Racing at the limit on day one of the Youth America’s Cup

Sometimes, good things take time, and after a lengthy delay on day one of the UniCredit Youth America’s Cup in Barcelona as the lower-end wind-limit of 7.5 knots struggled to be met, suddenly, in the early evening the regatta roared into life. Pressure thundered in from the south-east as dark, angry cloud cover came in from across the Mediterranean, delivering a gusty, solid, 14-16 knots atop a building sea state over a metre in height.

The young sailors were in full survival mode but we saw some of the greatest racing so far of this summer of sailing in Barcelona. Spin-outs, sky-rockets, skids and splash downs – along with some astonishing speeds all around the course, really showcased the emerging next-generation talent at its very best.

The first race got underway just before 1800 CET with the entire fleet stuck on their biggest J1 jibs which added significantly to the challenge, but from the start we saw the experience and brilliance of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team come to the fore.

Marco Gradoni and Gianluigi Ugolini powered into a commanding lead for Italy with pace and pointing ability that was next-level. The Emirates Team New Zealand challenge was negated by an early start, so it was down to American Magic with Harry Melges and Kyle Navin helming, to give chase. Italy however, held it together over six legs of the course, sailing cautiously when required in the waves and surviving some big scares, to notch the first win of the series.

Harry Melges, skipper of NYYC American Magic gave a glimpse into how tough it was on the racetrack, saying: “The conditions were pretty tricky out here this afternoon, we’ve got really big waves, the whole fleet got stuck out here on the J1’s which made the boats tricky to sail. It was definitely quite out of balance; we were in full survival mode for that race.”

With the Race Committee instructing the fleet to change down to the smaller J3 jibs, fleet race two got underway with the French and Swiss teams both ordered not to sail due to technical issues on board their boats. Off the start, Emirates Team New Zealand held the lead with Italy and USA close, but a splashdown on the first downwind brought an end to their challenge. Luna Rossa strode into the lead but it was tenuous, and American Magic were chasing hard.

On what became the penultimate leg of the course, and with both boats locked in a match-race as the wind peaked at 18 knots, American Magic nailed the starboard layline out by the right boundary, and with speeds in excess of 30 knots, took the lead and held it to the finish, with Kyle Navin and Harry Melges crossing the line at 40 knots. Amazing sailing from all the teams.

It’s all square at the top of the standings with NYYC American Magic and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli tied onpoints, whilst also sharing third are Emirates Team New Zealand and Athena Pathway.

Harry Melges, skipper of NYYC American Magic, beamed as he came ashore, saying: “The racing was really awesome. It was extremely difficult for us. The first race when the wind came in was quite bumpy and we're on the J1 still which kind of threw the boat out of balance pretty good and made it quite tricky to sail. Then race two got even windier and wavier but we had the correct sails up and it was wild-ride racing, really fun."

Talking about overtaking the Italians upwind, Melges added: “That gave us a lot of confidence and now we've got two races down, we've got what it takes and we're going to keep battling for the rest of the regatta. We definitely like to send it at American Magic.”

Marco Gradoni, skipper of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, meanwhile praised his team saying: “It was just amazing to race and I'm really proud of the boys because it was really difficult, especially downwind it was crazy passing through the waves. I'm really proud of the boys because they're less experienced than me but they learn super-fast, and we know we can be better.”

The UniCredit Youth America's Cup is off to a high-adrenaline start and is all set to be a thriller right to the bitter end. Tomorrow will see four races, starting from 10:30 CET with two Group A races and two Group B (Invited Teams) races scheduled.