23.06.2005
Good luck and bad luck - that’s yacht racing
A good one and a bad one. That’s the story for Emirates Team New Zealand of the first day of fleet racing in Act 5 of the America’s Cup pre-regattas.
First in race 1, 9th in race two.
If anyone thought racing in a fleet of America’s Cup yachts in a light breeze was going to be easy, events in Valencia today should convince them otherwise.
Mascalzone Latino, last in race one, won race two successfully threading their way through a minefield created by a light and fickle wind.
NZL 82 sensationally won the first race in the last 300-400 metres but in race two the crew could not recover from poor start and finished ninth.
Regatta heavyweights BMW Oracle and Alinghi also had an indifferent day. Oracle had two fifths and Alinghi a third and a seventh.
For ETNZ, a good start in race one converted to a second placing behind Luna Rossa for most of the race and then towards the end of the second run, in spite of tearing a spinnaker, took the lead and won.
Grant Dalton said that today’s racing demonstrated again that on any given day any yacht in the fleet can win. “Today we saw some of the less fancied teams like Mascalzone Latino and +39 for example, come through the fleet to win. That shows just how close the boats are in performance terms and that’s really good for the competition and public interest.
“It also shows that no one can take anything for granted in Valencia. To win you have to be on top of your game at every start – and have a little luck as well. Today the team didn’t do so badly – the breeze won the day.”
Skipper Dean Barker while happy with the win in the first race was less than happy with the performance in race two.
In race one we sailed well. We hung on to Luna Rossa but it looked like they had the race sewn up. Then they made a couple of bad decisions on the last run and suddenly it was game on.
It was one of those times when we have to make many split second decisions and our’s were the right ones. We should not have ripped two spinnakers but I think we earned the win by being right up there and taking the opportunity when it was presented,
In race two we had an average start and then didn’t sail very well at all. Everything we did just wasn’t right. We missed some shifts on the first beat and it was impossible to recover.
Today’s results
Race 1
Emirates Team New Zealand 12pts
Luna Rossa challenge 11
Alinghi 10
Victory Challenge 9
BMW Oracle 8
United Internet Germany 7
K Challenge 6
Desafio Espanol 5
Team shosholoza 4
+39 Challenge 3
China Team 2
Mascalzone Latino 1
Race 2
Mascalzone Latino 12pts
Victory Challenge 11
+39 Challenge 10
K Challenge 9
BMW Oracle 8
Luna Rossa 7
Alinghi 6
Desafio Espanol 5
Emirates Team New Zealand 4
Shosholoza 3
United Internet Germany 2
China Team 1
Overall standings
Victory Challenge 1
Luna Rossa 2
ETNZ 3
Alinghi 4
BMW Oracle 5
K Challenge 6
Mascalzone Latino 7
+ 39 8
Desafio Espanol 9
United Internet Germany 10
Shosholoza 11
China Team 12
America’s Cup fleet racing not for the faint-hearted
If the Act 4 match racing regattas was a learning experience for Emirates Team New Zealand, the five fleet races of Act 5 will be a little on the nerve-wracking side.
“Especially the starts,” says Grant Dalton. “Twelve 85ft yachts jostling for position at the start will be a great for the spectators but a nervous time for the crews. A collision before the start or rounding a mark is always a distinct possibility.
“That’s very much top of mind,” Grant Dalton said. “We are running out of boats and I don’t think flying another one to Europe would be an option.
But, Dalton says, the team is looking forward to the fleet races. We really enjoy being part of such a great spectacle.
Does that mean Dean Barker and the crew on NZL 82 won’t be mixing it before the start? “We go out to win and we’ll work for the best possible start – but we won’t go looking for trouble,” Dalton said.
“The team is performing particularly well in Valencia. We have lifted the game in every respect. At Marseille and Valencia last year they had never sailed together as a crew. They were discovering each other they performed beyond expectations. Now they’re a unit and show the benefit of five months of solid testing in Auckland.
Dalton said the team had learned a lot while competing in the Valencia match races. We can now clearly see the gaps and we will work doubly hard to bridge them. Last year we were concentrating on the big picture, Now we have the luxury of being able to look at the detail.
He said none of the races had been easy. I don’t subscribe to the theory that there is a big gap between the top four syndicates and the rest of the fleet. We had very tough races against Spain, Sweden and K Challenge.
The teams further down the rankings have only been going a short time.so there’s no surprises there. Give them time. We were weak this time last year,
Dalton said Valencia is shaping as a good venue for the cup. The facilities are coming on stream, bases are being built and the breeze arrives on schedule every day.
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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