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Lifeline Monday as Swiss and Americans keep their Louis Vuitton Cup dreams alive
Sport has a funny habit of throwing up surprises and on what was billed as a potential day of elimination in the Louis Vuitton Cup Semi-Finals, what unfolded turned out to be the complete opposite with both Alinghi Red Bull Racing and NYYC American Magic scoring race wins in difficult conditions, to keep their competition hopes alive.
With the lower wind limit of 6.5 knots being tested on a beautiful late summer Barcelona Monday, the opening race of the day between Alinghi Red Bull Racing and INEOS Britannia got under way after a series of delays with the sailors knowing that any fall off the foils would be costly.
Early positional advantage over the first two legs went to INEOS Britannia but as the British headed upwind on the third leg, everything was about to change. Forced to tack on the left boundary of the course, Britannia fell into a wind hole, came off the foils and down into displacement. The Swiss, sensing blood in the water, capitalised from behind by executing their tack on the boundary to perfection, riding high through the zephyrs to stay brilliantly on their foils and accelerated away to an insurmountable lead.
The race, however, wasn’t over and on the fifth leg of the course, Alinghi Red Bull Racing themselves succumbed to the perils of displacement, falling off the foils and finding that their new opponent now was the 45-minute race time limit. The clock didn’t win on this occasion and the Swiss ghosted across a shortened course finish line to secure a morale-boosting win.
Speaking afterwards, a delighted Arnaud Psarofaghis, skipper of Alinghi Red Bull Racing emanated relief, saying: “INEOS did a really good race in the beginning and then they fell off their foils on the left boundary. When we got there we had a bit more pressure and we could manage to tack, the guys did a really good job and really focussed on the manoeuvre to make sure that we nailed them as much as we could and that put us back in the game.”
For Sir Ben Ainslie, the loss to the Swiss was somewhat negated by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli’s loss in the second race which means both the British and Italian yachts have to stay in race configuration to attempt to close out their semi-final pairings on Wednesday.
Tomorrow, however, will see the start of the UniCredit Youth America’s Cup – one of the most hotly anticipated regattas of this fabulous summer of sailing in Barcelona – with fleet racing for the America’s Cup teams in the equalised AC40s starting at 14:00 CET.
A day of upset and intrigue today in the Louis Vuitton Cup semi-finals where you can never discount the improbable.
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Ava Thompson, a skilled sailor and marine journalist from Auckland, has developed a deep connection to the ocean that guides her work. With a degree in Marine Journalism from the University of Auckland, Ava is known for her engaging and detailed storytelling. Her writing brings to life the thrill of sailing and the unique maritime culture of New Zealand, earning her recognition in the sailing community. Outside of her journalism, Ava enjoys exploring the rugged coastlines of New Zealand and competing in local regattas, always in search of her next seafaring adventure.
