The first round robin of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the qualifying series for the America's Cup Regatta, has been completed with each of the eleven contenders having a race against each of the opponents. Source sailing reporter W. Bostwick comments on the action and suggests matches to check in the next round.
Most of the experienced commentators predicted three teams would be on top, Prada, (Italy), Young America (New York Yacht Club), and AmericaOne (San Francisco's St. Francis Yacht Club). The factors of money, experience of crew, depth of team, and long hours of practice put these three at the head of the pack.
Fifty races later no one has lost any money betting on the sure things.
This does not mean all the races are boring, however. There have been exciting leads changes, dramatic gear failure, and very close action between these nimble and powerful 75 foot boats.
One match between the Aloha Challenge and AmericaTrue featured a 35 tack duel on a single upwind leg. Most of the very close action is during the pre-start maneuvers which have included two collisions. But a down wind leg between Prada and AmericaOne had the boats overlapped with the distance between them varying from ten to twenty feet for a period of almost 15 minutes, while both boats were trying to go at their maximum speed!
The long months of practice put in by the Italians have paid off. Reliable crew work, good boat speed and a great match racing skipper in Francesco de Angelis have combined to give Team Prada an unblemished 10 and 0 record.
Paul Cayard, captain of AmericaOne, must be pleased with the first round results (8-2) dealt out to his team. Their loss to Prada by 17 seconds came at the end of a close fought affair with spinnaker gear failure on both boats causing the major passing opportunities.
The only other loss came as a result of inability to keep the main sail attached to the mast in a high wind day during their match against Young America. AmericaOne tried to sail the course hoping for a breakdown on the part of Young America, but gave up and retired to go start tweaking for the next round robin.
Young America and skipper Ed Baird also had a great first round to finish equal to AmericaOne at 8 wins and 2 losses. Young America also had a great battle with Prada, again with spinnaker gear problems letting a close "Luna Rossa" into the lead past Young America. The New York Yacht Club based boat finished only 10 seconds behind the Italians. The other loss was a gear failure on the strong wind day, making it impossible to sail the course against Stars and Stripes.
Really though, these are just the warm up races. Each race in the first round robin is worth one point, wins in the second are worth four points and wins in the third are worth nine points. So winning three races in the next set of races is worth more than winning all ten of the first races.
Remember also that six boats will be going to the semi-finals. This means it is more important not to be number seven, than to be number one.
As reported by Peter Holmberg, all teams, especially the one boat teams, are now going ‘back to the shed' for modifications. The modifications will vary from mild to wild. The more successful teams will most likely do minor changes to suit any expected difference in the forecast weather during the next round. The guys on the bottom of the heap, like the Swiss with their radical double keel configuration, will be trying anything to improve.
Even as the last racers and umpires were going home from the last race, their way was blocked by a large welding truck entering the French compound. Word is they plan major changes to their hull (chain saw type major) and are going for a new keel.
The second round will define who is "on the qualifying bubble" as they say at the Indianapolis 500. The fourth through eighth teams, AmericaTrue, Japan, Spain, Stars and Stripes, and the Aloha Challenge from Hawaii are all very even.
Watch for matches between these players and also what kind of surprises France, Young Australia, and the Swiss can pull out of the shed on November 6.
