We worked hard to make up the deficit and on occasions pulled back a lot of distance but it just wasn’t our day.
“Today was a reality check. We came here to measure our progress against the opposition since the regattas in September last year. We know we have a way to go.
“We didn’t go out on the water today just to eat our lunch. Nor when we lost the start did we sit back and wait for a miracle to happen. We went out to win and we worked to make it happen.
“If there was something to learn from today it was that if, on these short courses you let a class act get in front of you, there’s little chance of getting back into the race. But we knew that already.”
On the course today the breeze was a steady 17 knots, in contrast to the maximum of 12 knots experienced on previous days.
Deltas at the marks today were all in Alinghi’s favour – 31 seconds at mark 1, 25 seconds at the second mark, 29 at the third and 36 seconds at the finish.
In the second race of the day against the South African Shosholoza, NZL 82 won by 4 minutes.
Tomorrow is another big day for the team. When they face BMW Oracle in their last match of the regatta.
Results today:
Race 7
SUI 75 beat NZL 82 by 36 sec
ESP 67 beat ITA 59 by 51 sec
SWE 63 beat ITA 77 by 2 min 21 sec
ITA 74 beat RSA 83 by 1 min 39 sec
USA 76 beat FRA 60 by 1 min 32 sec
GER 72 beat CHN 69 by 44 sec
Race 8
NZL 82 beat RSA 83 by 4 min
SWE 63 beat Luna Rossa by 35 sec
USA 76 beat ITA 74 56 sec
SUI 75 beat FRA 60 by 1 min 22 sec
CHN 69 did not start. Race to ITA 77.
ITA 59 did not start. Race to GER 72.
Points after 10 races:
10: Alinghi
9: Emirates Team New Zealand, BMW Oracle
8: Luna Rossa
6: Defasio Espanol
5: Victory Challenge
3: +39, Mascalzone Latino, United Internet Germany, K Challenge
1: China Team
0: Shosholoza
Quotes from today:
Dean Barker:
We didn’t get the start we wanted….. our plan was to get started and Alinghi had the advantage and that was that. Then we gave them five or six boat lengths when we swapped sides near the end of the first beat.
Our aim was always to keep the race close. It was obviously Alinghi’s aim too.
We gained some distance on the first down-wind leg and then they opened up again asnd they gave us no real opoortunites.
We were pleased with the crew work and they way we sailed. It was a good race, but the outcome didn’t give us any joy.
Tactician Terry Hutchinson
We wanted starboard at the start because we knew whoever got starboard would win the race. And that’s what happened. We had good control of the pre-start until about 1min30 before the gun – then SUI 75 got the upper hand and. That was it.
We made some gains and losses throughout the race. I can’t say enough for the crew. They worked and worked. Crew work was really excellent. The boat may have been slightly off the pace, but that’s not why we lost.
Syndicate sail numbers:
Emirates Team New Zealand – NZL 82
BMW Oracle – USA 76
Team Alinghi – SUI 75
Luna Rossa – ITA 74
K Challenge – FRA 60
Mascalzone Latino – ITA 77
+39 Challenge – ITA 59
United Internet Team Germany – GER 72
China Team – CHN 69
Victory Challenge SWE 63
Team Shosholoza – RSA 8
Desafio Espanol – ESP 63
Contacts: Warren Douglas Miriam Torres
+34 600 940 652 +34 647 822 265
Warren.douglas@emiratesteamnz.com miriamtb@yahoo.com www.emiratesteamnz.com
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