Race Three Of Quarter Finals Repechage

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND

NOVEMBER 28, 2002

RACE THREE OF QUARTER FINALS REPECHAGE - LUNA ROSSA ITA 74 (3) ORM SWE 73 (0)

Another long day of light air on the Hauraki Gulf for the third match of the Louis Vuitton Cup 2002-2003 quarter finals repechage, raced on a best of seven series - the teams who score first four points proceed to the semifinals. With today's match Luna Rossa gains her third consecutive win. The Race Committee is forced to delay all starts until 15:45 today due to light and fickle winds.

The match between Luna Rossa ITA 74 and Orm SWE 73 starts at 16:05 in 10 knots of breeze. Rod Davis, at the helm of Luna Rossa for the start, crosses the line to leeward of Orm. The two boats sail bow to bow, then Francesco de Angelis tacks away to the left. After a few minutes he tacks back towards the Swedes who are in a powerful position to defend the right.

At the first cross Luna Rossa is unable to pass ahead of Orm, who has the right of way. At the second cross ITA 74 has gained a little and is able to tack right in front of the Swedes, forcing them to bounce back to the right. Same situation at the third cross, with ITA 74 still making little gains. For the duration of the beat the two boats fight an intense tacking duel, with the Swedes aggressively defending the right without conceding anything to Luna Rossa. The wind increases to 13-14 knots. The mark rounding is very close, with Orm leading by 9 seconds.

During the first downwind leg Luna Rossa chases Orm, trying to get the overlap from astern. Halfway down the run, Jesper Bank performs a successful dummy gybe, gaining a little on Luna Rossa who has to recover from the trick of the false move. With a good series of gybes Francesco de Angelis is able to close the gap and get the overlap on Orm. At this point the afterguard on Luna Rossa decides to attack their opponent with an aggressive luffing match. The crew on Orm responds but loses control of the gennaker. SWE 73 broaches, the gennaker pole breaks in the three pieces and the big sail trawls in the water. On top of this, the Umpires inflict a penalty on the Swedes when their gennaker touches Luna Rossa and Prada's afterguard flies the protest flag. Orm rounds the bottom mark 21 seconds behind ITA 74.

Second beat. The wind is now up to 15-17 knots. Francesco de Angelis keeps the lead and controls closely his opponent. Towards the end of the leg the wind shifts slightly and Luna Rossa overlays the mark, giving away a few metres to the Swedes, who trail by 21 seconds at the top mark.

Second downwind run. The Swedes, who are not carrying a spare, are forced to fly their spinnaker without a pole. However Orm, who sails deeper, is able to make quite a good gain closing the gap on Luna Rossa to only one boat length. At the leeward mark ITA 74 is leading by 7 seconds only.

Third and last upwind beat. Francesco de Angelis has to keep a very close control on his opponent. The racing conditions are ideal now, with a good 16-17 knots breeze. The Swedes still have to complete a penalty turn before the end of the race. At the last mark rounding Luna Rossa is leading by 31 seconds.

Final leg. The crew of Luna Rossa opts this time for a spinnaker hoist, instead of the asymmetrical gennaker, in order to be able to sail deeper in the same fashion as the Swedes did in the previous run. Francesco de Angelis defends the lead and goes to win by 51 seconds the third consecutive match over Victory Challenge.

TODAY'S RESULTS - every victory equals 1 point

RACE 3

Romeo - Match 1 OneWorld USA 67 wins against Stars & Stripes USA 77 (1' 02" lead) Romeo - Match 2 Luna Rossa ITA 74 wins against Orm SWE 73 (51 seconds)

SCOREBOARD

OneWorld Challenge (3) - Team Dennis Conner (0) Prada Challenge (3) - Victory Challenge (0)

RACE COURSE

Windward leeward, 18.5 miles long; six legs total, three windward legs and three downwind legs; first and last legs are 3.25 miles, the remaining four are 3.00 miles.

WEATHER CONDITIONS TODAY

Wind from SW 4-7 knots. Cloudy with sunny breaks becoming frequent in the afternoon. Chance of a few light showers.

TODAY'S CREW ON LUNA ROSSA 1. Bowman, Paolo Bassani 2. Mid bowman, Massimiliano Sirena 3. Mastman, Simone de Mari 4. Pitman, Cristian Griggio 5. Left grinder, Massimo Galli 6. Right grinder, Romolo Ranieri 7. Upwind trimmer, Lorenzo Mazza 8. Downwind trimmer, Andrew Hemmings 9. Mainsail trimmer, Sean Clarkson 10.Center grinder, Massimo Gherarducci 11.Helmsman, Francesco de Angelis 12.Tactician, Torben Grael 13.Afterguard, Rod Davis 14.Downwind grinder, Steve Erickson 15.Strategist, Michele Ivaldi 16.Navigator, Matteo Plazzi

CALENDAR FOR TOMORROW - NOVEMBER 29

RACE 4

Romeo - Match 2 Luna Rossa ITA 74 versus Orm SWE 73

Romeo - Match 1 OneWorld USA 67 versus Stars & Stripes USA 77 *

* Match broacasted live on TV.

WEATHER FORECAST FOR TOMORROW

Wind from E 5-10. Mostly cloudy. Chance of a few showers.

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