The same but different as both Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli take another win each in the 36th America’s Cup Another day of racing, another win each for the two teams competing in this 36th America\u2019s Cup. Those are the headlines from the third day of racing in Auckland, which sees Emirates Team New Zealand attempting to defend the Cup from Challenger, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.\u00a0
\nThe late sailing writer, Bob Fisher, who passed away earlier this year, left us with a seminal work on the subject of the America\u2019s Cup entitled An Absorbing Interest. We can\u2019t say what Fisher would have made of this event but \u2018absorbing\u2019 certainly seems an apt adjective for the racing we are seeing on the waters of the Hauraki Gulf in Auckland, New Zealand.\u00a0
\nThere might be those who had hoped for more passing in these races, that typically see the boat leading out of the start holding onto their lead to the finish, but the contest continues to be on a knife edge and this may yet become one of the closest Cups in the history of the event.\u00a0
\nPhoto: ACE \/ Studio Borlenghi
\nThe third day of racing in the 2021 America\u2019s Cup took place in the lightest winds we have seen to date in the regatta, with 9 knots of breeze in the opening race of the day dropping away to 7-8 knots in the second.
\nArticle continues below\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tAmerica\u2019s Cup: Day two, d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu as both teams still level<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOn Wednesday 10th March, after the first day of the America\u2019s Cup racing, we said the racing could be simplified\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tAmerica\u2019s Cup clothing: What each team wears and why<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWatching the AC75s cracking along on a foil, it\u2019s easy to forget that innovation pervades every element of elite racing,\u2026<\/p>\n
With Covid restrictions now reduced in Auckland, spectators could finally get into the America\u2019s Cup race village to watch the racing, but still hundreds took to the water in all manner of vessels to watch the home team take on the Italians in this close fight for one of the oldest trophies in sport.\u00a0
\nAfter the first two days of racing, many had picked up on the theme of the victory always going to the boat who had port (and so first) entry to the start box. When asked if this was as significant an advantage as it appeared after yesterday\u2019s racing, both Peter Burling \u2013 helm of Emirates Team New Zealand \u2013 and Jimmy Spithill \u2013 one of the helms of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli \u2013 dismissed the notion, claiming it to be more a case of correlation than causation.\u00a0\u00a0
\nPhoto: ACE \/ Studio Borlenghi
\nThe first race of the day went some way to expelling that myth as Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, with the starboard entry, gybed and sailed low, putting themselves beneath Emirates Team New Zealand.\u00a0
\nAs both boats turned back for the line, it was quickly clear they were both early and would have to kill speed. We\u2019ve seen throughout the event that the Italian boat has a very useful down speed mode and they used it in these circumstances to full effect, killing speed on the return to the line.\u00a0
\nEmirates Team New Zealand, however, dropped off their foils in the process of trying to slow and by the time the start gun fired, the kiwis where still trying to rebuild speed on their return to the line.\u00a0
\nFrom this point on, we once again saw Luna Rossa controlling the New Zealand boat, tacking on top of them at every opportunity on the upwinds legs, and leading across the finish line.\u00a0
\nWhether or not there is an advantage to the port tack entry, this win went against the grain of a series that has seen the two teams trading wins in each race. Perhaps this was the moment the Italian team could start to build some sort of momentum in the first-to-seven-wins series.\u00a0
\nWith the Italians getting port entry on the second race, they had the chance to enter the startbox first. When they gybed back, Burling and his crew decided to tack giving themselves plenty of separation from the Italian team.\u00a0
\nThe wind had been patchy all day and as the breeze dropped it was only becoming patchier. Now a touch lower in the startbox than they would have liked to be, the Italians found themselves in one of the big patches of light wind and going very slowly back to the line.\u00a0
\nPhoto: ACE \/ Studio Borlenghi
\nIt was easy work for the kiwis to bear off, build speed and shoot across the startline at the gun fired fully 150m to the good.\u00a0
\nThe kiwis never looked back. Their boat might not point as high as Luna Rossa, it might not tack quite as well, but given space to sail their own race, the kiwi boat can be wicked-fast. They bolted away from the Italian team and crossed the line with a significant margin to make the series all square again.\u00a0
\nWe return for yet more racing tomorrow and the forecast is for similar winds once more. These races might lack something of the street brawl cut-and-thrust we were expecting, there may not be passes aplenty, but the regatta itself? You\u2019d have to say it\u2019s an absorbing interest.\u00a0
\nIf you enjoyed this\u2026.<\/p>\n
Yachting World is the world\u2019s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.<\/p>\n
Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.<\/p>\n
The post America\u2019s Cup: Still all square and all to play for appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The same but different as both Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli take another win each in the 36th America’s Cup Another day of racing, another win each for the two teams competing in this 36th America\u2019s … <\/p>\n