From the Ridiculous to the Sublime

Editorial: From the Ridiculous to the Sublime

May 9... the battle for first place ends for seven of the Challengers....  Mark O'Brien
Welcome to Sail-World.Com’s America’s Cup newsletter for Day 24 of the Louis Vuitton Cup.

Today marked the end of the beginning for seven teams, and the beginning of the end for the remaining four, in the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup.

It was day of emotion and disbelief.

Emotion, at the realisation that their campaigns had come to an end for seven of the teams, and in the historic terminology of the New York Yacht Club, they were 'excused from further racing.'

They face the best of intentions and uncertain futures – which will only really be determined when the match for the 32nd America’s Cup is decided and everyone can look forward to the 33rd rendition of the event.

Disbelief, at the Match of the Day, in fact what was billed as the Match of the Event, when the two top of the table teams, BMW Oracle Racing and Emirates Team New Zealand squared off for the right to chose their opponent in the Semi-Finals.

After the ridiculous start of the preceding day, all eyes were in Emirates Team New Zealand who chose a Vanderbilt start, electing not to engage with the Smiling Assassin and controlled a timed run away from the line for almost couple of minutes before turning. A small sidestep and she took up a position on USA-98’s hip and both had a slingshot start at the line - hitting the target at full pace with reasonable separation.

NZL-92 clearly wanted the right hand side, where they have lived for many of the first beats in this regatta. Chris Dickson took solace in the left, which has proved to be a happy hunting ground for him too, on occasions.

This was not to be one of those times as the Valencian breeze flicked into the right, allowing the Emirates Kiwis to open up a gap of 100 or so metres on the San Franciscan Kiwis. A massive lateral separation opened to about 1300 metres, as both pursued their respective gameplans, and for a while Dickson looked as if he had played the right cards again as the Emirates’ lead evaporated.

The South Africas supporters boat after the last race - Louis Vuitton Cup Day 24   ACM 2007/Carlos Luján

The Valencian casino dealt another hand. This time it was Barker who held all the Aces, and the breeze which was reading around 130degrees in Dickson’s corner soon after the start, was turning to almost 160 degrees at the top mark. Barker, just lifted and lifted and lifted, rounding with a lead of 54 seconds.

From there it was all over Red Rover for the US challenger. They had no answer for NZL-92 who continued to extend upwind and down in the 11 knot breeze which settled back to a steady direction of 144 – 148 degrees for the remainder of the race.

Of the much vaunted fifth gear on USA-98, we saw nothing, with NZL -92 winning by a massive 94 seconds or 500 metres on the water, in spite of a small tear in the foot of her red spinnaker.

The four semi-finalists - Emirates Team New Zealand NZL92 head down the second leg with Oracle BMW USA98 54 seconds astern, while ahead Luna Rossa leads Desafio Espanol.  Emirates Team NZ/ ©Photo Chris Cameron ETNZ

Most pundits were expecting a rout of the New Zealand team. Their gain by the middle of the first beat was stunning, and the final outcome, incredulous. Emirates Team New Zealand are on top of the points table by virtue of the extra point they carried into this regatta, from their efforts in Acts 1-13.

For BMW Oracle, the result, from this match, should cause some soul-searching. Their opening four matches saw them trail around the first mark each time, retrieving the situation with some clever positioning on the course and exploiting their opponents’ mistakes.

While it is easy to put today’s win by Emirates Team New Zealand down to picking a windshift, the fact remains they picked it and BMW Oracle Racing did not. And you could say that on three other first beats in this regatta that they have not done the same. That is quite a contrast to their effort in the first round where USA-98 got it right almost all of the time – not the 60% of the time they achieved in the second.

Prada will be no easy meal for them either, particularly with the likes of five time Olympic medallist (including three Golds) Torben Grael in the afterguard, and the young gunslinger, James Spithill – a perfect foil for a wily and quick thinking Chris Dickson in the pre-start.

Emirates Team New Zealand NZL92 and Oracle BMW USA98 on the final run of their round robin two match of the Louis Vuitton cup. ETNZs win by 1.34 means they take top top spot on the leader board.  Emirates Team NZ/ ©Photo Chris Cameron ETNZ

Emirates Team New Zealand remain their usual enigma. They and only they, know where they are at. Their culture is set by Grant Dalton, a restless soul, who refuses to rest on his laurels and for whom perfect is never good enough.

On Monday 14th May, Valencia time the next phase in the Louis Vuitton Cup will get underway. It promises to be a fascinating study of four quite different teams with quite different styles and attributes.

We’ll have Bob Fisher back on deck to give his interpretation of the action.

In the meantime, we’ll be taking a rest and all news from Valencia will be contained on our website www.sail-world.com (click the national flag to set your preferred region), and in our newsletters.

Good sailing!

Richard Gladwell
NZ Editor>/i>

PS if you have a friend, fellow sailor or Cup fan who would like to receive this newsletter then forward this newsletter and us this link www.sail-world.com/subscription

By nzeditor@sail-world.com

Emirates TNZ on top of table - Semis start Monday
By America's Cup Media,
Emirates Team New Zealand finished Round Robin Two of the Louis Vuitton Cup at the top of the table, with a win over BMW ORACLE Racing capping an unbeaten run in the second round. By finishing as the top challenger, the Kiwi team now has the right to choose its opponent for the Semi Finals. Its decision will be announced at a press conference, scheduled for later on Wednesday.... [more]

Emirates Team NZ picks Desafío Español for Semis
By America's Cup Media,
Skipper Dean Barker, representing the Round Robin leading Emirates Team New Zealand, has elected to race against Desafío Español 2007 in the Semi Finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup. That means BMW ORACLE Racing will face Luna Rossa Challenge in the other pairing. 'We looked at the different teams. We’ve had good racing with the Spanish, they’re a fast team, sailing well and we’re looking forward to racing them in the Semi Finals.'... [more]

NZL 92 has emphatic win over BMW Oracle Racing
By Warren Douglas,
It was the match everyone was waiting for. The two teams heading the leaderboard going head-to-head. The money was on Oracle to win. NZL 92 finished the round robin 2 unbeaten. USA 98 was beaten twice – by China and New Zealand.... [more]

Quotes Of The Day: LVC Semi- finalists
By America's Cup Media,
Dean Barker, Skipper, Emirates Team New Zealand, on the dangers of choosing: 'It’s always tough in any match racing event when you have the opportunity to choose, because the top four teams are there because they’re fast. You choose your poison, and we’ve made the choice to race Spain.'... [more]

From the Blogs: Tack by Tack - Mark Chisnell
By Mark Chisnell,
After 23 days straight of either racing or trying to race, we finally have four semi-finalists: Oracle, ETNZ, Luna Rossa and Desafio Espanol. The Spanish joined the other three yesterday - despite losing to Oracle - when Victory failed to beat ETNZ. You can read our account here. All that really matters now is who wins this thing, and ETNZ face Oracle today... [more]

Luna Rossa Cuptoon: Not the end of the World
By Sail-World,
Mark O'Brien who was a feature of the Louis Vuitton and America's Cups in Auckland, with his Monsta series, is in Valencia as part of the Luna Rossa team. We will be presenting Mark's latest Cup carton when available, either as a separate feature of as part of the Luna Rossa story of the day.... [more]

From the Blogs: SailJuice - Barker gives Dickson a detention
By Andy Rice: www.sailjuice.com,
Did you know Dean Barker and Chris Dickson both hail from the same school in Auckland? Neither did I, until today when I received a timely press release from the Westlake Boys High School. Actually Desafio tactician John Cutler is also from Westlake, but he’s standing on the naughty chair after his Kiwi salute to Vasco Vascotto a few days ago.... [more]

Images from Valencia: The vanquished bid farewell
By America's Cup Media,
The teams that were eliminated from the Louis Vuitton Cup give their own salute as they re-enter Port America's Cup for the final time in the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup... [more]

BMW ORACLE Racing to face Luna Rossa in semi-final
By Ivor Wilkins, BMW Oracle Racing Media,
BMW ORACLE Racing will face the Italian Luna Rossa Challenge team in the best-of-nine semi-final of the Louis Vuitton Cup starting on Monday, May 14. The draw was announced at a media conference in Valencia today after BMW ORACLE Racing completed the round robin phase of the Louis Vuitton Cup in 2nd place overall following the final day match against Emirates Team New Zealand.... [more]

Quotes of the Day: Eliminated teams from the LVC
By America's Cup Media,
Iain Percy, Skipper, +39 Challenge,on his highlight of the experience in the 32nd America’s Cup: 'We had a lot of fun; being part of a group of sailors and shore team who have worked against the odds, under-funded and under resourced. It was a tremendous effort to get us on the start line and we had some good races along the way.'... [more]

Team Shosholoza exits Louis Vuitton Cup with a win
By Team Shosholoza Media,
'I want to start, yes, I want to start again. I feel a little empty. Yes, of course. The dream was to go to the semi-finals. We had the possibility but it wasn’t to be and we did well. I am very, very proud of my team. They are winners all the way. Next time we will bring the Cup back to South Africa,' said team founder and managing director Captain Salvatore Sarno who along with the rest of the team was cheered back to the dock and then ceremoniously thrown into the harbour.... [more]

Images from final day of Challenger Series
By Sail-World,
Emirates Team New Zealand defeated BMW Oracle Racing in the last round of the Challenger Series of the Louis Vuitton Cup and photographer Ingrid Abery captured all the action and excitement of the encounter.... [more]

Desafío Español 2007 into the semifinals
By Desafío Español 2007,
Desafío Español 2007 is in the semifinals of the Louis Vuitton Cup. Agustín Zulueta, the Technical and Sports Director of Desafío Español 2007, commented that 'today Desafío Español is in the semifinals because they deserve to be not because Victory Challenge lost against Team New Zealand. We have won 13 regattas during the two Round Robins, which shows work well done.... [more]

Victory Challenge finish in fifth place
By Bert Willborg,
Victory Challenge and Mascalzone Latino are off to an even start, but the Italian boat takes the initial lead in the first beat. They retain their lead as they approach the top mark and two thirds into the first beat Mascalzone Latino leads by four boatlengths. Despite the loss to Mascalzone Latino, Victory Challenge stays in fifth place.... [more]

United Internet Team Germany celebrates the finish
By Oliver Laskowsky,
In its last match race in the challenger round of the 32nd America’s Cup the German team crossed the finish line 30 seconds behind the Italian team and is therefore on rank ten with five points.... [more]

Luna Rossa defeats Desafio Espanol
By Luna Rossa media,
After studying his opponent for a couple of minutes James Spithill takes control of the situation and starts tailgating ESP 97 forcing her out of the box and to a late start. The afterguard on board Luna Rossa plays it safe and keeps Desafio Espanol in check until the end of the race.... [more]

22 years on from the 1985 Citizen Cup
By Richard Gladwell, Sail-World NZL,
Over the past few days there has been some discussion about the numbers of Kiwis competing in the various teams in the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup and yet to come America’s Cup. The photo is taken at the 1985 Citizen Match Racing Series which was where many of the current rock-stars of the America’s Cup cut their teeth.... [more]

Longtze says goodbye to Valencia
By China Team,
China Team finished today its participation in the America's Cup. Defeated by +39 Challenge, Longtze will have a 'bye' (no sailing) tomorrow for the last day of Round Robin 2.... [more]

New America's Cup DVD released - a Must Buy!
By Sail-World,
The second in a series of America's Cup DVD's has been released by New Zealand based production company, Mediawave. An outstanding production, this DVD is notable not only for capturing the highlights of the 12 Louis Vuitton Acts sailed in four countries. The camera work is outstanding as is the sight of AC yachts racing against the scenic backdrops of Valencia (Spain), Marseille (France), Malmo (Sweden) and Trapani (Italy).... [more]

32nd America’s Cup - A Simple Guide available now
By Kate Killick,
Well known Auckland sailor, Penny Whiting, has launched a new edition of her famous America's Cup Guide for the 32nd America's Cup. For those that spent the last Louis Vuitton and America’s Cup races wondering what on earth the commentators were talking about, Penny Whiting’s The 32nd Americas Cup is just the thing to help get you up to speed.... [more]

2007 America's Cup

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