America’s Cup: break, disqualification and superspeed in the giant duel

Instead of the predicted 12-17 knots, sailors today were faced with wind speeds at and above the upper wind limit of 21 knots. Race Committee member Melanie Roberts had to postpone the third race in the Louis Vuitton Cup final more than a dozen times until her famous lines appeared for the first time at 2:49 p.m. “This is the race committee. We have now reached the wind limit and this race is live!”

While thousands of fans on the beach, on the water and at home in front of their screens were waiting with excitement for this high-speed duel, one of the protagonists was not ready at all at that point. Shortly before, a batten in Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli’s mainsail had broken and drilled through the membrane. The Italians had no choice but to change the sail. They received support from their team on the chase boat. “It was a difficult decision, but it had to be made,” said helmsman Jimmy Spithill.

When the Brits pulled into the starting box around two minutes before the start, chief referee Richard Slater disqualified “Luna Rossa” for outside assistance and awarded victory to Ben Ainslie’s team. While his team Yesterday I failed because of the time limitIt was actually 2-1 in the duel for the place in the America’s Cup match against defenders Emirates Team New Zealand.

While Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli switched to a larger mainsail, the wind remained above the limit again. In order for a race to start, it must be consistently above 6.5 and below 21 knots at several points on the Cup course between nine and four minutes before the start. If the limit values ​​are exceeded or exceeded at even one measuring point, the clock is reset to the initial nine minutes and the procedure begins again.

In this case it should take over an hour until the next start. Ineos Britannia entered the start box on time at almost 48 knots from the starboard side and immediately set off in pursuit of “Luna Rossa”. Around 40 seconds before the start, when the British pushed the Italians away from the starting line to windward again, they made a risky match race move that subsequently caused a lot of discussion.

The Italians tried to jibe in front of the British bow with both boats traveling at speeds of almost 40 knots. Not only did it look extremely close, but it also looked like the two boats were overlapping. “Britannia” also had to jibe to get out of the way and was stopped roughly. Ben Ainslie was heard shouting “Jesus Christ”, followed a few seconds later by his team’s protest. “In my opinion the scene was very, very close and from our point of view it was a penalty,” said Ainslie.

However, the referees decided otherwise and allowed the action to continue without intervention. “They had a different opinion, but that’s how it is in sailing – and the only thing that applies in sailing is that the referees are always right.” They still wanted to discuss this decision with the jury in order to understand it better, explained the four-time Olympic champion. Coach and seven-time Matchtrace World Champion Ian Williams was also “not very happy about the decision”.

As a result, the British still maintained a strong position approaching the starting line. But the Italians managed to gain a slight advantage, enough to force the British to turn back early. What followed was the most adrenaline-pumping race to date in the entire 37th America’s Cup cycle. Absurd speeds, tight situations with numerous protests and tactical finesse were required. Although Ineos Britannia always remained in the attacking position, the first two rounds were unthinkably close.

Despite the fact that a short time later the deficit increased to over 400 meters due to a weak leeward buoy maneuver, the British Cup hunters did not give up and came dangerously close to the red moon again in the fourth and final lap. She reached the last windward gate six seconds after the leaders and went into full attack on the downwind. Through clever covering and strong maneuvers, two seconds were gained, but it was no longer enough to win. “We love this kind of racing. “It’s just great for the team to be under this pressure and this burden,” said helmsman Jimmy Spithill, commenting on the equalizer.

Ben Ainslie was also forgiving at the end of the nerve-wracking day of racing: “In the end it was a great day and I’m grateful that we had this incredible race.” They also broke their own speed record in a test run and reached top speed in the race However, from “Luna Rossa”: 55.2 knots! “These boats are amazing,” Ainslie said. Although the wind was stronger at times today than last year The final begins on Thursday it was a little easier. “The sea state is what makes it really difficult with these boats.”

Not only felt, but also on paper, the teams hardly gave each other anything today. At 41.4 knots, the average speed of the British was 0.1 knots faster than the victorious Italians. However, with slightly better VMG values ​​(velocity made good; windward or leeward speed), these cover around 240 meters less. The number of maneuvers was balanced at 24.

After four completed races in the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup, there is no clear favorite. The only thing that is certain so far is that the winning team will face the defenders from Emirates Team New Zealand in the 37th America’s Cup match. Today they completed another training session in front of Barcelona. Alinghi Red Bull Racing was also on the water for unknown testing purposes, but had to stop early. For reasons that are still unclear, the Swiss AC75 capsized. No crew member was injured and “BoatOne” was able to be assembled and brought back to base a short time later.

Instead of an initially planned day off, two more duels between Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and Ineos Britannia are planned for tomorrow. The forecast promises 12 to 18 knots of wind, with the first takeoff scheduled for 2:10 p.m. Click here for the live broadcast on YouTube.