FINAL DAY DECIDER FOR THE ITALIANS AND AMERICANS IN THE LOUIS VUITTON CUP SEMI-FINALS
All around the Port Vell you can feel the tension. Today is the decider for Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and NYYC American Magic with two afternoon races scheduled and plenty of intrigue to unpackage when racing begins.
After the dramatic mainsheet traveller failure onboard Luna Rossa yesterday, it will have been a busy and long night in the shed for the Italian Shore Team who will have burnt the midnight oil to make sure their AC75 is not only back in service, but back to its best.
Jimmy Spithill, skipper of Luna Rossa had every confidence in his team as they came ashore yesterday evening, saying:
“This is high-level sport. I mean this is exactly what you expect. You're always going to get a few curveballs that come your way, but champion teams can deal with that, and we've certainly got a champion team. We got a fantastic team ashore and there's no doubt in my mind that we will be back...man I’ll make a bet, and I'll put the farm on it that we’ll be out there tomorrow.”
For NYYC American Magic, they will be looking to capitalise on the momentum they have built having won the last three races and come back from the seemingly impossible situation of being 4-0 down. Now at 4-3, they are in striking distance and will be desperate to equalise the series and take it all the way to the ninth race. Tom Slingsby, the helmsman of ‘Patriot’, has been on fire in the pre-start and some of his tactical calls and positioning have been first class. It will be a fascinating tussle.
All eyes are on the weather and with the UniCredit Youth America’s Cup regatta being postponed due to light winds this morning in Barcelona - the schedule will continue tomorrow afternoon for the Group B ‘Invited Teams’ racing – as the afternoon progresses, we are expecting 7-9 knots from 160-170 degrees which is officially classified as a ‘Migjorn’ from the south-south-easterly direction. Forecast models suggest a small build to 9-11 knots later in the afternoon (1600) on some models.
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NYYC American Magic (Port Entry) vs. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli
This is it. Everything on the line. Magic enter from the left and cross immediately. Luna Rossa go deep and then follow to the right boundary in the pre-start box. The Italians tack at the boundary and stay high initially but Magic are alive to it. At the final set-up, Magic is to leeward with both boats going for slingshot starts. Magic ace it and force Luna Rossa to tack away quickly which the Americans try to cover and a drag race to the right boundary ensues.
Luna Rossa looks rapid but it’s Magic with the control position and they tack right on the face of the Italians and force Luna Rossa to tack back to the right boundary. On the convergence, Magic just makes the cross and slam dunks on their bow but Luna Rossa has power to speed through to leeward and the Americans tack off to the right boundary. Two downspeed tacks for America opens the door and Luna Rossa capitalises to lead by 20 seconds at the first mark.
A boundary to boundary run ensued with few passing lanes and at the first leeward gate, Luna Rossa is 21 seconds up as Magic splits the tactics on the second upwind leg. Tough to see how American Magic can get back into this, passing lanes look few and far between as Luna Rossa bounces off the right boundary, playing the shifts well.
However, at the second windward mark, Calabrese and Slingsby have sailed the second half windshifts well to round just eight seconds adrift, with Luna Rossa taking the right boundary (looking downwind) whilst Magic gybes on the left boundary to come back on starboard gybe. Luna Rossa clicks into more breeze left and makes a huge gain. The Americans survive a small but costly touchdown in the final quarter of the run so that by the final leeward gate, the Italians turn up with a 22 second delta. Magic need something dramatic to happen now.
Luna Rossa keep a loose cover up the final upwind, protecting the right whilst Magic tries their luck out left, but at the final windward gate the Italians turn downwind to the finish with a lead that has extended out to 51 seconds. They make no mistakes on the final downwind, sailing their power angles and picking the pressure. A final port layline call and a smart gybe saw the silver dream machine cross the line and record a one minute and one second victory. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli advance to the Louis Vuitton Cup Final where they will face the Challenger of Record, INEOS Britannia, with the first racing scheduled for Thursday September 26.
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli bt. NYYC American Magic by 61 seconds.
