Cup Spy: Luna Rossa progresses to Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger Final
by Richard Gladwell Sail-World NZ 19 Sep 09:25 PDT
Luna Rossa and American Magic congratulate each other - Semi-Finals - Louis Vuitton Cup - Day 14 - September 19, 2024 - Barcelona © Ian Roman / America's Cup
After the drama of yesterday's racing when the New York YC's team American Magic clawed their way back from being 4-1 down to 4-3, their fate was decided in just 23 minutes racing in a breeze of 9-11kts with 20° shifts.
The contest between the second and third qualifiers from the Round Robin phase was, by definition, always going to be a battle, and much one that was much tighter than the other Semi-Final between the British and Swiss teams, which was decided yesterday.
Luna Rossa's shore team put in a herculean effort to repair the damage from the traveller explosion yesterday, and got their reward when Luna Rossa was able to close off the Finals place in just the first race.
Today's race was over after the opening stanzas, when American Magic, narrowly crossed over Luna Rossa's bow and immediately put in a covering tack, which should have dropped the Italians into Patriot's rig turbulence. Instead Luna Rossa was able to generate sufficient momentum to foil through to leeward and out the other side in clear air. From there American Magic was able to come back to an 8sec margin at Mark 3, but catching is one thing, passing is another - and that was as close as it got.
American Magic will die wondering if there would have been a different outcome had skipper and Olympic Gold medalist Paul Goodison, not taken a fateful step back into and open hatchway almost two weeks ago, injuring five ribs and removing himself from the sailing crew. His place was taken by backup co-helmsman Lucas Calabrese. With just five days sailing experience in the AC75 - the Argentinian Olympic Bronze medalist's learning curve was always going to be near vertical. He did well, very well to try and fill the big shoes left by Paul Goodison. In the end American Magic was a potent weapon, but coming back from 4-0 after the opening weekend was a big ask.
Much of the heavy lifting fell to Australian Olympic Gold medalist and three times SailGP World champion Tom Slingsby, who put the loss in today's Match 8 of the nine race series, down to some tactical mistakes he had made. But Goodison's fall sealed Patriot's fate. The combination of two Olympic Gold medalists, and both foiling Moth World champions with 70 days of sailing AC75s together, was impossible to replicate just before the start of a sudden death five race knockout series.
The depth of that Goodison/Slingsby combination might just have been sufficient to stop Luna Rossa going to a four win lead, after last weekend's racing - which was going to take an effort of Australia II proportions to overcome.
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, now on their sixth or seventh challenge - depending on how you view their 2017 effort - looked to be near unbeatable in the Preliminary Regatta racing, came back from that position of dominance to lose three successive races in the Semi-Final. The Italians would have been top qualifier, but for a software glitch with their starboard foil arm mechanism, letting INEOS Britannia leap frog them on the overall points table.
The scene is now set for a replay of the 2021 Challenger Final in Auckland with INEOS Britannia once again, pitched against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.
If the British prevail it will be their first America's Cup Match since Sovereign in 1964, skippered by Peter Scott, son of Scott of the Antarctic.
For Luna Rossa a win in the Challenger Final will be their third America's Cup Match.
All four semi-finalists improved significantly over the series, shoring up their weaknesses, rather than building their strengths. A focus for all has been in communication and being able to puddle jump the pockets of wind pressure and hunt out the lifts and knocks so vital to achieve their target VMGs.
The work-on area for all would seem to be foiling in a breeze of 5kts or less, perfecting tacks and gybes, and maybe building tacking, or grannying around in the ultra-light.
The racing in the UniCredit Youth America's Cup was postponed until tomorrow Friday.
Commentary:
You can see today's racing Live here:
Race Summary:
Semi Final 1 - Match 8 : American Magic (USA) vs Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (ITA)
The two AC75s wound up in the starboard corner of the pre-start area and then broke away 30 secs before the start. They were both early for the line with USA leading down the line. ITA goes first into shore - as instructed by their coaches. USA got ITA on their first cross and the two split tacks again. Finally USA on port crossed ITA on starboard and tacked to put a close cover on ITA. ITA has the speed to be able to sail through USA's turbulence and out the other side into clear air.
Mark 1: 04min 03secs ITA led USA margin 20sec. On the water 275metres on Leg 2. USA goes for starboard boundary and comes back at 40.5kts at Gate 2.
Mark 2: 07min 25secs ITA led USA margin 21sec. Distance on the water 300metres on Leg 3. Both trying to stay in phase rather than LRPP covering. USA hacking into LRPP lead by pointing pointing higher. Leda down to 87metres. Take opposite gates - LRPP on port gate.
Mark 3: 12m 03secs ITA lead USA margin 8secs. ITA go into the port to corner and extend to a 300 metre lead after USA went into the starboard corner and boundary. Wind claimed to be 11.4kts. USA do a small touch down in a gybe.
Mark 4: 15m 27secs ITA lead USA margin 22secs. Distance 370metres on Leg 4. ITA extends to 500metres on Leg 4. USA has to do an extra tack to get to the mark
Mark 5: 19m 36secs ITA lead USA margin 51secs. Distance 700metres on the water.
Finish: 22m 56secs ITA lead USA margin 61secs. ITA progresses to the LVC Challenger Final.
Weather Prognosis:
America's Cup Weather Partner PredictWind has provided a dedicated Race Weather Center offering fans access to detailed daily weather breakdowns, live webcams and historical weather data to daily weather breakdowns written by meteorologists.
Provisional Forecast Race Day 14:
Thursday 19th Sept
From Arnaud Monges - former America’s Cup Team Meteorologist
In the morning, winds will be light and variable. By mid-day a Southerly flow will start to fill in and build from 6 to 11 knots during the afternoon racing. Waves will be at 0.8 meter from the East with a 6-second period. The wind and waves direction are at a 90° angle and make foiling more difficult.
The sky will be partly sunny and cloudy, little chance of showers, and temperatures up to 23°C over land.
Friday 20th Sept
The weather will deteriorate and rain and showers are expected throughout the day. In the afternoon winds from the East around 5 to 10 knots are forecasted but those winds are likely to be unstable because of the rain. Look for our next update before race time on Friday morning with the latest model runs.
While you're waiting for the coverage to start you can update with the following:
Virtual Eye
After the racing you can replay the key points, or the whole race using Virtual Eye from ARL
You can go directly to the Virtual Eye America's Cup coverage by clicking here and click on "Watch Previous" then select the race you wish to view. Virtual Eye is a 3D viewer so you can zoom in, out, around and up and down just like you could in a helicopter.
Inside Tack:
INEOS Britannia's Freddie Carr talks with Giles Scott and Dylan Fletcher as they review the previous day's sailing. Always a very honest and informative show.
Proposed Match Schedule:
- Semi Final 1 - Match 8 : American Magic (USA) vs Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (ITA)
- Semi Final 1 - Match 9 Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (ITA) vs American Magic (USA)
Course Location:
Crew Lists