There was drama at the Emirates Team New Zealand base in Barcelona following the first day of racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup round robin due to a lift-out mishap at dockside.
“While lifting the team’s AC75 ‘Taihoro’ from the dock into its cradle, there was a failure with power to the crane carrying the boat which dropped onto its cradle and landed heavily,” the team said in a statement.
“The team have secured the boat with a portable crane and it is now safely being put back in the shed where the full extent of the damage will be assessed by the team overnight.
“From initial assessments a call has been made that Emirates Team New Zealand will not be sailing tomorrow.
“Once further investigation is made in the following 24 hours and a full plan for the repair of Taihoro is in place, the team will give a further update on the duration of time the team will be off the water.”
Emirates Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton added: “Clearly this is a setback for the team at such an important time of the campaign.
“These are the moments that can define an America’s Cup campaign, and we have an amazing group of dedicated and talent people who will be working around the clock on getting the boat repaired.”
It marked an unfortunate end to a day of racing fit for royalty, as King Felipe VI of Spain was treated to a spectacle of desperately close racing and some very interesting take-aways in light airs.
The king took to a hydrogen-powered foiling support vessel to get a close-up view, on the racecourse itself, of the opening two races of the day where the French Orient Express Racing Team came out with fire in their belly and scored a thrilling win against Alinghi Red Bull Racing.
For the French, short on time in the AC75, this was a vital win. Port helm Kevin Peponnet exuded a newfound confidence, saying: “We are feeling really positive. We didn’t win both races, but the goal was to at least win a race today. We felt that Alinghi Red Bull Racing have more weaknesses than Luna Rossa, so a win was more achievable — it was good to win this match.
“Then against Luna Rossa we felt we were in contention and although we lost, we have come away from that race feeling like we definitely have the potential to win against the big ones — and we haven’t discovered the full potential of our boat yet.”
Maxime Bachelin, port helm on Alinghi Red Bull Racing remained upbeat despite the loss. “For sure it’s not the best start for the team,” he said, “we are always expecting to be winning races every day, every race, so not great to start with a loss. But I feel that we have a strong team so we will come back with more things to work on, if we lose it means that we need to learn some stuff, and so we will learn and be back stronger.”
King Felipe VI stayed onboard the hydrogen support vessel for what was billed as the blockbuster re-run of the America’s Cup Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta final between Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli — and it didn’t disappoint.
Early advantage went to the Italians but some brilliant lee-bow sailing out by the starboard boundary on the second upwind leg by helmsmen Peter Burling and Nathan Outteridge, took the Kiwis into a lead that they never lost.
The third race of the day prompted gasps at the start with NYYC American Magic falling off their foils before even having a chance to enter the pre-start box, and gifting INEOS Britannia a clear start.
Different headsails strategies were in evidence between the boats but the British were never headed despite the Americans closing the gap to just 14 seconds at the finish line. Close and dramatic, the race summed up the day.
Sir Ben Ainslie was pleased with the result, saying: “It was a nice win for the team to get one on the board early on. American Magic had a few issues at the start so we had a big old gap there and we didn’t feel like we sailed a particularly great race in terms of either defending the lead or finding the right balance and the groove in the boat, so we spent a bit of time after racing just trying figure that out, particularly on the manoeuvres which we know are so key in these conditions. I think it’s a positive result but plenty to work on.”
The final race of the day saw Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli take on the hard-driving Orient Express Racing Team who showed today the enormous potential that they have in their AC75.
Some smart match-racing tactics on the opening windward leg, and the ability to adopt a super-high mode off the start line, gave the Italians a slim advantage that they held to the end, but the French kept them more than honest over the six-leg course.
Back ashore, the mood dockside among the sailors was all about the bigger picture and getting points on the board. Three more days of racing are set and with a similar forecast, we could well continue to see upsets on the back of tight match-racing, multiple passing lanes and close finishes. And Emirates Team New Zealand’s sudden absence is yet another issue to consider. Interesting times, indeed.
