LVT: Azzurra Conquers Third Point of the Series

Azzurra Vs Artemis in the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland. Image copyright Stefano Gattini/Azzurra.

by Jill Campbell

The Azzurra team of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda today conquered its third win in the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland. The match between the all-Italian crew led by Francesco Bruni and the strong Swedish team Artemis looked like a tough one, but the duel lasted only up to the first windward mark, when Paul Cayard and his crew, leading Azzurra, made a small mistake in the spinnaker hoist which had catastrophic consequences: the spinnaker pole touched the water and broke in half, while the big sail trailed behind the boat and had to be cut off. At that point the Swedish team had to retire from the race while Azzurra had to complete the course alone in order to gain the point. Azzurra is now second in the overall standings with three points, behind Emirates Team New Zealand who leads the Round Robin at four points.

Riccardo Bonadeo, Commodore of the YCCS and President of team Azzurra, today watched the race as 18th man. At the end of the match he commented: “obviously today’s point was important for us, but it would have been nice to win in a different way, with an even duel. Instead, the Swedes broke their pole and were forced to retire. This shows how delicate these boats are and how important it is to complete each maneuver with extreme precision. Today we were lucky and we accept it. Our start wasn’t great and on such short courses it is really important to start well, a good start counts for at least 50% of the success. In tonight’s de-briefing the crew will analyze carefully today’s race. We are still a young team, we are humble and keen to improve. The Auckland event for us is preparatory to the next Louis Vuitton Trophy in La Maddalena [Sardinia, home of the YCCS] to which we will devote great attention, and then Dubai and Hong Kong with an eye to important future goals.”

The Swedish team, which is one of the favourites in this event that brings together the most accomplished skippers in the world, is certainly disappointed of having lost a precious point against Azzurra who will try to repeat their performance of the Louis Vuitton Trophy held last November in Nice. Artemis, founded by Torbjorn Tornqvist, a great businessman and avid sailor, is led by celebrated US skipper Paul Cayard and a crew that include US helmsman Terry Hutchinson, winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup in 2007 with Emirates Team New Zealand and of three world titles in the J24, Farr 40 and IMS.

In the other matches of the day, the home team Emirates Team New Zealand posted their fourth consecutive win, against the French/German team of All4One, and are now leading the overall standings with four points. In the following match the British of Team Origin beat the French of Aleph, and the Italians of Mascalzone Latino Audi Team won over the Russians of Synergy who are trailing with zero points.


Azzurra in Auckland. Image copyright Stefano Gattini/Azzurra.

Saturday the Louis Vuitton Trophy Village, heart of the City of Sails whose life revolves around the sea, was full of people. Every day the public can watch the racing live on a maxi screen with 3D animations and live commentary from the experts, watch the daily press conference, meet the crews and test their strength on two “coffee grinders” like the ones used by the racing crews. The Auckland International Boat Show, which is currently under way, attracts huge crowds in this country where the marine industry is the biggest manufacturing sector – an industry worth more than $2 billion. Aucklanders have the largest boat ownership per capita in the world and this city is the hub of boat technology. Westhaven Marina is the largest yacht marina in the Southern Hemisphere. Riccardo Bonadeo entrusted to the excellence of the Kiwi marine industry the construction of two successful racing yachts.

Sunday Azzurra will face the home team Emirates Team New Zealand in the second match of the day. The forecast calls for 12-18 knots of wind which is expected to reach 22-25 knots in the afternoon.

Results after 4 matches
ALEPH Sailing Team (Franciae) 1
All4One (France/Germany) 2
Artemis (Sweden) 2
Azzurra (Italy) 3
Emirates Team New Zealand 4
Mascalzone Latino Audi Team (Italy) 1
Synergy Russian Sailing Team (Russia) 0
TEAMORIGIN (Great Britain) 2

Azzurra crew
Francesco Bruni – Skipper/Helmsman
Tommaso Chieffi – Tactician
Tom Burnham – Strategist
Bruno Zirilli – Navigator
Daniele De Luca – Mainsail trimmer
Stefano Rizzi – Jib Trimmer
Pierluigi De Felice – Spi trimmer
Gabriele Bruni – Runner trimmer
Piero Romeo – Runner grinder
Nicola Pilastro – Mainsail grinder
Massimo Galli – Left grinder
Francesco Scalici – Right grinder
Cristian Griggio – Pitman
Luca Albarelli – Mast
Pietro Mantovani – Mid Bow
Matteo Auguadro – Bowman
Michele Cannoni – Pit Assist
Gabrio Zandonà – Coach
Ben Durham – Reserve
Michele Gnutti – Reserve
Giuseppe Leonardi – Reserve

Azzurra
Louis Vuitton Trophy