Match between Emirates Team New Zealand and Artemis. Image copyright Frank Socha.
by Warren Douglas
Emirates Team New Zealand led from start to finish of its match with Swedish team Artemis to win its fifth race in succession in the Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta at Nice, France. The winning margin was 23 seconds.
ETNZ controlled the pre-start forcing Artemis to tack away at the line. With an advantage of between 25 to 40 metres, Dean Barker was able to control the beat, tacking on Artemis’ bow, forcing the Swedish team to the right-hand layline.
ETNZ led round the first mark with a margin of 15sec, and extended on the first downwind leg, rounding 27 sec ahead. ETNZ extended further on the second beat with Artemis rounding 43 sec adrift.
The race finished in a softening breeze and following matches were delayed until the sea breeze filled in.
Tactician Ray Davies: “A win over Artemis was a good way to start the day – they’re one of the tough teams at Nice.
“Dean did a really good job in the pre-start and we got a small lead and we covered really hard on both beats and the runs.
“We gained 12 sec on the first run; the wind shifted for the second beat and the upwind mark was moved 10deg. We covered hard and towards the top we could see better pressure on the left and extended some more.
“However, it was close all the way. We expected to work hard for a win against an as powerful as Artemis.”
Emirates Team New Zealand
Louis Vuitton Trophy
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