American weakness, shock Alinghi win and more: What we learned from Louis Vuitton Cup Day 6

It was a day of significant moments in the America's Cup Challenger Selection Series, the Louis Vuitton Cup day 6

With racing abandoned after two races due to a lightning storm on Tuesday 3 September and cancelled altogether due to storm conditions on Wednesday 4 September, racing in the America’s Cup Challenger Selection series, the Louis Vuitton Cup returned today, Thursday, with some light wind conditions making for tense racing.

The day was forecast to see light winds in of around 8 knots early on building to around 15 knots by the end of the day. So it was not a huge surprise to see racing delayed by 30 minutes as the race committee waited for the breeze to start properly building.

In fact this build never really materialised as the wind increased for the second race, but then slowly dropped away throughout the day making the later races, all about staying on the foils.

Key takeaways from Louis Vuitton Day 6

• Could American Magic have a power weakness?
• Alinghi pick up crucial win
• Worries for Orient Express Racing Team, now at the bottom of the table and lapped in the final race
• A surprising number of errors from many of the teams

Race 18 American Magic Vs INEOS Britannia

Skippers
American Magic: Paul Goodison & Tom Slingsby
INEOS Britannia: Ben Ainlsie & Dylan Fletcher

After a short delay to allow the wind to build, the first race got underway in very, very light winds. In the pre-start, both teams looked to be trying to minimise the manoeuvres and stay on the foils. A small error from American Magic saw them late into the start box, which gave the Brits the advantage as they were able to gybe round behind the US boat and follow them on starboard towards the pin end of the line.

With the Brits on their stern and both boats on starboard to leeward of the line, Ainslie and Fletcher were in a commanding position and should have been able to choose when the lead back, but they allowed the US-flagged boat to step up to windward and tack away.

The Brits gybed round, which would usually be the quicker manoeuvre, however it also means sailing back through the dirty air and with American Magic footing down to the line after their tack, they were able to make that dirty air even worse, sail over the Brits and leave Ainslie and Co dropping of the foils.

However, as the US boat tacked around at the windward end of the line and started making their approach to the start, the Brits managed to get foiling again and, in the end, crossed the startline on port, dipping American Magic’s transom.

The Americans tacked immediately and followed the Brits out to the right hand boundary. When both boats tacked on the boundary American Magic where able to squeeze up to the Brits and force them to tack away. What followed was some pretty standard match racing with the US boat tacking on the Brits every time they tried to get away from the boundary.

A combination of the US’  tight cover and a boundary penalty put the Brits 20 seconds behind at the first windward gate and there they stayed, held at arms length until the closing stages of the second upwind when the Brits managed to find some decent pressure up the Port side of the course and followed the US boat through the windward gate much closer.

INEOS Britannia was once again looking quick downwind and they managed to haul in some metres on American Magic and at the leeward gate it was all square with the teams both taking different marks. The Brits took the left of the course and the US took the right. American Magic was leading at the first cross and, once again tacked on the Brits’ wind, forcing them to tack away.

This tight cover continued but the Brits were picking up metres against the US and by the time they were in the layline, Ainslie and Fletcher managed to pick up a bit of pace by footing and, as the American’s tacked in front of them, they squeezed an impressive high mode to get directly to windward of Slingsby and Goodison.

The US boat was on the layline, so the Brits tacked to split the final windward gate. As they rounded, the US got too high out the water and dropped off the foils, potentially spelling the end of the race, but they got going quickly and were only 80m behind when the boats crossed.

The Brits chose to stand on and by the time they gybed at the boundary American Magic looked to be in decent pressure on the left of the course (looking upwind). This, coupled with a poor gybe from the Brits saw American Magic sail through the line first to clinch an absolute thriller.  “We definitely needed that. It wasn’t pretty, but we got it done in the end. It’s pretty tricky conditions out here,” said Paul Goodison.

“Obviously the final gybe is where we lost it,” commented Ainslie. “It was a real tough decision whether to cross or slam one on them, and then we had a messy gybe and that was it.”

What we learned from Louis Vuitton Cup Race 18

It’s been fascinating just how many unforced errors we have seen in this event so far from many of the teams. And this race was awash with errors from both teams.

In terms of boat speed, INEOS looked a click faster, particularly downwind today against American Magic. Downwind has long been the strength of the Brits and it was evident today, but they also look impressive upwind too, they have definitely made gains over the course of this regatta.

For American Magic, they will be happy to pick up a win to get themselves further away from the fight to be knocked out of the event come Sunday – which is now almost certainly a fight between Alinghi and Orient Express Racing Team.

Race 19 Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Vs Orient Express Racing Team

Skippers
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli: Jimmy Spithill & Francesco Bruni
Orient Express Racing Team: Quentin Delapierre & Kevin Pepponet

The first race of the day was always likely to be more competitive than the second, with Luna Rossa the standout performer of the Louis Vuitton Cup to date and the French still struggling to fully get to grips with their boat.

Although the wind had built a little from the first race, pre-start was still going to be a little nervy, with both boats keen to stay on their foils at all costs. If the French wanted to pick up a win, they would need to be at their best to beat this polished team.

But the race was all but over in the pre-start when Delapierre and Pepponet picked up a boundary penalty as they tacked round to windward of the startline. That penalty meant that they had to drop back behind the Italians out of the start and this allowed Luna Rossa to keep a tight cover on the French up the first beat.

From there Spithill and Bruni were able to sail away pretty easily, despite the shifty winds and pick up yet another win. “We’re trying to learn lessons each day,” said Spithill at the close of racing. “It was tricky today as it was different at one end of the course to the other. But I’ll tell you hat they French have a lot of boatspeed.”

What we learned from Louis Vuitton Cup Race 19

There’s not a huge amount the be learned from this race. The issues remain the same from the French they are just visibly that bit less polished as a team than the top boats.

As for Luna Rossa, I’m running out of ways to say ‘they look worryingly impressive’…

Race 20 INEOS Britannia Vs Emirates Team New Zealand

Skippers
INEOS Britannia: Ben Ainlsie & Dylan Fletcher
Emirates Team New Zealand: Pete Burling & Nathan Outteridge

At the end of the race between Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, the wind had been dropping a little bit, and becoming much more patchy, and conditions remained the same as INEOS Britannia lined up agains Emirates Team New Zealand. Once again in the pre-start it was a case of both teams looking to limit their manoeuvres to a degree.

Ainslie and Fletcher led back to the startline, with Burling and Outteridge staying gapped well off to windward. With around 25 seconds to the start the kiwis started to bear off and build speed down towards the Brits, but the Brits spun well enough and built speed to cross the start in the middle of the line, with the Kiwis off their windward hip.

Time and again New Zealand have shown two significant strengths: their high mode and the ability to manoeuvre well at low speed (and thus in light winds). The kiwis used this high mode to good effect off the startline, holding their lane to windward of the Brits, and were helped somewhat by a slight righthand shift.

When they Brits tacked on the left hand boundary, the kiwis had built enough of a gap to foot into the space and tack with a little more pace than the Brits. The kiwi boat floated nicely through the tack and this, plus their high mode, saw them exit the tack higher than the Brits, putting them into dirty air and forcing them off their foils.

In the very light winds, the Brits got foiling again in decent time, but the race was all but gone already.

“It was a tight start and they did a good job but we managed to get a righty off the line and just live long enough to get to get to the boundary,” explained Outteridge. “When we both tacked on the boundary, bottom speeds were right down and we executed a nice tack and managed to take control there.

“It was actually a very dynamic day. It’s nice to get a win though. We though it was going to be windier and bit more stable but it’s been about 5-8 knots and dynamic conditions.”

What we learned from Louis Vuitton Cup Race 20

A 3-minute deficit at the finish it a pretty big margin for INEOS Britannia and they looked very unstable on their foils in the light winds. Clearly they were much more likely than the kiwis to fall off their foils in the light wind manoeuvres.

But it should be remembered that, as the races agains Emirates Team New Zealand do not really count in the America challengers selection series. As such the Brits could well have been trying something new in their set up. They certainly looked more wobbly in this race than they did in the previous race of the day in similar conditions.

The Kiwis, like Luna Rossa continue to look strong and are particularly good in the lighter conditions.

Race 20 Alinghi Red Bull Racing Vs American Magic

Skippers
Alinghi Red Bull Racing: Arnaud Psarofaghis & Maxime Bachelin
American Magic: Paul Goodison & Tom Slingsby

With the winds remaining light both teams needed to be towed up onto their foils at the start of this race and it looked as though Alinghi could have thrown this vital race away before it had even started as they mistimed their tow release, got too high out the water and splashed down off their foils.

However, they just about managed to get up and foiling and get into the start box in time for the pre-start. However, American Magic managed to make a major error and got their timing wrong, entering the start box too early and picking up a penalty.

In the light winds and with a penalty already against the American Boat, the two stayed fairly separated in the pre-start and Alinghi hit the startline at the pin end at pace, with American Magic hitting the startline at the windward end. The US immediately tacked away scrubbing off some of the distance they need to to clear their penalty.

Alinghi tacked too and followed the American’s out to the right hand side of the course. Alinghi then did a great job of keeping a tight cover on American Magic all the way up the beat and were able to lead around the top mark, a lead they maintained on the downwind.

On the second beat, we were treated to possibly the closest thing to an old-school tacking duel I have witnessed in AC75s to date, with both teams short-tacking up the middle of the course trying to gain an advantage.

It was Alinghi who came out on top of this exchange as they managed to keep the US-flagged boat in dirty air.

But it was on the following leg where we, perhaps, saw the effect of this tacking duel with American Magic struggling to trim the sails as often as they would have liked, a clear indication of a lack of hydraulic power, which may have been slowly drained by the tacks. You could certainly hear the cyclors on American Magic struggling to pump up the pressure after so many manoeuvres on the beat and on this downwind they touched down a number of times, losing a lot of distance.

From there, the Swiss-flagged Alinghi were able to step away and took a crucial second win of the regatta and move themselves up from the bottom of the table.

“It was a very good race. American Magic gave us a hard time on that one and we had to push hard,” Psarofaghis said at the finish. “In terms of power we had all we needed and could have tacked 20 more times if we had needed,” he added, perhaps pointedly.

What we learned from Louis Vuitton Cup Race 21

Much has been discussed about the American’s recumbent cyclor position. It has certainly allowed them to build a very aerodynamically efficient boat, but it is known this is a less efficient power generating stance than a more normal upright position. Many have wondered if this would be a weakness for the American team.

That has all been speculation – and without knowing any details it remains speculation – but today after a lot of tacks, the US boat looked to be out of hydraulic pressure and unable to properly trim their sails. This will certainly be something other teams look to exploit in future matches unless it is proved to be a one-off.

But this was not all a loss by American Magic, Alinghi did a great job today and looked very polished in a high-pressure race. Psarofaghis and Bachelin sailed a great race and, bar the mishap during the tow, the Swiss-flagged team didn’t put a foot wrong and looked very polished in their manoeuvres.

Race 22 Orient Express Racing Team Vs Emirates Team New Zealand

Skippers
Orient Express Racing Team: Quentin Delapierre & Kevin Pepponet
Emirates Team New Zealand: Pete Burling & Nathan Outteridge

Again it looked like the lighter winds might have finished this race before the gun as Orient Express Racing Team dropped off the foils in the pre-start to gift the America’s Cup Defender a huge head start at the startgun.

But just when it looked all over, the Kiwis tacked in a very light patch on the right hand boundary about a third of the way up the beat and also dropped off the foils. With the French back up on the foils, they were able to claw their way into the lead and got to 80 metres ahead of New Zealand by the time Burling and Outteridge go their boat foiling again.

The French actually looked as though they had extended on the downwind, picking the puffs nicely, but coming into the leeward gate the French boat dropped off its foils. The kiwis, foiled straight through their final gybe and foiled around the outside of the French to retake the lead.

From there is was all the Kiwis building their lead, while the French continued to struggle to stay on the foil and by the finish we had the biggest margin we have seen in any race, with the French suffering the ignominy of being lapped by the Kiwis.

What we learned from Louis Vuitton Cup Race 22

We’ve seen the French struggle on a number of occasions with their manoeuvres and this race once again confirmed those problems. Certainly it was interesting to see the Kiwis have their own struggle to stay on the foils, but it was also notable that the Kiwis were on a small headsail than the French and still looked to be the team struggling the most with the power.

This was a lot about experience and a lot about knowing how to get an AC75 around the course in the toughest conditions, but it also shows that, although the French bought the design package of this boat from the Kiwis, these are a long way from ‘sisterships’.

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