Day 5: High drama on the waters off Trapani
04/10/05
The fifth day of the Louis Vuitton Act 8 was full of drama on the waters off Trapani on Monday.
The wind during the afternoon ranged from 12 to 22 knots with gusts to more than 25. As the afternoon wore on the breeze shifted from south-south-east to north-north-west to north. In mid-afternoon a violent thunderstorm swept across the courses.
The wind ranged from 12 to 17 knots for the first flight from the south, and again, the wind was shifty.
Many yachts had gear damage. The South African Shosholoza did not start against Alinghi in the first race of the day when crew could not hoist the mainsail. United Internet Team Germany also retired from its match against Desafio Espanol.
In the second flight, K-Challenge retired in the match against Luna Rossa. Few yachts did not have damage to sails.
Emirates Team New Zealand’s matches were against China Team and Alinghi.
As NZL 82 and CHN 69 manoeuvred in the starting box the breeze gusted over 20 knots. Before the race was over the thunderstorm hit with winds increasing to more than 25 knots and heavy, rain and visibility down to 100 metres.
Against China Team, NZL 82 stuck to the game plan: winning the start, crossing the line at speed and taking the right of the course. NZL 82 shut down every attempt by CHN 69 to go right, staying close in touch to ensure they could not slip away.
At the first mark, NZL 82 was 32sec ahead, 22sec at the second mark, 51sec at the third. The delta at the finish was 35sec.
With the wind around to the north with speeds of 12 to 16 knots, NZ: 82 faced off against SUI 75. A spinnaker in the water at the end of the first run put paid to NZL 82’s chances.
Once again Alinghi demonstrated its speed edge to lead around the first mark by 18sec, extending on the run to 31sec and 52sec by the end of the second beat.
Tomorrow NZL 82 is matched against ESP 67 and ITA 74.
NZL 82 crew race day 5
Helm: Dean Barker
Tactician: Terry Hutchinson
Navigator: Kevin Hall
Strategist/traveler: Adam Beashel
Weather/runner: Ray Davies
Mainsheet: Don Cowie
Trimmer upwind: Rob Salthouse
Trimmer downwind: Andy Hemming
Grinder: Rob Waddell
Grinder: Chris McAsey
Main Grinder: Chris Ward
Pit: Jared Henderson
Runner/pit: Tony Rae
Mid-bow: Richard Meacham
Bow: Jeremy Lomas
Mast: Nick Heron
Runner/grinder:Grant Dalton
Results today:
Flight 8
NZL 82 beat CHN 69 by 35sec
SWE 63 beat FRA 60 2min 59sec
USA 76 beat ITA 59 2min 12sec
ESP 67 beat GER 72 – United Internet Team Germany dnf
ITA 74 beat ITA 77 by 2min 34sec
SUI 75 beat RSA 83 – Shosholoza did not start
Flight 9
SUI 75 beat NZL 82 by 1min 43sec
SWE 63 beat RSA 83 by 56sec
ITA 74 beat FRA 60 – K-Challenge dnf
USA 76 beat ESP 67 by 1min 20sec
GER 72 beat CHN 69 by 55sec
ITA 59 beat ITA 77 by 1min 15sec
Rankings after nine races
1 Alinghi (SUI 75) 9 pts
2 BMW Oracle Racing (USA 76) 8pts
2 Luna Rossa (ITA 74) 8pts
4 Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL 82) 7pts
5 Victory Challenge (SWE 63) 5pts
6 K-Challenge (FRA 60) 5pts
7 Desafio Espanol (ESP 67) 4pts
8 +39 (ITA 59) 2pts
8 Shosholoza (RSA 83) 2pts
8 United Internet Team Germany (GER 72) 2pts
9 Mascalzone Latino (ITA 77) 1pt
9 Team China (CHN 69) 1pt
|
 |
Wind gusts up to 25 knots
|
