Terry Hutchinson, tactician, Emirates Team New Zealand, on a mixed day:
The first race we did exactly what we wanted to do. We won the pin, and everything went well from there. The second race we were over early (at the start) and although there were some opportunities, it didn’t go our way in that one. On the positive side, we learned a lot about ourselves in an hour and a half.
Chris Dickson, skipper, BMW ORACLE, on what his team gets out of Fleet Racing:
Well, we get to feel good about finishing second like we did today. You don’t feel good coming second in a Match Race.
Luc Gelluseau, Operations Manager, LE DEFI, on how the ‘smaller’ teams can beat the big ones:
The wind is very shifty, so a team who is not necessarily the best can always capitalise on a good shift. But in the end, there is a top group and a second group. But it’s interesting that the margin between the big teams and one’s like us is not so big.
Guillaume Curado, strategist, +39, on why they retired from the second race:
We broke the jumper, and we were afraid of breaking the mast, so we decided to retire. We hope to change the jumper overnight and be ready for tomorrow’s races.
Geoff Meek, skipper, Shosholoza, on jumping from 8th to 5th on the final run of the first race today:
When the wind dies we seem to have good speed. LE DEFI went to the right and Luna Rossa to the left, and we went down the middle and we got ahead of them and +39. We were lucky with a few puffs. And it was getting fluky.
Brad Butterworth, tactician, Alinghi, not a big fan of short course racing despite a great day:
You can easily get it wrong by being bounced to the wrong side. I think the short courses are OK for this type of event, but when we back in the races where it really counts, I think it would be better to go back to full length courses. It’s a hard place to pass on these courses. When we do boat test runs we sail for 10 minutes, but here we’re reaching laylines in six or seven minutes.
Francesco Bruni, strategist, Luna Rossa, on why winning isn’t everything:
James [Spithill] this morning was resuming what our plan was. We have been changing the afterguard during these two weeks, which is why sometimes we sail in a strange way. James likes the idea of trying every role, so this is what we are doing even if the result is not always 100 per cent what it could be. For us at this regatta, winning is not the most important goal.
Nicholas Charbonnier, traveller, K-Challenge, on a much better day:
Two 4th places, we were really happy with the day. Each race we beat one of the strong teams. Tactics were good, communication was good. I hope we continue to sail like this.
