The last can also be the first in the America’s Cup and money does not always buy happiness. Orient Express (France), the team that entered the competition later with the smallest budget; and Ineos Britannia (United Kingdom), with doubts after last week’s preliminaries, took advantage of the light wind in Barcelona to get the first points of the competition and remind us that the favourite does not always win. Both lead, along with Luna Rossa (Italy), all with one point, the classification after the first day of this first phase that will end on September 6 with access to the semi-finals.
The opening match of the competition was marked by a French victory over Alinghi Red Bull Racing (Switzerland) in a duel that experts consider crucial for qualification to the semi-finals. The last placed of the five teams that score in the Round Robin (the current qualifying phase where each race counts one point and in which Team New Zealand also participates, but its races do not count) will be eliminated. The results of the preliminary competition held last week showed that the French, Swiss and British were one step behind the rest. Alinghi Red Bull Racing comes out particularly badly from the results of the rest of the day.
The lack of wind delayed the entire day. The first race was scheduled for 2:11 p.m., but a quarter of an hour beforehand the organisers had already announced an eight-minute delay. This would be a constant. First, two minutes more, then five more, and so on.
Few things are more annoying for sailors than facing the start and hearing on the radio that the start has been postponed. Races last around 25 minutes under normal conditions, so sailors need absolute concentration in the minutes before the start of the race to meet the maximum physical and mental demands in such a short period of time. “Every delay disorients you a little. When you want to start, you can’t, and it disconcerts you,” explains Gianluigi Ugolini, a member of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirella team that will participate in the Youth America’s Cup. At 15 minutes to three, the America’s Cup officially got underway with the race between the Swiss and the French.
The triumph of the Orient Express confirms the growth of a team that debuted its boat just three months ago and that was crying out for experience on the water. “Every day we were improving and learning,” say the French team. Last week they started the preliminary round with draft errors and ended up competing, albeit with defeat, in the last race, also against Alinghi Red Bull. In the official competition, this Thursday, the leap was greater. And the most important one in order to stay alive in the next phase. A very important point for the French.
The second surprise of the day came later. Ineos Britannia overtook American Magic (USA) after an initial mistake by the Americans. The latter started five seconds early, for which they were penalized, a setback that made them finish the first leg a practically insurmountable 1:06 minutes behind the British. After a brilliant, incomplete comeback, they finished just 14 seconds behind their opponents. In the last race of the day, Luna Rossa easily overtook Orient Express.
The organisers explained late on Thursday afternoon that the Emirates Team New Zealand boat had suffered an accident. “The crane failed to lift its support and it fell with force.” Although no crew member was injured, the damage has meant that the boat will not be able to take part in the competition on Friday.
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