Too easy
YACHTING
AUCKLAND: Win the start, sail a clean race and take the win.
It might not be as easy as it sounds, but that was how things played out on the opening day of the Prada Cup semifinals.
Getting the better of the start in both races yesterday, Luna Rossa took a 20 lead in the bestofseven series against American Magic in convincing fashion.
In his live blog of the races, AUT’s sailing expert Mark Orams said Luna Rossa cohelmsman Jimmy Spithill made all the difference in the Americans’ first competitive racing since Patriot was seriously damaged in their dramatic capsize two weeks ago.
‘‘It was always a risk with so many repairs and replacements that the boat would go into the racing today not fully cocked, and without the confidence of the crew,’’ Orams said.
‘‘So while people might criticise their poor starts, right from entry they did not want to engage with Luna Rossa. They did all they could to stay away from them, and that just saw Jimmy Spithill’s eyes light up.
‘‘He just crucified them in those starts.’’
The races followed a similar script: Luna Rossa got the better of the start, held or slightly increased its lead through the first five gates, before a slower leg on the fifth from American Magic ended with a splashdown coming around the gate, essentially taking it out of the race.
The turn around the righthand marker at the end of the upwind leg was a problem for American Magic in both races.
The costly splashdown in the first race was followed by two more in the same spot in the second race.
In race one, Luna Rossa won by 2min 43sec, and by 3min 7sec in the second.
While American Magic looked good at times and had plenty of speed, Luna Rossa put pressure on the Americans from the start and showed its intentions, with two wellsailed races in high winds.
Although the wind speed dropped from about 19 knots to 15 knots between the two races, both teams consistently sailed above 40 knots and both exceeded 49 knots in the opening race.
Having a tworace lead, Luna Rossa is firmly in the driver’s seat before the two races today. Conditions are expected to be light and variable over the weekend.
According to Orams, conditions today could determine if the Americans have any chance of a comeback.
‘‘New conditions tomorrow — the last big hope for American Magic. A change of fortune, maybe,’’ he said.
‘‘I think that Dean Barker has lost confidence in this boat, and I think now the brave face Terry Hutchinson is putting on is just that. Deep down, they know that their chances of staying alive in this regatta are slim.
‘‘Patriot has control problems in these conditions. If Barker cannot sail the boat aggressively because he is worried about the stability of flight, he cannot sail how he wants to.’’
Before Luna Rossa took to the water for the opening Prada Cup semifinal race against American Magic, sailor Pierluigi de Felice indicated the team had made big gains in the heavier conditions.
In the first race, they showed exactly that.
Luna Rossa took the first contest by more than two minutes, sailing in winds averaging about two knots lower than the upper limit of the scale.
The Italian syndicate made a statement from the outset, dominating the start to get out to a sizeable lead from the starting line.
American Magic began to close that gap straight away, with slightly faster boat speed early on, but it wasn’t long before the Italians began to match it.
Luna Rossa attacked the first downwind leg with confidence and continued to extend its lead. — The New Zealand Herald