Iain Percy, skipper, +39, after a poor start against Emirates Team New Zealand:
The crew were a little disappointed in the last race today, because it was our worst performance of the week so far. At the start we were in a very strong position and we threw it away with a gybe when we should have tacked. But we’re learning from these ups and downs and generally we’re on an upward curve.
Andy Green, tactician, Team Shosholoza, after a match where his team nearly beat BMW ORACLE:
A great day. We were a lot more confident today. This was only the second time we’ve been ahead of somebody here, and we’re still getting better by the day. We’re not quite ready to win a race yet, but we’ll be getting there soon. We have +39 and K-Challenge next, so maybe we can do something there, although we’re going to have to start getting off the line a bit earlier than we have been.
Murray Jones, Alinghi, on losing out to Luna Rossa at the very end:
That was a bit tough. It was a tight race all the way and we led all the way until the last leg. Luna Rossa did quite a good job of keeping it close. We’re disappointed with our performance. We didn’t do a great job of our gybe at the last windward mark.
Francesco de Angelis, on his role in Valencia as a non-helming skipper:
Because I’m not steering here it means I can look around and see things I don’t normally get a chance to see. But I am still steering the other boat normally. I’m having a good time racing against James (Spithiill). We have very different sailing backgrounds but I think we are working well together.
Luis Doreste, strategist, Luna Rossa, on an unusual day out in the Bay of Valencia:
That was not a normal day, in the summer the sea breeze will be very different.
Pierre Mas, navigator of LE DEFI, on a heartbreaking loss to +39:
It was a shame to meet +39 in these conditions, where it was so light and fluky. We were leading several times in the match, and at the end we thought we had the win, but today nothing was sure until you crossed the finish line. It’s very disappointing, because it was a match that we had to win. But a lot of good things have come from this regatta, for the team, for the crew, and for the boat.
Olivier Douillard, trimmer on K-Challenge, about an injury on board the boat today:
Seb (Sebastian Col) was up in the mast looking for wind before the pre-start of the race against Alinghi. During one of the gybes, his finger became caught between the mast and the batten car. We lowered him down very quickly because it we thought he might pass out. He went to the hospital. His finger is broken, but he’s OK, although I don’t think he will sail tomorrow.
Grant Dalton, team leader, Emirates Team New Zealand, on leading the table:
We had a lot of luck today. The wind was very shifty, so it we were lucky to beat Luna Rossa as we did. We’re leading on the points table, but tomorrow we have two big matches against Alinghi and BMW ORACLE, so we could win the whole thing, or finish much lower down. It’s not over yet.
