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The final season of the 32nd America’s
Cup opened with racing on a complicated spring day
in Valencia.
In one of the most extraordinary races ever witnessed
in America’s Cup racing, BMW Oracle Racing sailed
from 7th to 1st on the final fickle run of Race
1 in Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 13.
Starting in 7 knots of breeze, the American team
had won the left-hand end of the start line an hour
and a half earlier but, with Emirates Team New Zealand
next to them, sailed into oblivion as the boats
on the right started to benefit from better wind
from that side of the race track.
Alinghi who broke the right-hand end of the start
line too early and had to go back to restart, then
found themselves on the favoured side, climbing
all the way back to fourth place at the top mark.
Meanwhile, +39 Challenge tactician Ian Walker liked
the look of the breeze on the right-hand side and
made a break away from the rest of the fleet working
up the left. The gamble paid off, launching +39
Challenge into a comfortable lead which it held
for the next lap and a half of the two-lap course.
The right-hand side of the course had been paying
throughout, and not surprisingly the first few boats
gybed around the final mark to consolidate their
advantage.
Alinghi and BMW Oracle on the other hand, saw something
new on the left-hand side of the race course near
the top of the second windward leg. Both made late
gains there, and elected to pursue that side on
the final run to the finish as well.
+39 skipper Iain Percy, attempting to protect his
lead, sailed down the middle of the course. But
the Italians broke a spinnaker, before sailing into
a wind hole from which they would never recover.
The pack in the middle of the course slowed down
while Ed Baird steered SUI 91 around the outside
with Chris Dickson not far behind. BMW Oracle held
further to the left and started to threaten the
leaders on board Alinghi.
As both boats converged, with Alinghi holding starboard
right of way, Dickson launched USA 87 into a gybe
while the foredeck crew executed a perfect peel
to a new spinnaker midway through the manoeuvre.
This proved the winning move as Alinghi was forced
away to the right.
The Defender never recovered as the American boat
sailed off to a whopping winning margin of 3 minutes
34 seconds as the wind became very light and variable.
The remaining 11 boats were forced to look for whatever
breeze they could find. Shosholoza did best in the
difficult conditions, crossing in 2nd place ahead
of Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia Team, the Italian
boat relegating Alinghi to 4th place.
Original leaders +39 Challenge finished in a heartbreaking
10th place, and had company with Areva Challenge,
who dropped from 2nd to 9th on the final run.
Victory Challenge, who suffered two spinnaker breakages,
and briefly appeared to lead early in the race,
took up the rear in race one.
The Race Committee then kept the fleet at sea for
90-minutes, hoping the shifty conditions would settle
enough to have another race. But at 18:00, racing
was cancelled for the day.
Louis Vuitton Act 13, race one result :
1. BMW Oracle, 1 h. 25'41'' (12 pts)
2. Shosholoza, 3'34" (11 pts)
3. Mascalzone Latino, 4'18" (10 pts)
4. Alinghi, 5'04" (9 pts)
5. Team NZL, 5'16" (8 pts)
6. Team Germany, 5'33" (7 pts)
7. Luna Rossa, 5'51" (6 pts)
8. Desafio Espanol, 6'15" (5 pts)
9. Areva Challenge, 9'26" (4 pts)
10. +39 Challenge, 9'43" (3 pts)
11. China Team, 10'40" (2 pts)
12. Victory Challenge, 20'32" (1 pt)
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