11 September 2011
ACWS Portugal - Wing damage sees Artemis Racing retire while in the lead
The racing conditions were intense at the ACWS – Plymouth Preliminaries
today, as thousands of spectators gathered on the Hoe. Winds from 25-30
knots out of the Southwest, with gusts up to 40 knots, led to some carnage
in the fleet including three capsizes.
Artemis Racing was straight out of the starting blocks and the only team to
deploy their gennaker at the first reaching mark. Sailing consistently from
that point on enabled the team to round the headland and build a confident
lead over the rest of the fleet which they indextained until leg 5.
However, one slow tack at the course boundary, followed by another tack in
between ETNZ and ORACLE Racing Spithill, saw the team’s hopes of a first
place finish vanish. Upon completing the second tack, Artemis Racing made
contact with Emirates Team New Zealand as the bowsprit touched the transom
of the Kiwi boat. This meant a penalty for the Swedish team, which was
compounded by damage to the wing when the runner hit the trailing edge as
the team bore away. Skipper Terry Hutchinson made the call to retire from
racing and the shore team has been working steadily to repair the wing
since.
Commenting on his first day of racing on the AC45, Tactician Iain Percy
(GBR) said; “It was very fun – especially the speed and the boat handling.
It was very windy today, but it was all still fair racing. I think everyone
has a scary moment. Unfortunately, we made some mistakes that cost us the
race.”
“I have always also liked the fact that in sailing there is a point that the
harder you work the faster you go. I think that is a really important part
of it. Push yourself to the absolute max and the boat is going to go
faster,” added the three time Olympian.
Tomorrow morning the team will join in a local beach clean up, then racing
continues on Wednesday.
_ACWS Plymouth Open Results_
_1._Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) – 37 points
_2._ORACLE Racing Spithill/James Spithill (USA) – 36
_3._Artemis Racing (SWE) – 29
_4._ORACLE Racing Coutts/Russell Coutts (USA) – 26
_5._China Team (CHN) – 22
_6._Aleph (FRA) – 20
_7._Energy Team (FRA) – 19
_8._Team Korea (KOR) – 17
_9._Green Comm (ESP) – 13
© Sander van der Borch/Artemis Racing
_Artemis Racing Crew List_
Terry Hutchinson (USA) – Skipper, Iain Percy (GBR) – Tactician, Sean
Clarkson (NZL) – Wing trim, Morgan Trubovich (NZL) – Trim, Andy Fethers
(AUS) - Bow
_Artemis Racing_
Artemis Racing is the Challenger of Record for the 34^th America’s Cup.
Artemis Racing competes in the America’s Cup World Series, Extreme Sailing
Series, RC44 Championship Tour and Vulcain Trophy. Artemis Racing represents
the Royal Swedish Yacht Club (KSSS).
Follow Artemis Racing_
_W_ [1]www.artemisracing.com
_F_ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Artemis-Racing/167319026086?ref=ts
_T_ www.twitter.com/artemisracing
_Y_ [2]www.youtube.com/artemisteam
|
