MORNING BRIEFING DAY 6
As Day 5 illustrated, timing is everything. With the teams’ post-race debriefs and analyses complete all eyes will have turned to the forecast for Day 6 of the 36th America’s Cup.
Any America's Cup Race Day is important, but when it could define who gets to raise the world’s oldest international sporting trophy above their heads the pressure builds exponentially.
As any top sportsperson will say when it gets to this stage making sure that you stick to what you do best is the key. Don’t get spooked, don’t make big deviations from the plan and the programme that has defined your training for years before. Having trained like you race, you need to race like you train.
But all of that is easy to say when you’re not staring down the prospect of a tricky day ahead when the smallest of errors can cost you dearly. It’s easier when you have confidence in the weather and the timing of any key developments in conditions. And it’s also easier when you have the familiarity of a Race Course area to draw recent experiences from.
Today, along with the pressure of a potential climax to the Cup, the racing will take place on Course C, the stadium race venue off North Head.
During the recent COVID restrictions, this area was ruled out and neither team has raced here for some time so there’s plenty to remind themselves about on this snug course that lies close to the city.
The area has been available for some days, yet Regatta Director Iain Murray has been consistent in his view that this course area works well in a southwesterly breeze, a condition we haven’t seen for some time. And while this is on the forecast today, the timing of the arrival of that breeze is critical as the development of those conditions is far from straight forward.
A look to the sky said it all this morning in Auckland as cloud cover swept over the city. The satellite picture shows plenty more behind confirming that sea breezes will not be a feature today.
But while the winds start off very light for most of the day, the breeze builds to 9-13 knots later in the afternoon. But when?
“We’re going to the casino today and putting everything on Course C,” said Murray at the morning briefing. “We’re not going to see much until the southwesterly turns up. Whether that is 4 pm, 5 pm or later remains to be seen so we will go out, set up and see. From the forecast it’s a nice breeze, it’s just a question of when it arrives. I am very confident though that we will get at least one race in today.”
Timing – today of all days – it is everything.