Brits quit practice race on start line
Team NZ forced to sail unopposed after belated withdrawal
Team New Zealand didn’t get a chance to flex their muscles yesterday, after INEOS Team UK pulled out of their scheduled trial race before the start.
After practising unopposed last Friday, as all three challengers elected to stay ashore, it was another mostly unproductive session for the Kiwis in terms of boat-on-boat duels.
But the mysterious problems plaguing the British team continued and their unresolved issues are fast becoming the most intriguing story in the build-up to the America’s Cup World Series later this week.
After taking no part in trials last week — due to an unspecified hardware problem — Ben Ainslie’s team looked ready to go yesterday, heading out with the other three teams to Course A, between Rangitoto Island and East Coast Bays.
They commenced pre-start manoeuvres against Team New Zealand but pulled the pin less than two minutes into that phase. It appeared they stopped soon after completing a single gybe.
The British boat, backed by the largest single sponsorship in sailing history, then headed back to their Viaduct harbour base under tow, while Te Rehutai completed one leg of the course.
It means the British team have only one more chance to complete a trial race (today) before the World Series starts on Thursday.
Team New Zealand’s scheduled first trial yesterday — also against the British — was abandoned due to lack of wind on a frustrating afternoon on Auckland harbour.
The only consolation for the Kiwi syndicate was that they at least banked more valuable time on the water, and again looked slick in their brief period on the course.
Peter Burling’s team have proceeded through four practice days without any breakages or hardware issues, in contrast to the other teams.
Light, fluky winds meant only one trial was completed yesterday, but it was heartening for Luna Rossa fans.
In breezes of eight to ten knots, Jimmy Spithill and his crew performed impressively, edging American Magic off the start and extending their lead on both legs.
But this trial backed up a general consensus that Luna Rossa will be strong in lighter airs, while Patriot may be better in heavier conditions, as the New York-backed team have looked good training in 20 knots or more in recent weeks.
Luna Rossa won the start and were ahead by around 10 seconds at the first mark yesterday. Dean Barker and the Americans tried to make inroads but were unable to close the gap.
The Europeans had extended their advantage by the second mark to around 30 seconds before the trial finished.
The challengers are still on a learning curve in what is an incremental process ahead of an expected peak for the Prada Cup in January and February.
“Every day when you are going out, you learn something new, and we are just at the beginning of these races,” Luna Rossa chief executive Max Sirena told the Herald last week.
“We know the improvement is going to be huge in all the teams and the performance of the boat is going to change according to the weather and wind strength.”