Another Kiwi win as racing concludes in the Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin

For the French Orient Express Racing Team their participation in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup came to a conclusion after their final race loss against INEOS Britannia. Bowing out, the French team will be fondly remembered for how they competed with great enthusiasm and flair.

The conditions were reflective of what has been the predominant trend across the 30-race Round Robin, with 6-9 knots from thesouth-west on the lower end of the wind scale that tested all of the teams to sail clean and stay on their foils.

Emirates Team New Zealand (Port Entry) vs. NYYC American Magic

With Lucas Calabrese onboard in the port helm pod, NYYC American Magic will be looking to build in consistency and performance ahead of the Louis Vuitton Cup semi-finals. Emirates Team New Zealand are keen to sign off their participation with an improved performance and at the start it’s a disaster for Magic as they fall off the foils into displacement and are further given a boundary penalty. Conditions are marginal.

Magic regains flight with just over a minute to the start and it’s a split-tacker with the Kiwis claiming the port end of the line whilst Calabrese drives over on port tack and heads to the right side of the course. At the first cross, Emirates Team New Zealand are in control and head hard right, but the Americans play smart and make big gains to the left in this shifting breeze. At the first windward mark it’s super-close and the Kiwis are only 7 seconds in the lead. A smart gybe inside creates a port gybe VMG drag race that ultimately favours the Kiwis and by the leeward mark, the delta is out to 31 seconds as the Race Committee shortens the legs of the course to just 1 nautical mile. Upwind it feels closer as both boats pick their wind phases on a very tricky course.

At the second windward mark, having sailed some deep angles on the final approaches, Emirates Team New Zealand bear-away with a delta of just 22 seconds. The Americans are right in this and split the tactics on the downwind. Mother Nature has her say and it’s a gain to the Kiwis as the Americans really struggle in the final gybe. The delta is out to 1 minute 21 seconds and the Magic team did a very good job staying on the foils. 

However, the race was effectively over when the Americans succumbed to displacement mid-way up the final beat and with Emirates Team New Zealand stretching away, they made no mistake in reading the breeze close to perfection to bear-away for the final run with an unassailable lead. The Kiwis crossed the finish line with pace and poise to record a win that was ultimately timed at 2 minutes 37 seconds. Fine execution from the Kiwis.

Emirates Team New Zealand bt. NYYC American Magic by 2 minutes 37 seconds

Speaking after the last race Emirates Team New Zealand helmsman Nathan Outteridge signed off after a highly competitive Louis Vuitton Cup round robin, “We have loved the racing. It has been great to be involved for the last couple of weeks and we have had some really challenging races. But now we are into sailing on our own and looking forward to making our boat go a little bit quicker.”

Perhaps the story of the day was the final race- an unscheduled sail off to determine the top ranked challenger between INEOS Britannia and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli after the Italians missed the start of their final race against Alinghi Red Bull Racing because of a technical issue, which created a 7-point tie at the top of the leaderboard.

The single race sail off used to determine the top ranked challenger that gains the all-important right to choose their semi-final opponent. That decision now sits with INEOS Britannia after beating Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli for the second time in recent days.

Emirates Team New Zealand now bow out of the Louis Vuitton Cup, their next race will be race one of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Match on October 12th against the winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup. Who that will be, is to be determined over the next four weeks.