The business end of the Louis Vuitton Cup began on Saturday (14 September) under bright sunshine on the stunning waters off Barcelona, with the first day of the Louis Vuitton Cup Semi-Finals seeing two utterly ruthless performances from the top two challenger teams to emerge from the initial round-robin series: INEOS Britannia and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.
On a shifting and tricky day, with a seven to 13-knot wind coming in across the Mediterranean from the south-south-west, it was time for the superstars of the sport to shine — and they did so with clinical execution.
With Sir Ben Ainslie’s selection of the Swiss Alinghi Red Bull Racing Team, tight racing was expected. But apart from some initial exchanges in the pair’s opening race, it was all one-way traffic in favour of the British.
Britannia looked to have the horsepower that the team were demanding early in the competition, both upwind and downwind, and in both races the British were able to stretch into enormous leads that were never challenged. Two race wins from two and INEOS Britannia are on a roll after a performance the likes of which haven’t been seen by a British boat in living memory in the America’s Cup.
Speaking afterwards, Dylan Fletcher, Olympic gold and silver medallist and port helm on INEOS Britannia, confirmed that confidence was building in the team, but remained measured about their performance.
“We’ve been working hard since the round robins, a massive effort from the shore team to get Britannia ready for the semis, and it feels like we’re building some good momentum,” Fletcher said. “It was a very tough day out there, with the breeze up and down, we weren’t really sure and it was difficult to know what jib to be on. So we are happy to get through it and I’m sure Alinghi Red Bull Racing are going to come out fighting even harder tomorrow.”
For Arnaud Psarofaghis, skipper of Alinghi Red Bull Racing, it was a very different set of emotions, with the young Swiss staying positive despite the heavy losses today.
“It was tough conditions. We made mistakes for sure, but we tried what we could to come back,” Psarofaghis said. “We took some wrong decisions in the first race when the right side was paying, and then in the second race just before the start we went into a lull in the breeze and then from there it was game over. INEOS did a really good job. We just need to stay focused, fight every day and you never know what can happen.”
In the other match-up, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli faced down the challenge of NYYC American Magic who have been on the back foot since the injury to their port helm Paul Goodison and some momentum-sapping performances at the end of the round-robin series.
The racing was tight, with the Americans taking control early in both matches through some brilliant sailing from Tom Slingsby, but then small manoeuvre errors just crept in when it mattered most. When behind, Luna Rossa’s helmsmen Jimmy Spithill and Francesco Bruni kept the races tight and the Italian team took their opportunities with both hands when they presented themselves. The final tally at the end of a thrilling opening day shows Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli at 2-0 in the standings.
Racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup Semi-Finals resumes Sunday (15 September) in Barcelona with two more races for each pairing. It could be a telling day on the water.
