Some dreams have come true and some have been shattered at the Puig Women’s America’s Cup. What was billed today as the final showdown between the America’s Cup representative teams has only resulted in one race in light breeze, meaning the competition will continue tomorrow.
It has been a difficult day for the sailors and the race committee in Barcelona as the forecast for southerly thermal wind failed to materialize after the fleet set off early in the morning at 11:00 CET, hoping to race two fast races when the wind settled. However, the race committee’s wind measurements did not exceed the minimum of 7.5 knots, so at 11:45 it was decided to return the boats to port to await the afternoon breeze. However, almost immediately afterwards a new northeasterly breeze picked up and the boats were ordered to remain on the race course.
Once the wind target was reached, the racing began. From the start line, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and Emirates Team New Zealand looked imperious, with the Kiwis coming out stronger and taking the lead. Athena Pathway was late to the start, but executed a good plan to sail on the right side of the course and by the first windward gate, these three teams were in the lead.
Athena Pathway and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli opted for the left side of the downwind leg and fell behind, while Emirates Team New Zealand put pressure on the right side and built up a huge lead. At the leeward gate, the race committee had shortened both the length of the course and the number of legs to get to the second windward gate, and a Kiwi victory looked very likely.
However, sailing can sometimes be a cruel sport, and as the New Zealand crew passed through the leeward gate they fell off the foils and, despite the best efforts of the crew, never regained flight. Sailing in displacement and increasingly desperate, the New Zealand boat watched in frustration as first Athena Pathway and then Alinghi Red Bull Racing sped down the race course and through the leeward gate on the foils.
Although the fleet had to deal with a difficult swell, the Swiss were the ones who managed it best and first tacked to the right before taking the lead and staying on the foils almost all the way to the finish. They crossed the finish line more than three minutes ahead of Athena Pathway, which recovered from several falls and was able to hold off the powerful NYYC American Magic, which finished the race in third place, its first podium finish of the regatta.
After several hours of waiting for sufficient wind for a proper race, the last three races were suspended shortly after 16:00 CET and rescheduled for tomorrow morning from 10:00 CET.
Alinghi Red Bull Racing’s victory in the only race of the day saw them jump to third overall, ahead of Emirates Team New Zealand, who will regret not being able to score as many points as possible. The Kiwis were not the only team that Mother Nature played a dirty trick on. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli started the day four points ahead of Athena Pathway, but this afternoon they are level on points with the British crew.
Nathalie Brugger, skipper of Alinghi Red Bull Racing, was delighted but realistic about the Swiss team’s podium finish: “It’s great to be on the podium today, but we would be much happier if we could stay there tomorrow. The conditions were really tricky for everyone: a lot of wind and crashes everywhere.”
Asked how the Swiss sailors had managed to hold their nerve and stay on the foils for the win, Brugger confessed that she hadn’t fully realized they were winning until after the finish. “I thought we were in second or third, but we were actually in first. But in any case, we knew how important it was to stay on the foils and we made sure we only did the maneuvers when we had the speed for it, not necessarily where and when we wanted to do them. We were in a kind of ‘survival mode’ to stay in the air.”
Tash Bryant, port helmsman on Athena Pathway, said the British crew knew racing in today’s conditions was going to be tough: “We came into the race with a ‘sail at our own pace’ mentality and tried to make sure we didn’t cause any big disasters. In the end, we are happy with our performance.”
When asked about the decision to postpone the final three races of the qualifying series to tomorrow, Bryant said, “We want the racing to be fair, so we’re content to wait until tomorrow to see what tomorrow brings, because I think if we’d had more racing this afternoon it would have been a matter of luck. Hopefully there will be good wind tomorrow and we can have some good racing.”
Reflecting on the points tie with Italian crew Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, Bryant said it hasn’t changed anything in the British team’s game plan: “We want to get through this first round and then be in the top two teams to get to the match. So we’ll just take it one test at a time.”
Similarly, Margherita Porro, port helmsman of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, said that the tie at the top of the standings is also not a major factor for the Italian team. “It doesn’t change anything, because we are focused on improving every day.
Today the conditions were very tough for us, especially the waves, which made it not at all easy to sail the boat. Tomorrow we will go out on the water as usual, trying to do our best. Hopefully we can get a good night’s sleep tonight because Friday is going to be intense.”
Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Jo Aleh said the New Zealand crew are disappointed to miss out on the podium after building a big lead in today’s race, but are nonetheless happy to be in contention for a place in the semi-finals tomorrow.
“That’s the challenge. In these boats and with the state of the waves it’s very difficult to be consistent. The truth is that we were surprised how well we were doing on the first lap. Before the race we had found it very difficult to get the boat going smoothly. So we’ve taken a lot of confidence from this first round and we’re looking forward to tomorrow, we’re going for three more races”.
“There are 10 more points available for each race and with the weather here you never really know what’s going to happen, so anything is possible. We were worried about getting here and not having another chance, so we’re really happy to still have tomorrow.”
So there is still a lot to be decided in the final Puig Women’s America’s Cup qualifying series for the best athletes on the planet competing in the fantastic inaugural event.
No one knows what cards will be dealt tomorrow, but the pressure is already high and growing.
Read on to find out all about the Puig Woman’s America’s Cup in detail:
