TeamOrigin leads Emirates Team New Zealand downwind. Image copyright Ian Roman/TeamOrigin.
Tacking duel for Emirates Team New Zealand and TeamOrigin. Image copyright Bob Grieser/OutsideImages.co.nz
by Chloe Daycard
One match remains to complete the round and it has significant implications for the standings.
Emirates Team New Zealand won the first round robin at the Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice Côte d’Azur despite losing the anticipated showdown match against England’s TEAMORIGIN.
Emirates Team New Zealand keeps it close with TeamOrigin. Image copyright Bob Grieser/OutsideImages.co.nz
TeamOrigin, with founder and CEO Sir Keith Mills riding as 18th man, won the thrilling race by 32 seconds. That gave the British team an opportunity to win the round robin outright, but it dropped to third when it lost to Italy’s Azzurra in its second match of the day.
Azzurra’s 1-minute triumph put it tied with Team New Zealand for the lead at 6-1, but the Kiwis won by beating Azzurra in Flight 5. TeamOrigin placed third with a 5-2 record.
TeamOrigin and Emirates Team New Zealand enjoyed an incident-packed match. Image copyright Bob Grieser/OutsideImages.co.nz
“It was always going to be a tough match against TeamOrigin,” said Emirates Team New Zealand skipper, Dean Barker. “It was disappointing to lose the race, but you always learn more in your losses than your wins. We’re pleased with the way we’re sailing and we can do better.”
While the top three spots on the leaderboard are set, fourth through sixth remain up for grabs. There’s one match outstanding to complete the round, between BMW ORACLE Racing and Synergy, and it is tomorrow’s scheduled first match. It was abandoned today when the 20-minute leg time limit ran out on the first run.
The match has significant implications for the standings. If BMW Oracle wins it places fourth and Synergy finishes sixth behind Sweden’s Artemis. But if Synergy wins the three teams become tied at 3-4. The tiebreaker would place Artemis fourth, Synergy fifth and BMW Oracle sixth.
The French/German team ALL4ONE is seventh with a 2-5 record and TFS – Pages Jaunes is eighth at 0-7.
The standings are important because the second half of the regatta has been changed. Due to time constraints a half round robin will be conducted with the top four teams racing the bottom four teams. Each team has four matches scheduled before the semifinals and knock-out rounds begin next Thursday.
Today’s few matches showcased aggressive match racing with afterguards frequently seeking penalties on their opponent.
The afterguard on TeamOrigin: Iain Percy calls to the umpires, Ian Moore is navigating and Ben Ainslie driving. Image copyright Ian Roman/TeamOrigin.
Team New Zealand and TeamOrigin took split tacks onto the racecourse. The key moment came at their third meeting near the top of the 1.3-nautical-mile leg. Approaching on opposite tacks, TeamOrigin held the starboard advantage and used it to dial down Team New Zealand. When the Kiwis got to the right TeamOrigin made a slam-dunk tack and pinned the Kiwis to leeward.
Moments later both boats were luffing head-to-wind with Team New Zealand to the right. TeamOrigin fell off onto starboard tack, built speed, tacked to port and sailed over the bow of Team New Zealand to round in the lead by 21 seconds en route to the victory.
“We have a huge amount of respect for Dean and all the guys at Team New Zealand,” said Ben Ainslie, TeamOrigin skipper. “Having spent a lot of time there sailing with those guys in the last America’s Cup, it’s always nice to have a good race with them, and to come away with a win was good. It was a very tight race.”
TeamOrigin draws and penalty on Azzurra up the first beat. Image copyright Bob Grieser/OutsideImages.co.nz
After the big win TeamOrigin had to take on Azzurra to win the round. Origin had the lead at the first mark by 37 seconds after getting a red-flag penalty on the Italian crew. But the Italians, having performed the penalty, found a nice wind shift with pressure on the run and turned the deficit into an advantage they wouldn’t relinquish.
“I don’t disagree with the penalty, but I don’t think it should have been a red flag,” said Azzurra skipper Francesco Bruni. “My brother (Gabriele) has been doing a great job calling the wind from up the rig.”
Round Robin 1 : Flights 14, 7 summaries
Azzurra denies TeamOrigin round robin victory in Flight 7
FLIGHT 14
M1: BMW ORACLE Racing d. Artemis – Delta: 16 seconds
BMW Oracle scored a badly need victory, snatching it from the jaws of defeat near the top of the second beat. Artemis led around the first lap, holding an advantage of 9 seconds at the leeward gate. But the Swedish-flagged team seemed to have troubles with its genoa coming out of the mark. BMW Oracle Racing worked the left side of the beat and near the top took port tack across Artemis. BMW Oracle tacked to port to cover and led by 16 seconds beginning the run to the finish. The win was just the third of the regatta for BMW Oracle, whose primary focus lies elsewhere around the world.
M2: TeamOrigin d. Emirates Team New Zealand – Delta: 32 seconds
TeamOrigin, with founder and CEO Sir Keith Mills riding as 18th man, handed Team New Zealand its first loss of the regatta, a 32-second decision. This was a fascinating match as the two teams are loaded with talent.
New Zealand skipper Dean Barker won the start at the pin end once again. During the pre-starts all week he’s lured his competition into his windward quarter and then forced them to tack away. But TeamOrigin’s Ben Ainslie was able to use starboard tack to his advantage and protect the right side of the course, twice leebowing the Kiwis back to the left. The key moment came at the top of the first beat.
Ray Davies raises the Y flag on Emirates Team New Zealand's boat. Image copyright Bob Grieser/OutsideImages.co.nz
The two crews approached bow-to-bow at their third meeting, with TeamOrigin holding starboard. Ainslie used that advantage to dial down Barker and TNZ. Ainslie got Barker to commit to passing to leeward and then tacked to port, effectively putting a slam dunk on the Kiwis. The pair began a luffing match that saw it drift closer to the windward mark. Moments later, with the Kiwis to the right of the Brits and both nearly dead in the water, Ainslie bore off onto starboard, built speed and tacked to port, crossing the Kiwis and rounding the mark in the lead. The Kiwis were slow to build speed and trailed by 21 seconds.
Team New Zealand closed a bit on the run to the leeward gate, taking 10 seconds out of the Brits’ lead, but Ainslie and tactician Iain Percy put the clamps on Team New Zealand up the second beat and on the run to the finish.
One of the Mascalzone Latino boats is hoisted out of the water after racing. Image copyright Bob Grieser/OutsideImages.co.nz
FLIGHT 7
M2: Azzurra d. TeamOrigin – Delta: 1 minute
Despite the delta, this was another exciting match that was in play until the Italian crew crossed the finish line. TeamOrigin took the early lead on the first leg, winning the pin end in the split-tack start. Azzurra started on port at the boat end and then tacked to starboard about 2 minutes into the race. With both boats on starboard, Azzurra lifted up inside of the Brits, which were to leeward by about 10 boatlengths.
TeamOrigin gained the lead at the first meeting, but not by crossing. Azzurra had starboard rights and slam-dunked TeamOrigin. British skipper Ben Ainslie luffed twice and the on-water umpires deemed Azzurra did not keep clear. The umps gave the Italians a red-flag penalty for the incident. When Azzurra completed its jibe onto starboard tack, TeamOrigin tacked to windward and into a covering position and led by 37 seconds at the windward mark.
Azzurra, however, has had great luck on the runs during this regatta and that luck came through again. Azzurra jibed to starboard early on the run while TeamOrigin held port. When Azzurra jibed back to port, with more than 1,100 metres of separation, it was headed down to the mark in pressure while TeamOrigin was wallowing when it completed its jibe to starboard. Azzurra took a 56-second lead through the leeward gate.
Azzurra led by 49 seconds at the second windward mark and its lead was threatened late on the run to the finish when TeamOrigin closed up to within two boatlengths, but there wasn’t enough racecourse left and Azzurra held on for the win in dying winds.
The victory gave Azzurra second for the round robin at 6-1 and dropped TeamOrigin to third at 5-2. Emirates Team New Zealand won the round at 6-1, having beaten Azzurra in their head-to-head match.
Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice. Image copyright Frank Socha.
Louis Vuitton Trophy
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