Splashy conditions on the Waitemata. Image copyright Chris Cameron/Emirates Team New Zealand.
by Warren Douglas
The first day of the second round robin saw the two unbeaten teams of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series have their first losses, upsetting the form guide and setting the stage for four more days of great racing.
Alinghi beat TEAMORIGIN and Damiani Italia beat Emirates Team New Zealand.
The big interest today was in the first race – Alinghi v TEAMORIGIN. With former Emirates Team New Zealand backup helmsman Ben Ainslie at the helm, TEAMORIGIN beat Alinghi in the first round robin.
Today TEAMORIGIN won the start and managed a narrow lead around the track until halfway down the second run. Alinghi stayed close to windward and grabbed the chance when it was offered, sailing over Origin and taking a 15 sec win.
Emirates Team New Zealand had its first loss of the regatta.
Grant Dalton: “We didn’t expect to go through the regatta without a loss. There’s some class opposition here and they’ll take every chance offered.
“Once Damiani got the lead, they worked really hard to keep it. We attacked and attacked again but they were very cool under pressure. They didn’t waver and they didn’t give us a chance to pass. These short courses can be really brutal if you’re trying to come from behind.
“We are not happy at the loss, but we’re delighted for the event. We wanted good, tough racing right to the end and today’s results put some more spark into the competition. Now, every team has something to prove.”
The start was relatively even; both yachts on starboard tack with the Italians to windward with a slight advantage in the right. Damiani crossed ahead and ETNZ continued to the right, but the lift was in the left and the Italians used the advantage they gained to control the rest of the beat.
Damiani rounded 11 sec ahead and were able to extend to 20 sec at the next mark. The second beat was a repeat of the first with Damiani rounding 24 sec ahead. At the finish the margin was 19 sec.
Skipper Dean Barker said Damiani deserved their win. “We let them off the hook before the start and they took advantage of it. They worked hard to shut us down and ensure there were no passing lanes.
“We never thought we were going to get right through unscathed. Everyone here is a top-level sailor. We made a couple of mistakes and they didn’t let us recover.”
Tactician Ray Davies said: “Make a mistake and all the teams are good enough to control the race to the finish... we tried to keep the race close as we could, and the Italians did well to defend their lead
“We like to win every race but that’s impossible out here.”
Today’s results
Alinghi beat TEAMORIGIN by 15 sec
Pataugas K-Challenge beat Greek Challenge by 26 sec
Damiani Italia Challenge beat Emirates Team New Zealand by 19 sec
China Team beat Team Shosholoza by 55 sec
BMW ORACLE Racing beat Luna Rossa 59 sec
Tomorrow’s draw
Alinghi v Damiani Italia Team
Team Shosholoza v Pataugas K-Challenge
TEAMORIGIN v BMW ORACLE Racing
Greek Challenge v China Team
Emirates Team New Zealand v Luna Rossa
First race is timed to start at 11am.
Emirates Team New Zealand
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