Gains and losses as points are hard earned in Youth AC Group A

With a remnant swell slowly deminishing, along with a nice 10 knot breeze, the Italians continue to set the benchmark across Group A. It was a challenging day for the Emirates Team New Zealand Youth Team who let themselves down by costly mistakes that saw their early hard-earned gains swiftly lost, along with vital points as they hover dangerously below the 3rd place cut off line at the half-way point of the fleet race qualification stage of the regatta.

AMERICA’S CUP RACE REPORTS

FLEET RACE 3

At the start, in a beautiful 12-15 knots, it’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli that make an expert approach to the line and cross with Emirates Team New Zealand to leeward. Athena Pathway starts on port, looking for wind out right and immediately the Italians cover. Good gains to the British who minimise manoeuvres upwind, going boundary to boundary. Emirates Team New Zealand however call a brilliant starboard layline from the right and come in hot to lead the fleet, crossing the incoming port tackers of GBR and ITA. Luna Rossa get a penalty on the duck to avoid NZL, intersecting GBR’s boundary. ITA wash-off their penalty as GBR falls off the foils momentarily and there’s a lead-change downwind as the Kiwis do the same to allow the Italians to pass.

Luna Rossa double-boards around the leeward mark and is starting to stretch away. Puffy and shifty out here today and the one metre sea-state is challenging. The top three of ITA/NZL/GBR play middle-right up Leg 3 with the Athena Pathway team making a pass on the Kiwis in the final quarter. Downwind on Leg 4, the top three remain unchanged with Luna Rossa really commanding this race. Up the final beat Marco Gradoni and Gianluigi Ugolini sail sensibly, loosely covering the fleet but with a very big lead, and they head to the finish line some 500 metres up the track.

It’s still very much a match race between GBR and NZL but the Athena Pathway team consolidate their second place well. No mistakes from the Italians downwind, despite the wind just dropping off its maximum, and they cross the finish line to record their second victory of the opening Fleet Race Series and confirm their star-billing in the competition. Athena Pathway score a brilliant second with Emirates Team New Zealand in third.   

FLEET RACE 4

Luna Rossa make a good start mid-line and roll over Alinghi Red Bull Racing on the drag race to the left boundary. Emirates Team New Zealand have a good start to windward and it looks like being these two who are match-racing for the race win. At the top mark, Luna Rossa bears away with a 60-metre lead and gybe cover the Kiwis downwind – good racing with the Kiwis making inroads – and both boats execute on-board round-ups. A fall off the foils at the start of the second upwind, brings the racing super-tight between the Italians and Kiwis before NZ have a poor tack themselves. However, Athena Pathway make a huge gain, after playing the right boundary initially and clicking into more pressure who manage to cross ahead of the Kiwis and seize second spot.  

At the second windward mark, Luna Rossa have control by over 100 metres from Athena Pathway with Emirates Team New Zealand in third after a poor beat. No mistakes by the Italians down the second run, gaining big time, and their on-water lead is up to 350 metres. The British consolidate second after a splashdown gybe by Emirates Team New Zealand, but the Italians are clear and flying now with just two legs to run. A conservative beat sees them head to the finish down the left side of the course and they bring it home, surviving a scare on the final gybe, to score two wins from two in an utterly dominant performance. Athena Pathway secure second after a real close final tussle with Alinghi Red Bull Racing, with the Swiss taking a vital five points in third.

Emirates Team New Zealand sit perilously close to the cut off point to qualify for the top 3 teams from Group A. There are four more races to minimse their mistakes and gain the required points for the all important 3rd spot to qualify through to the top 6.