated to around a kilometre.
The Swiss team sailed in a calm and controlled manner, while the French seemed to be having control issues, looking more like a bucking bronco at times. They sailed beautifully around the course to pick up their first point of the Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robins.
Emirates Team New Zealand vs. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli
After a delay due to the wind shifting a massive 100 degrees to the right and increasing to 18 knots, the race was under way.
In a bold move, Luna Rossa sailed over the top of the Kiwis in the pre-start to rocket away from the line at over 40 knots. Emirates Team New Zealand were forced into their dirty air and skidded into the wind after losing control of the rudder.
Luna Rossa had a hairy moment upwind as they heeled over in a gust, but Jimmy Spithill kept the team calm to regain control. Emirates Team New Zealand rounded the first windward gate just 16 second behind.
Both teams hit some serious speeds on the downwind leg, with Luna Rossa briefly hitting 50 knots, but the gap between the boats remained roughly the same.
Italian coach Philippe Presti said, "It's truly a challenge to sail the boats today".
The wind dropped significantly on the final lap, at around 8 to 10 knots, with the driving rain making visibility tricky. The communication on board Luna Rossa was excellent as they worked out the best course to navigate their way through the lulls. At the final windward gate they had extended their lead to 59 seconds.
On the final downwind leg, a massive lightning strike landed frighteningly close to Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, with Emirates Team New Zealand deciding to bolt for relative safety off the course area.
Racing was immediately abandoned for the day.