Looking for wind: Strategist Adam Beashal up the rig on Emirates Team New Zealand. Image copyright Chris Cameron/Emirates Team New Zealand.
by Warren Douglas
Day 5 of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series and the end of the first round robin brought one huge upset – Shosholoza beat Alinghi - and another win for Emirates Team New Zealand.
Grant Dalton says Alinghi was just plain unlucky. “It was one of those days that if you got on the wrong side of a windshift you were really on the wrong side. I don’t read anything at all into that particular result. We wouldn’t even debrief that one... it could happen to anyone. I have watched Alinghi going round the track and they are sharp.”
The breeze today was a north-east 12 to 16 knots.
Up against Pataugas K-Challenge, Dean Barker won the start and then he and the crew patiently went about the business of putting together a performance that would ensure an unbeaten record in the first round robin.
Barker and the afterguard (tactician Ray Davies, strategist Adam Beashel and navigator Kevin Hall) took no risks and closed down the options for K-Challenge establishing a comfortable lead on the first run (after a closely fought first beat) and extending to the finish.
Crew work was faultless throughout, the team demonstrating that any rustiness remaining from an 18-month enforced layoff from racing together in the big boats, was well and truly gone.
The margins tell the story: first mark ETNZ by 21sec, second mark 34sec and extending to 1m38sec at the finish.
Tactician Ray Davies said: “Dean did a very good job on the pre-start and we had full control, but with both boats on the port tack on the first beat the French were doing very well to leeward and gaining. We managed to get another little leftie and got strong again with a good lee bow tack.
“At the top mark we managed to squeeze them out and control them. After making more gains and leading by 30 or 40 sec we were able to sail our own race.”
Grant Dalton said he was happy the team finished the first round robin unbeaten “but there’s still a lot of racing in this particular regatta.”
Emirates Team New Zealand finished the round robin top of Pool A with four points, followed by BMW Oracle 3, Damiani Italia Challenge 2, Pataugas K-Challenge 1, China Team 0.
In Pool B, Team Origin finished on 4 points, followed by Alinghi 2, Luna Rossa 2, Team Shosholoza 1, Greek Challenge 0.
For the second round robin the fleet is again divided into two - a “gold fleet” comprising ETNZ, Origin, Damiani Italia, Alinghi, BMW Oracle and Luna Rossa and a silver fleet of Shosholoza, Greek Challenge, K-Challenge and China Team.
Today’s results
BMW Oracle Racing beat Damiani Italia Challenge 55s
Shosholoza beat Alinghi 3m 49s
Emirates Team New Zealand beat Pataugas K-Challenge 1m 38s
Team Origin beat Greek Challenge by 58s
No racing Wednesday – it’s a lay day
Emirates Team New Zealand
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