Louis Vuitton Pacific Series - Race Report: Round Robin 1 Day 5

Race Report: Shosholoza Wins Over a Struggling Alinghi
Round Robin 1 Day 5

Auckland, February 3, 2009

Team Origin finished Round Robin 1 with 4 wins and no losses, equaled only by Team New Zealand.
Photo:©2009 Ian Roman/Team Origin

Friday’s first day of sailing was under a significant cloud cover and fairly cool temperatures. But Saturday’s weather was much warmer, with lots of sun among the clouds. The question was whether sun would translate into wind.

Another beautiful day on the Waitemata -- the forecasts of rain have not materialized, and hopefully delays like yesterday’s have been left in the wake, too.

Race 1:
The first race of the day was BMW Oracle Racing versus the young Damiani Challenge, fronted by skipper Vasco Vascotto (formerly of Mascalzone Latino). Even the new teams have shown great promise in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, despite Vascotto’s assertion that his main objective in the race was not to hit anything.

The boats split tacks on the start, with BMW Oracle taking the left –- but only for a brief time, heading back and crossing Damiani and tacking to starboard just ahead. Damiani chose not to tack away, taking BMW Oracle’s stern all the way around the top mark, 20 seconds behind. With the Italians affecting BMW Oracle’s breeze, the lead was only nine seconds at the bottom mark. But as the second leg progressed, BMW Oracle stretched their advantage and took the win. BMW Oracle finishes in second place in Pool A, Damiani Italia in third.

Race 2:
Race 2 between the heretofore winless Shosholoza and Alinghi started in fairly straightforward fashion -- the boats dialed up at the start and stayed together for over two minutes, drifting at two knots over the starting line. Shosholoza peeled away first, coming back through the start line and keeping Alinghi behind them with no overlap. The South Africans timed their return to the line perfectly, while Alinghi seemed to stall in their turn, came back up to speed slowly, and trailed across the line a boat length behind the South Africans.

Shosholoza’s lead at the start translated to a 50 second lead at the top mark, and time spent by Alinghi in a wind hole saw the deficit inflate to 2:20 at the bottom. To make matters worse, Alinghi uncharacteristically lost control of the spinnaker during a “kiwi drop” at the rounding, fighting to bring in a spinnaker that wanted billow around the mast. It was a sight not usually associated with the clockwork America’s Cup defender –- nor was the one kilometer lead, 3:49 for those checking their stopwatches, that Shosholoza enjoyed at the finish.

Race 3:
Race 3 was tame by comparison, with Emirates Team New Zealand and Pataugas K-Challenge weaving back and forth around each other in the middle of the start box. ETNZ got the left and Pataugas K-Challenge fell in just behind and to windward at the start. Game over, as it turned out. ETNZ finishes in first place in Pool A, K-Challenge in fourth.

Race 4
Greek Challenge Versus Team Origin. Gavin Brady took a go as tactician and turned the helm over to Greek star sailor Theodoros Tsoulfas, but the change in drivers did not change the outcome. Origin led Greek Challenge by half a boat length over the line and kept the lead throughout. The British have gone 4-0 in Round Robin 1, leading Pool B. Greek Challenge is in fifth.

Links of Interest:

Round Robin 1: Head-to-Head Results and Standings

CupInfo's Main Louis Vuitton Pacific Series page

Visit the Official Louis Vuiton Pacific Series Web Site