America’s Cup Magazine

Editor July 3rd, 2007

Well, after so long, it’s all over. Alinghi won a race which would normally be considered crazy, but in the context of the series seemed strangely appropriate.

Emirates Team New Zealand won the start and chose the left, but couldn’t get far enough ahead of Alinghi to round in front. They passed Alinghi downwind and held them off until a dramatic manoeuvre near the end of the beat cost them the race. ETNZ were about a length ahead but must have thought they didn’t have space to tack in front of Alinghi.

Just as Brad Butterworth had predicted, ETNZ angled down to go behind Alinghi, but Alinghi was already aiming for their stern, and there was no room. Alinghi had to avoid ETNZ and ETNZ were given a penalty. Game over. Or so everyone thought.

Coming down the final run the commentators suddenly realised that there was no wind at the finish and it was coming from a crazy direction. The kiwis were the first to realise this and got a gennaker up early. Without the penalty they would have crossed the line twenty seconds ahead of Alinghi, and New Zealand held their breaths as they attempted it.

“They’re going to do it, they’re going to do it” were the cries across New Zealand. But they didn’t. Alinghi won by just one second.

Here’s what they teams had to say:

ETNZ (Grant Dalton)

All credit to Alinghi. They kept it close when we got past them on the first run they just kept on sailing the way they do and beat us fair and square in the end.

It don’t think the margin today really matters. They still won it.

The guys have done an amazing job. It’s been a long four years. Of course I’m enormously proud.

We enjoyed winning the Louis Vuitton but we always knew it was only a step along the road to the ultimate prize of the America’s Cup. We didn’t come here to just take part. We came here to win it. We haven’t done that, so we’re just going to have to re-group and have a look at what the future holds.

We’ve been focussed on the now. We’ll need a bit of time to look at what happens next.

Our sponsors, suppliers and the New Zealand fans have been absolutely marvellous. They’ve been so supportive both here and in New Zealand.

Alinghi (Brad Butterworth)

“This is a fantastic day for Alinghi, to win the America’s Cup again after four years of hard work! The crew, the designers and the shore team have done an incredible job throughout the series, we have fought hard against a strong challenger and have won. We’ll be celebrating tonight!”

A note on updates. I’m going to take a few weeks off to try and get over this cup before thinking and writing about the next one, so visit us soon for all the latest news on the 33rd America’s Cup.

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Editor June 29th, 2007

With wind up to between 12 and 15 knots, everyone was expecting some different racing today.  They certainly got it.  Emirates Team New Zealand who had exhibited almost flawless teamwork and reliability through the Louis Vuitton Cup made a mistake when putting up the Spinnaker at the top mark for the first time.  This tore a tiny hole in the sail which soon caused the sail to burst.  This was followed by a complete mess on board ETNZ as they tried to get the torn sail down and the new one up and filled.

Before long, their 40m lead had turned into a 160m defecit.  The race was essentially over.

ETNZ will again be pleased to disprove the comments they hear every day that Alinghi has a massive speed edge.  But there are many ways to win a boat race and Alinghi only needs to find another two.

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Editor June 28th, 2007

Sourced from americascup.com

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Editor June 27th, 2007

Yesterday there was disapointment from New Zealand fans and many a smug smile from Alinghi fans as Alinghi evened the score in the America’s Cup at 2-2.

Emirates Team New Zealand never really looked like they were challenging Alinghi.  Right from the start when ETNZ was late off the line after fighting to claim the left, it just didn’t look like their day.

Alinghi ended up crossing the line 30 seconds ahead of ETNZ.  However the real drama came after the racing when ETNZ decided to lodge a protest against Alinghi’s tactics.  It’s not completely clear what the protest is concerning, but here’s what the web has to say:

guardian.co.uk -  …on a protest against Alinghi by Team New Zealand over the Swiss syndicate’s boat rig…They [Alinghi] later faced a protest from the Kiwis over the way its mainsail is attached when it is hoisted up the mast.

nzherald.co.nz -  Yachting commentator Rod Slater told Newstalk ZB: “my gut feeling is that it will be a non-event, that the points will stay as they are.” Fellow commentator Peter Lester told nzherald.co.nz: “I don’t think there will be a change, I think Alinghi are going to survive this protest.”

The incident occurred at the end of the race when race director Peter Reggio called on both boats to demonstrate they could lower their mainsails correctly - after which an Alinghi crewman climbed the mast.

Alinghi’s explanation was: “with the big waves we asked the guy whether we could put the halyard on loosely so the whole thing didn’t fall down and break battens and damage stuff when you actually do release it. So we tripped it off and that was that.”

So, we’ll wait and see what comes of the protest.  It wouldn’t seem to be overly serious, but it wouldn’t be the America’s Cup without some protests.

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Editor June 26th, 2007

Sourced from emiratesteamnz.com

Drama in race three of the America’s Cup today when NZL 92 snatched a thrilling win as they closed on the finish line.
It was a race in which significant lead changes occurred three times and had the many thousands of spectators afloat and on shore absolutely enthralled.

Emirates Team New Zealand has now won two races to Alinghi’s one. Race four will be held tomorrow.

Today’s breeze was light and the sea lumpy from a swell left from an overnight storm. The race always promised to be difficult, tricky and tense. And it was as the wind shifts and small differences in pressure called the shots.

The pressure on both afterguards was immense as they battled with the patchy breeze.

Grant Dalton: “The afterguard and weather team was superb. The weather call on the first beat set us up for a win if we sailed well, covered and kept our cool.

“But as so often happens in these conditions nothing is ever that simple. The trouble we had at the leeward mark let them back into the race and we paid the price.

“On the second run Alinghi allowed a wide separation and we got a shift and a little more pressure and we were back in the race. It was a stressful day.”

It was also an action - packed day:

• NZL 92 wanted the right in the pre-start and was prepared to pay for it, crossing the start line 8 seconds after Alinghi. SUI 100 took an early lead of two boat lengths.

• NZL 92 held on in the right and picked up the anticipated right-hand shift, eroding SUI 92’s lead and then getting in front, quickly building a comfortable lead as the shift continued to pay.

• At the top mark NZL 92 had a margin of 1min 23sec.

• Downwind, SUI 100, picked up some more pressure from the left and cut into NZL 92’s lead. Then NZL 92 got into the same breeze and extended to more than 300 metres, staying in phase with SUI 100 when they gybed.

• At the leeward gate, the wind shifted as NZL 92 approached and they switch from the left gate to the right. Then a further shift meant the right gate was not an option ….. Bowman Richard Mecham went into the water briefly but got himself back on board and as the spinnaker was dropped, the sail became entangled with the clew of the jib.

• NZL 92 rounded the mark 1min 2sec ahead of SUI 92.

• SUI 100 closed the gap as NZL 92 sorted out the problem with the spinnaker. As the second beat progressed SUI 100 was able to close in and take the lead. NZL 92 fought back and regained the lead but SUI 100 was able to snatch the lead and round the mark 15 seconds ahead.

• Downwind a separation of close to 1300 metres developed and NZL 92 went left then right and retook the lead again in the right, opening a 40 metre gap only to lose it when the breeze went left. The advantage line swapped several times, first to NZL 92 And then to SUI 100.

• As the yachts charged to the finish, NZL 92 again took the lead and crossed 25 seconds ahead.
Quotes from today: Navigator Kevin Hall:

“I tell you my heart rate would be doing about 180 right now but it’s nice to be towing in and looking at them back there instead of in front of us like they were in the second beat.

“We said half way up the first beat it could be a tough race.

“We chose the left gate down on the bottom for pressure on the right on the beat and we ended up a little thin on the lay line and lifted so we decided to switch to the right gate and start left, which would have been fine. But just as we were about to commit to the right gate we got a shift and the right gate ceased to be an option, and we had to scramble to get around the left gate. It wasn’t as pretty as we would have hoped but it wasn’t so bad that we couldn’t stay in the race and get the job done later.”

Final run.

“It was a shifty run with lanes of pressure and often just staying on the long side is a safe bet and that’s what they chose. We flicked over the inshore side of them and towards the end of the run we saw some good pressure and a pretty big shift for the separation that we ended up with.

“It probably hasn’t happened very often that you see three passes in an America’s Cup race. It’s a testament to the strength of both teams.”

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Editor June 26th, 2007

Sourced from nzherald.co.nz

Former Team New Zealand and now Oracle grinder Craig Monk believes cracks are starting to appear in Swiss defender Alinghi at yachting’s America’s Cup, and it is the position of Brad Butterworth on Alinghi that may be working against them.

Monk says Butterworth is calling the shots on the defender as the skipper, and helmsman Ed Baird does not look comfortable.

Monk believes everyone on board is looking to Butterworth for guidance, including the out-of-depth Baird, who is looking uncomfortable in the start box and is not flowing as a helmsman should.

Monk also believes the personality of Brad Butterworth may be working against Alinghi and there was no better example of that than yesterday when Butterworth went off at the spectator craft who, he believed, were so close that they were affecting the conditions on the race course.

Monk says if Butterworth is upset, the other crew members lose confidence and start to doubt themselves.

Today is a lay day off Valencia but NZL92’s 28 second win in race two has certainly lifted the excitement level.

Race three of the America’s Cup is tomorrow.

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