Puffs and Popcorn Make for Exciting America’s Cup Racing

A day after some of the better sailing conditions off Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, which saw fantastic racing by the Unicredit Youth America’s Cup teams, the “grownups” got their turn today in a similar, but bizarre Mediterranean lumpy and shifty sea state, which ultimately saw Alinghi Red Bull eliminated, and American Magic survive for another day.

It was a dark and stormy race, not rum, but with puffs large and small on a “popcorn” course with winds largely out of the south and east, conditions that have produced exciting racing to date.

In a series that has been back and forth, multiple lead changes between the Italians and the Americans today was no different, until Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli dramatically snapped their mainsheet traveler (luckily not their mast) in the second race of the day as the Americans picked up their third win of the Semi-Finals.

Unfortunately, it was different for the Swiss as they ran out of luck and Red Bull, losing out to INEOS Britannia 5-2. They’re now eliminated from further contention, with the British being the first to reach the Louis Vuitton Cup final, which begins next week.

In the first race of the day between two heavyweights, American Magic recovered from a slow jibe and headed high before bearing away down the line, getting over the bow of the Italians, and starting in a brilliant position to leeward and ahead, but Luna Rossa tacked away and found pressure first.

It seemed like disaster when Patriot 2.0 fell off their foils and the Italians started sailing away, but on this day of wind and holes American Magic recovered to amazingly retake the lead as the Race Committee shortened the race to four legs.

At the final windward mark it was neck and neck, but Magic came in on starboard, forcing Luna Rossa off the layline and sending ugly wing wash across their bow, stopping them in their tracks. As Luna Rossa rounded the gate and headed off toward the boundary, they fell off their foils on the tack, sitting like a duck as American Magic sailed on, in and out of displacement mode, to capture a critical win and leaving the Italians DSQ as they sailed off the course looking for enough breeze to pop back up onto their foils.

In Race 2 of the day and seven in the series, the wind was still marginal but above the mandated minimum of 6.5 knots. As the boats entered into a mating dance in the start box, it was perfection again from Tom Slingsby, Patriot 2.0’s co-helmsman as he nailed the port end and forced Luna Rossa to tack away.

At the first cross, Magic was clear ahead, but it was tight, and the Americans liked the right side of the course. As they came together at the top gate, Patriot 2.0 was just seven seconds ahead. Magic looked to be struggling with pitch control in the lumpy conditions but still maintained a slight lead as the Italians found the pressure first to regain the lead and seemingly control. But as the boats came together again, with Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli crossing ahead, disaster struck the Italians when a loud crack could be heard almost across the globe to Pensacola. Drama ensued as a component failure on the twin-mainsail traveler system failed and the Italians were stopped dead in their tracks. They cleverly stayed in the race in case the Americans could not complete the course. Which they did, capturing one more critical point on the race, bringing them to 5! They are now down just 1 point: 3-4.

“It was definitely not the day we expected, but that’s sport,” Max Sirena, team director of LRPP said. “In the second race, it was neck-to-neck, with many close crosses and lead changes. Then, in the second downwind leg, when we were ahead, we incurred damage to part of the mainsail control system, which prevented us from finishing the race.

“Now we’ll assess everything to be ready for tomorrow’s race,” said Sirena. “Nothing has changed; these boats are pushed to the limit, and unfortunately something like this can happen. Our morale is still high, we’re sailing well, we’re fast, and tomorrow we’ll go out to bring the point home.”

NYYC American Magic helmsman Tom Slingsby was measured in his response to the Italian breakdown. “It’s not the way you want to win those races. And our thoughts are with Luna Rossa. We’ve had gear failure as well, and it’s not nice. It’s not a nice way to lose. But hats off to our guys as well. We get the pressure on, and the guys are sailing well. Luck went our way this time, and there is still plenty of work to do. We can still improve. Luna Rossa is still an unbelievable team, and we’ve got to remember that heading into tomorrow’s races.”

The racing between the Italians and the Americans hasn’t been filled with this much drama since the 2000 Louis Vuitton Cup finals, with Paul Cayard and the St. Francis Yacht Club’s America One taking Luna Rossa to the full nine races before falling.

American Magic is still hoping for a repeat of Oracle Racing’s miracle comeback from 2013, which their co-helmsman Slingsby was a part of. Though, so was Jimmy Spithill!

Stay tuned tomorrow, because it ain’t over yet!