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Louis Vuitton Trophy – Auckland – Clamorosa sconfitta di Emirates Team New Zealand contro i francesi di Bertrand Pacè nell’unico incontro della giornata. Le altre regate rimandate per il troppo vento. Il derby italiano è rimandato.
Nulla di fatto per l’atteso match tra Mascalzone Latino Audi Team e Azzurra. Dopo il primo match, vinto a sorpresa da Aleph contro Emirates Team New Zealand, il comitato di regata ha sospeso le operazioni proprio mentre stavano per partire Team Origin e Artemis. Il vento era eccessivo per assicurare regate regolari: “Non sarebbero state regate – ha detto il Principal Race Officer, Peter Reggio – ma sopravvivenza”. Le barche, che hanno già subito molti danni, sono state riportate in porto in attesa di un calo del vento che non è mai arrivato. Solo alle 17.00 Reggio si è arreso.
Il programma del Louis Vuitton Trophy proseguirà domani con le regate del Flight 7, che vede Azzurra impegnata contro Aleph e Mascalzone Latino Audi Team contro Team Origin. A seguire si tenterà di disputare i tre match che erano in programma oggi, tra i quali l’attesissimo derby tra Mascalzone Latino Audi Team e Azzurra.
I kiwi sono ancora increduli, non solo perchè oggi hanno perso una regata, ma perché “è stata la peggior regata che abbiamo disputato da un sacco di tempo a questa parte”. Questo il laconico commento di Adam Beashell, uno degli uomini chiave del pozzetto di Emirates Team New Zealand al termine del match contro i francesi di Aleph. Lo skipper e timoniere del team, Bertrand Pacè, è uno dei migliori match racer sulla piazza, uno che conosce particolarmente bene Dean Barker, lo skipper e timoniere di Emirates Team New Zealand, in quanto è stato il suo sparring partner nella preparazione alla Coppa America del 2003 e di seguito il suo tattico.
Il match ha avuto subito un prologo positivo per i francesi, che hanno scelto di regatare a sinistra del campo di regata. Barker sceglieva invece la destra, ma al primo salto di vento veniva punito. Si trovava così al primo incrocio indietro di due lunghezze. Il secondo salto di vento era ancora a favore dei francesi, che tenevano saldamente la sinistra.
Il colpo di grazia per i kiwi è arrivato poco dopo il passaggio in boa, quando il gennaker si è strappato.
I francesi a questo punto avevano strada libera e andavano a vincere con un vantaggio di 38’’.
A seguire, scendevano in acqua Artemis di Paul Cayard (a caccia disperata di punti) e Team Origin, il super-team inglese di Ben Ainslie e Iain Percy. Durante la preparazione del match, il vento saliva fino a 25 nodi, determinando lo stop delle regate da parte del comitato di regata.
Team Aleph batte Emirates Team New Zealand
Team Origin vs Artemis ND
Azzurra vs Mascalzone Latino Audi Team ND
Synergy vs All4One ND
Classifica dopo sei giornate
Emirates Team New Zealand ** – pt. 5
Azzurra, Team Origin, Mascalzone Latino Audi Team, All4One – pt. 3
Artemis – pt. 2
Team Aleph * **- pt. 1
Synergy – pt. 0
* 1 pt. di penalizzazione
** 1 match in più
I match di domani
Emirates Team New Zealand vs Synergy
Team Aleph vs Azzurra
Artemis vs All4One
Team Origin vs Mascalzone Latino Audi Team
[flashvideo filename=video/lvt/LVT_Auckland10_Day6.flv /]
Video courtesy Louis Vuitton Trophy.
LOUIS VUITTON TROPHY, STRONG WIND ALTER ROUND ROBIN COMPLEXION
[Louis Vuitton Trophy Press Release] Strong and gusty sou-west winds forced a cancellation to the day’s competition but not before previously unbeaten Emirates Team New Zealand went down in defeat to France’s seventh-placed Aleph.
Milder weather is expected tomorrow and racing will resume with flight seven, the last of the round robin. With an earlier start scheduled, the remaining matches of today’s abandoned flight six will be squeezed into the schedule tomorrow, or on subsequent days.
Four teams crowding the top of the points table were slated to square off today. Britain’s Team Origin, placed second-equal, was circling in the start box against Sweden’s third-placed Artemis with just two minutes to the start when the race committee signaled a postponement. The Italian teams Azzurra and Mascalzone Latino Audi Team, each placed second-equal, were waiting in the wings for the third race of the day.
The Synergy Russian Sailing Team, winless in Auckland despite a good race record in Nice last November, was scheduled to race the German-French All4One, which is the other team in second-equal place.
After sending the race boats back to the dock, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron race committee, headed by American Principal Race Officer Peter “Luigi” Reggio, remained on station monitoring the weather conditions until 5.00 pm before cancelling for the day.
Emirates weather man Roger “Clouds” Badham had cautioned this morning that early strong winds would gust over acceptable limits later in the day and curtail racing but the first match started without incident in 19-20 knots from the sou-west with gusts to 23.
The race featured two old team mates, each with a good read on the foibles of the other. In 2003 before the America’s Cup in Auckland, Emirates Team New Zealand’s skipper Dean Barker trained with Aleph’s skipper Bertrand Pacé as the B-Boat helmsman. Later Pacé was Barker’s tactician.
At the five-minute gun Barker led deep into the start box, pursued closely by Pacé through a series of circles, before they broke away and lined up to start on starboard with the French boat to leeward and bow out. Barker, who wanted the right, got it, but was forced to tack away into an unfavorable shift.
The Frenchman led by two boat lengths at the first cross and continued to extend. “We wanted to play the shifts but we had to be patient,” Pacé said.
Emirates strategist Adam Beashel said afterwards “it was one of the worst races we’ve sailed in a long time.”
Beashel explained: “We were on the wrong side of the first two shifts of the first beat. Aleph did a great job sticking to their game plan and staying in the left and doing well out of that and putting a bit a pressure on us. Then, unfortunately in our gybe-set hoist, we had a little tear in the chute. It was touch and go whether it would hold”.
“Just a minute or two later it was a bit too big and the whole thing blew out and there was a little bit of a hiccup too with the pole and that ended up in the water.”
Observers rated it as a moderate to major hiccup. Emirates bowman Stuart Bettany went overboard too and joined the pole in the water as the firedrill on deck intensified. Extra crew rushed forward to retrieve Bettany, while others restrained the pole, which was still secured to the mast, to stop it sweeping aft and becoming the fourth snapped pole of the series.
Prevented by the tangle from hoisting a second spinnaker, the Kiwi team finished the run under jib and then began to steadily close with the French boat over the remaining two legs. “We fortunately picked up a little on the second beat on some shifts to the right of them, and we were able to put a bit of pressure back on, but they just made it pretty simple down the last run.”
Race One: Aleph def. Emirates Team New Zealand, 00:38 – The day belonged to Pacé as he took the fight to his former sparring partner. Barker fought for the right side and got it, helped no doubt because Pacé wanted the left. After multiple circling duels they broke away and came to the line on starboard, with Emirates Team New Zealand in the weather berth. The French boat was bow forward and Barker was quick to tack away. The Kiwis trailed into the mark on port, five boat lengths astern. Disaster struck as they trimmed their spinnaker to chase the French. The clew exploded out of the chute, taking metres of sail cloth with it and the Kiwis were forced to dump the halyard and jettison the sail, leaving their chase boat to pick up the debris. They lost about 100 metres, finishing the first run under jib and then clawed back distance on the remaining two legs to finish a very respectable 38 seconds astern.
Team Aleph batte Emirates Team New Zealand
Team Origin vs Artemis ND
Azzurra vs Mascalzone Latino Audi Team ND
Synergy vs All4One ND
Ranking after six flights
Emirates Team New Zealand ** – pt. 5
Azzurra, Team Origin, Mascalzone Latino Audi Team, All4One – pt. 3
Artemis – pt. 2
Team Aleph – pt. 1* **
Synergy – pt. 0
* 1 pt. penalty
** 1 match more
Tomorrow program
Emirates Team New Zealand vs Synergy
Team Aleph vs Azzurra
Artemis vs All4One
Team Origin vs Mascalzone Latino Audi Team
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