Saturday June 30: Newport Day 3

After two difficult days, ETNZ was back at the front of the pack Saturday.
Photo:©2012 Chris Cameron/ETNZ

Race Program:
AC 500 Speed Trial (2 runs per team), followed by Fleet Races 3 and 4.  The Speed Trial is expected to start at 1:50 pm, duration about 24 minutes.  The first Fleet Race is expected to start at 2:36 pm, with each fleet Race lasting about 30 minutes.

Conditions:
Winds SW 7-10 knots, gusting 11-14, and backing to  SSW (WindFinder).  Winds 10 kts SW becoming SSW (Weather Underground).  Winds WSW becoming SSW 8 kts (NOAA Marine Forecast).  Tides: High Tide at 5:37 pm, near max flood at scheduled race time (NOAA Tides).

Results:
Wind has filled in, even more southerly at race time and stronger than predicted, with puffs into the mid-to-high teens.

Fleet Race 3:
Spithill gets a hat trick with three straight #1 finishes.  Team Korea is back on form with second place, ETNZ third, Artemis 4th, Luna Rossa Piranha 5th, Luna Rossa Swordfish sixth, Energy 7th, OR Coutts Did Not Finish (DNF). Coutts withdrew after striking the bowsprit of the mark boat on rounding, and is back at the dock unable to start Fleet Race 4 starting shortly.

Update: After swapping out a dagger board and replacing a shroud, the team says that Oracle5 is expected to back at 100% tomorrow for the Match Race Final against their teammates.

Fleet Race 4:
Complete. Spithill leading early, ETNZ breathing down their neck on Leg 3, Energy fighting for Third.  Spithill and Energy trade places back and forth.  ETNZ into the lead and then pull away on Leg 7, going on to win readily!  Energy stomps on the gas and overtakes Spithill on the final reach to the finish to grab 2nd.  Spithill 3rd, Team Korea 4th, Luna Rossa Piranha 5th and Swordfish 6th, Artemis 7th, Oracle Coutts DNS.

See Newport Fleet Race Standings

Saturday  Preview:
The Fleet Races offer a fresh chance for Emirates Team New Zealand and Team Korea after unfortunate finishes on Friday.  The frustration was more than evident yesterday on the faces of their skippers, Dean Barker and Nathan Outteridge as they tried to be philosophical at the post-race briefings.  These guys are good, more than that they are some of the best anywhere.  They sailed very well in the warm-ups this week, and a better result will clearly be on their chalkboards for Saturday.

Today the flood tide again brings risk of boats being across the starting line early, and the penalties in Fleet Racing can be costly.  ETNZ has won from that spot though in the past, so even on fast boats racing these relatively short courses, nothing is over until it is over (to apocryphally quote famous Yankee sailor Yogi Berra).

The SW winds off Fort Adams have been quite a tactical challenge for the crews, with significant changes in pressure and periodic shifts as they come up the bay into Newport.  In such conditions downwind the trailing boats bring the new wind with them; sailing upwind even being slightly out of phase with a leader can offer the chance for gains from behind; and neither side of the course has been consistently favored.  Big leads haven't looked as safe here as they might elsewhere.

As for the standings, with the minimum points guaranteed for a second place finish in the Newport Match Race Final, Spithill will have at least an 8-point lead over rival Emirates Team New Zealand on the season leaderboard.  With an eight team field in fleet racing, first place wins 10 points while eighth place wins 3 points, making a maximum of 7 points left to gain over any rival.  Which means Oracle4 has clinched the ACWS overall season championship!

Likewise, Artemis Racing, even with their 4th place finish in the Newport Match Race competition, secures a total of 50 points for the season, 3 points ahead of second place Oracle4 (Spithill) even if Oracle4 beats Oracle5 on Sunday.  Well-earned by a very tough looking crew that until yesterday didn't lose a match race in the last three regattas, Artemis will take home the ACWS 2011-2012 season Match Race title.

See Newport Results and Standings and ACWS Season Standings

Friday June 29: Newport Day 2

Race Program:
Two Semi-Final Matches consisting of one race each, followed by Fleet Race 2.  Match Race starts expected 2:36 pm and 2:52 pm, duration of races approximately 13 minutes each.  Fleet Race start expected at 3:15 pm, duration approximately 30 minutes.

Match Race Pairings:
Semi-Finals (Complete)
SF1: Oracle4 (Spithill) defeats Artemis Racing
SF2: Oracle5 (Coutts) defeats Luna Rossa Piranha
The Final Match on Sunday will be all-Oracle Team USA.
See Newport Match Race Brackets

Race Report SF1:
An OCS penalty on Artemis at 5 seconds before the start left the Swedish team in James Spithill's wake to start the single-elimination Semi-Final.  A couple extra tacks on Leg 3 didn't help the cause for Artemis, either, and they trailed Oracle early with the delta holding at 34-35 seconds into legs 4 and 5.  Oracle went right at the second leeward gate, Artemis went right at the gate trying to split, then taking the left-hand side of the course.  Oracle tacked to cover upwind, with the lead at 120 meters.  Artemis tacked to starboard at the left boundary, then soon tacked back again in the center of the course, managing to get slightly out of phase with Oracle4.  With Oracle approaching the port layline, Artemis closer to the center of the course picked up a little more breeze, cutting the lead to 90m by the end of Leg 5.  Downwind on the final leg Artemis runs out of race course before reeling Oracle4 in any further, and Oracle4 (Spithill) wins the Semi-Final.  Artemis picks up their first match race loss in the last three World Series and will finish 4th in the Newport Match Race Standings.

Race Report SF2:
An even start with Oracle (Coutts) to windward of Chris Draper and Luna Rossa Piranha. Coutts gets aggressive and holds LR from gybing even way past the first mark, letting Oracle choose the timing and preserving the stronger-looking right-hand side for themselves downwind. Coutts holds a narrow 8 second lead at the first leeward mark, taking the left-hand gate, LR taking the right, followed by a loose cover upwind with both boats keeping to the right side on Leg 3. A 14 second lead at the top mark and Coutts extends to 150m downwind on the 4th leg, and a 17 second lead at the bottom. Both boats go right. The wind gets lighter, but Luna Rossa closes a bit, the lead dropping down to 100m, down to 60m. Despite the distance, the delta is stubbornly at 16 seconds at the final windward mark. Heading downwind to the finish, Piranha starts to make gains, staying slightly right of Oracle, carrying better speed aided by wind building again from behind. The finish comes too fast, though, and Oracle5 (Coutts) goes into the Match Race Final, winning by 9 seconds over Luna Rossa Piranha.

Fleet Race 2:
ETNZ leads most of the race, but Oracle 4 (Spithill) steals it on the last downwind leg.  ETNZ is second, Artemis third, Energy Team 4th, Luna Rossa Swordfish 5th, Team Korea 6th, Oracle5 (Coutts) 7th, and Luna Rossa Piranha 8th.

ETNZ and Team Korea, seen here turning the first Mark, got a jump on the rest of the field with a great start in Friday's Fleet Race.
.  Photo:©2012 ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget

Conditions:
Winds: SW 10 knots gusting to 15 (WindFinder).  SSW 10 knots (Weather Underground).  Tides: Nearing maximum flood at scheduled race time, with high tide approximately 4:30 pm (NOAA Tides).  20-30% chance of mid-day rain or thunderstorm (NOAA weather forecast and current radar loop).

Preview:
A great set of pairings for the Semi-Finals with a re-invigorated Russell Coutts going up against a sharp looking Luna Rossa Piranha skippered by Chris Draper.  Artemis has been running like clockwork lately, so sending them head-to-head against James Spithill and Oracle4 gives the Swedes a welcome chance to show they can take the season standings leader down a notch.  Of course, after placing sixth in the match race portion of the regatta, if ETNZ is going to have a chance to edge into first for the season by the end of ACWS Newport, they'll want to see Spithill stopped sooner rather than later, hoping to only give up two points in the process.

Both of today's pairings have met only once previously in AC45 match racing.  In Cascais, gennaker problems forced Artemis to withdraw from their Semi-Final match against Spithill, who then went on to win the match race regatta.  Luna Rossa Piranha with Chris Draper on the helm met Oracle5 skippered by Darren Bundock in the Naples Semi-Finals, with the Italians prevailing.  Coutts and Draper have met, though, with Draper skippering Team Korea to victory over Oracle5 in the Cascais Quarter-Final.

Thursday June 28: Day 1 of America's Cup World Series Newport'

ETNZ capsized in their first match race against Luna Rossa, damaging the wing and canceling any social plans for their shore crews tonight.  The crew was not injured. Click image for more photos. Photo:©2012 ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget

Race Program:
 One Seeding Fleet Race followed by Four Quarter-Final Matches.  The Quarter-Finals are each a best-of-three series, so between 8 and 12 match races are expected.

Fleet Race start scheduled for 12:00 pm, expected duration is 30 minutes.  First Match Race start scheduled for 12:40 pm, expected duration of each match race is 13 minutes.

Conditions:
Wind WSW 8 knots, gusts to 14 (Windfinder). Winds WSW 10 knots becoming SW 9 knots (Wunderground).  High Tide 12:55 pm, relatively slack water during racing. Clear skies expected.

Sam Newton fronting up on Oracle5.  Both Oracle boats were in the hunt Thursday, taking 1-2 in the Fleet race and winning their Semi-Final matches.  Photo:©2012 Guilain Grenier/Oracle Team USA

Results:
Fleet Race #1: Oracle4 (Spithill) wins Fleet Race1! Oracle4 (Spithill) wins Fleet Race1! Oracle5 (Coutts) is 2nd, Luna Rossa Piranha 3rd, Artemis 4th, Energy 5th, Emirates Team New Zealand 6th, Luna Rossa Swordfish 7th, Team Korea 8th.

Quarter-Final Pairings:
Artemis defeats Energy (2-0)
Luna Rossa Piranha defeats ETNZ (2-0)
Oracle5 (Coutts) defeats Luna Rossa Swordfish (2-1)
Oracle4 (Spithill) defeats Team Korea (2-1)

Artemis will face Oracle4 (Spithill) in the semi-finals while Oracle5 (Coutts) will face LR Piranha.  See Match Race Brackets

ETNZ was DNF and DNS after an early capsize that damaged their wingsail.  The crew is not seriously injured, but the wing sustained damage to the frames and Clysar film covering, and the shore crew is working to repair the wing for Friday, borrowing parts from other teams where necessary.  The capsize was the first AC45 incident with the wing extension installed, and while waiting to be right the extension filled with water before separating from the main structure. See ETNZ capsize photo gallery

Quotes of the Day:
Russell Coutts: “We want to try to get a better result for Boat 5 this week, that’s the objective.  And so far, frankly, we didn’t show any form in practice, so I didn’t have any big expectations today.  

“I thought we started okay in the match racing, but otherwise, personally, we didn’t have a great day.   We made a lot of mistakes, that’s probably just lack of match fitness.  I’m still getting the feel of the boat again.  It’s one thing to practice in San Francisco where it’s 20 plus knots every day, and then come here and it’s shifty and lighter, it’s got more subtleties in the technique.  By Sunday, I think we’ll be going a bit better.”

Thursday Preview:
Newport wraps up the first season of AC45 racing for the America's Cup World Series.  The story throughout the year has been the learning process for the sailors, with some being able to spend a great deal of time in training, particularly if their team has a spare set of boats.  But after five regattas, the field is leveling out.  Wednesday's practice saw Team Korea leading the fleet in tricky conditions, testimony to a lot of effort and some good personnel continuity throughout the year.  Energy Team clicked again in Venice, leveraging their extensive multihull experience with increasing time spent on the AC45.  Luna Rossa's Chris Draper and Paul Campbell-James came hot off the helms of other boats and helped push the Italian team to podium finishes. Can they perform that trick in the USA, too?

Meanwhile, the Big Three of Oracle, Artemis, and ENTZ are at the top of the season standings.  Artemis has looked formidable under some tough conditions, but also found some hard luck at unexpected times.  The Swedes could dominate the regatta, and have enough local experience onboard to do it, but would need to sail perfectly to have a mathematical shot at the season championship.

Russell Coutts, back again on the helm of Oracle5, would probably like to get in the groove and chalk up a few wins against his in-house rival James Spithill, even if there's not a season championship in the offering.

The marquee showdown though is Oracle4 (Spithill) versus Emirates Team New Zealand, who have been neck-and-neck for overall leads throughout the 2011-2012 season.  Currently separated by 4 points in the season standings with up to 20 points still on the table, they are the two contenders for a first place season finish.  Boats that get eliminated in the Quarter-Finals will have their match race points fixed by the end of the day today, with the oddity that sailing well in the Fleet Race could earn a low numerical seed for match racing, but with the high-low match pairings comes the risk that in the next round a Quarter-Final loss could shunt the eliminated team into the Match Race Points cellar.  Nobody sails with the goal of finishing 4th or 5th, but those seeds are actually the lower risk result in the opening fleet race.
See Match Race Bracket

ACWS Newport Racing Begins

Photo:©2012 CupInfo.com

(June 28) Newport starts Thursday slightly more humid and a bit less windy than yesterday, but the crowds have turned out.  The town has the usual summer-weekend gridlock, but on a weekday morning.  Was there ever a day that you've seen thousands of people pay to watch a sailboat race in person?  Well, that day is certainly here and with the start of the fleet race just minutes away, and after filling fields of parking, paying spectators continue to stream into Fort Adams for Day 1 of ACWS Newport, and it's not even the weekend yet.

Practice Makes for a Perfect Wednesday

Truth in advertising for Emirates Team New Zealand.
Photo:©2012 CupInfo.com

(June 27) There’s a long and storied romance between Newport and the America’s Cup, and it’s been rekindled into full flame here on the eve of the ACWS regatta starting Thursday.  Challengers and the Defender are here to race, and even though the defense of yachting’s most historic trophy isn’t until next year in San Francisco, Cup racing in Newport makes everything shine.  The town hasn’t looked better in decades, and the America’s Cup as an event is back with cutting edge technology on and off the water, plus a re-invented spectator experience.  And Sunday will see live national broadcast TV coverage in the USA for the first time since the 1990s.

Wednesday’s solid southwest winds in the mid-20-knot range let the cats shoot off the start line and carry eye-opening speed into the mark roundings, with the downwind gate barely spitting distance from an excited crowd packing the shore on the western side of Fort Adams.  Practice Race One was under a wind regime marked by numerous strong puffs, and spiced up by substantial wind shifts from leg to leg that kept both sailors and crowds on their toes for the unfolding tactical battle.  Practice Race Two saw winds drop into the teens early on, the boats sailing a bit more confidently, before the wind filled in strong from the left-hand side and the spray started flying again.  Practice Race Three saw a couple of withdrawals due to gear issues, including Team Korea and Luna Rossa, with discretion being the better part of having a boat to race tomorrow, hopefully.

  The fans were more than enthusiastic, and if you’ve never seen a successful inside position at the mark draw spontaneous applause, or a wingsail cat catch a gust after gybing and make people on shore audibly gasp, then you might be skeptical of the “stadium sailing” underlying the ACWS format.  But if you were here on Narragansett Bay for a day that all the smartphone photo filters in the world couldn’t make look any more beautiful, you would need no convincing.  This is fun.  Racing Starts Thursday.  Let’s Regatta!

Ready to Launch

Piranha on the hook. Photo:©2012 CupInfo.com

(June 27) Craning in the AC45's draws a crowd in Newport, Wednesday, the day before official racing begins on June 28.  That didn't stop a sizeable crowd from making their way to Fort Adams even hours before the practice racing began on a near-perfect Rhode Island afternoon.

Racing kicks off Thursday with the first fleet race, which also seeds the Match Race Brackets, and is followed by the best-of-three Quarter-Finals matches, a total of 8 to 12 match races on the opening day.