In stunning and breezy Barcelona conditions, INEOS Britannia and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli went toe-to-toe throughout the first two races of the Louis Vuitton Cup Final and at the end of the day shared a race win apiece.
With a solid south-westerly ‘Garbi’ breeze that topped the upper wind limit of 21 knots more than once, it was survival sailing at times on Thursday (26 September) with the sailors opting for double-board round-ups at the leeward gates and minimising manoeuvres throughout the eight-leg races. With speeds in excess of 52 knots on the bear-aways at the windward mark, this was top-class match racing from two of the world’s finest America’s Cup teams.
The opening race saw Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli come out fast and slugging, with the encounter effectively decided at the start when a match-hardened Jimmy Spithill powered the Italian AC75 back to the starting line, clear ahead and to windward of the British boat, forcing INEOS Britannia into an early tack away shortly after the start.
From there it was a case of the rich getting richer — primarily down to some fine execution and near-perfect tactical race-craft by Spithill and co-helm Francesco Bruni, who established a lead in excess of 30 seconds before keeping a loose cover on the British who simply could not find any opportunity to get back into the contest. A 46-second winning delta was the final reward for the Italian crew.
After a couple of delays as the upper wind limit of 21 knots was breached — the first time this has happened in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup this summer — racing in Race 2 got under way with Sir Ben Ainslie and Dylan Fletcher turning the tables on the Italians, starting fast and smart, leading back to the start line to leeward and ahead.
From there, after an initial tack on the left-hand boundary, a bow-to-bow drag race back across to the right boundary eventually saw INEOS Britannia establish a lead that they never looked like surrendering over the rest of the race.
Luna Rossa managed to kept it close but the British were able to sail their own race, picking wind shifts supremely and showing some devastating deep downwind angles. The result was an 18-second victory to INEOS Britannia and a notable momentum shift for the British.
Jimmy Spithill, starboard helmsman of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, came ashore looking relaxed about the pressure, saying: “We’ve seen it all along, these are two very evenly matched teams, and we were expecting a tough series and today showed that both teams can win races.
“I thought the performances were pretty similar, they made a couple of errors manoeuvre-wise in that first race and we were able to step out. In the second race they sailed it very clean so performance-wise there not a whole lot in it but obviously we’ll be checking on that tonight.”
Talking about the competitive battle these two outstanding teams are locked-in, Spithill added: “These conditions were definitely up there with big waves, right on the limit on the breeze, so a mistake is, as always, just around the corner. In that first one they were hoping we would make a couple and then vice versa but that’s what you want, you want to be pushed, and you want a fight.”
Sir Ben Ainslie, skipper of INEOS Britannia, reflected on the performance profile of the two AC75s: “It’s hard to really read the performance I think when both boats got in front they did a nice job of controlling the race and it’s always a little bit hard for the boat behind in those situations.
“I honestly thought the performance was pretty even in both teams, both boats sailed a good race each and it’s going to be a good battle. Obviously we were frustrated about the first race, we had a look at getting a hook and didn’t get that on the start, and that put us in a bad spot and they had a nice race there. We made a few little mistakes in that first race, so it was really important to come back with a win in the second.”
Asked about the emotions in and around the team, Sir Ben said: “There’s a very good mood in the camp and we know we’re in a fight but that’s the way we want it to be. The team is doing a great job and the thing that’s hard when you’re watching is to understand how difficult these boats are to sail, we were totally red lining it all day, the foils were cavitating, literally every foil, and trying to manage the boat in those circumstances it seriously takes every ounce of focus and concentration and fitness from the cyclors to get the power down, so full team effort on a day like today, but it was great fun.”
With the series tied after the opening day’s two-race action, the schedule sees the teams return to duty on Saturday (28 September) when lighter conditions are forecast. This series could go right to the wire and this weekend’s four-race schedule will be unmissable.
