Fog dominated the top end of the course, and an ebb tide kicked up choppy seas.  Add to that a constant flirtation with the wind limit and San Francisco Bay conditions tested both teams on Sunday.  Image:©2013 ACEA/Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget
 

It was Emirates Team New Zealand’s turn to experience on-board issues, as  hydraulic failure stopped the Kiwis on Leg Three of today’s Louis Vuitton Cup final Race Two, handing Luna Rossa their first victory and evening the series at one win each.

Luna Rossa tucked under and alongside ETNZ at the start, but the Kiwis pulled head and in front almost immediately, extending the lead to 23 seconds by the second gate.  That was the last time the two boats were near each other, as the boats headed to opposite sides of the race course.

Shortly after the second mark, however, it was clear the Kiwis had a problem, their AC72 slowly grinding to a halt.  Hydraulics proved to be the problem, with a failure of the battery pack that runs the system - fixed in relatively short order, but not in time to catch Luna Rossa.  Outside assistance from the ETNZ tender was automatic disqualification.

Waiting for the second scheduled race for the day, the wind consistently stayed over 21 knots, and Race Three was postponed until Monday.  Race Three of the Louis Vuitton Cup Final will commence at 12:10pm tomorrow.

Ray Davies Tactician, Emirates Team New Zealand

“We had a really good start – we got what we wanted.  The weather end was favored.  We started to weather of Luna Rossa and rolled over them pretty quickly.  We had a nice clean exit out of Mark 1 and a nice gybe.  We took the gate off them as we both went around the left gate.  We stretched our legs a bit going upwind and it was all going really well.  But on our second-to-last tack, we had a minor hydraulic issue.  But then on the last tack, we had a full hydraulic shutdown and it couldn’t be resolved without the chase boat coming alongside and sorting it out.  The boat is unsailable in 20 knots with no hydraulics.  You can still go to windward, but you can’t drop your wing or control your daggerboard.”

“We haven’t seen this type of issue before, though it seems like a pretty simple issue on the face of it.  But we’re gutted.  The boys had a good bounce back from what happened yesterday and we were sailing pretty well.  To be completely shut down is really disappointing.”

Max Sirena, Skipper, Luna Rossa

“We are more in survival mode with this boat in 20 knots.  We need to keep the boat together until the end because anything can happen to the other team.  These boats are very fragile in 20 knots, because you push so hard.  Even the way we went around the top gate was really on the edge.  But it is what it is and we’re going to push until the end.  The current doesn’t help – the wind was close to 21 but in reality, it was close to 23 knots.  You are full-on in that breeze in this boat.”

“We are happy, though, since Round Robin 1.  Anything can happen – we would like to lead to the reaching mark, to see what would happen.  We will try to play for that in the coming days.  To win the start to leeward in big breeze you have to be quite ahead of them, otherwise it’s really easy for the windward boat to roll – unless you’re really tight to leeward and then you can luff.”
 

Image:©2013 ACEA/Photo Abner Kingman

-- Diane Swintal for CupInfo/©2013 CupInfo.com
 

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