The Louis Vuitton Round Robins

Desafio lose but win...

...and then there were four

The last day of Round Robin 2 produced surprises and upsets in the perfect sailing conditions off the coast of Valencia. Victory Challenge, having just lost a place in the semi-finals were eager to prove their worth in the match with Mascalzone Latino. After an even start, the Italian boat seemed to have the edge and rounded the windward mark 17 seconds ahead of the Swedish team. The race remained close and, in the final stages, Mascalzone hoisted a new spinnaker with the words: “Thank you Italy, thank you Naples”, a fitting gesture from a truly valiant team. Desafío, with Dane Jesper Radich at the helm, were unable to end on a high note, losing the start to Luna Rossa and taking a penalty at the windward mark. The Italian team finished nearly 2 minutes ahead. UI Team Germany lost their race against +39 and a jubilant Team Shosholoza beat Areva in a tense duel by just 14 seconds.

The big match of the day came next, with BMW Oracle pitted against joint favorites Emirates Team NZ. The two teams started evenly, with BMW heading for the left and Team NZ going right. Oracle seemed to have the lead in the early stages but a windshift turned the tables in favour of the New Zealand team, who rounded the windward mark 54 seconds ahead and went on to win by over 90 seconds. Chris Dickson, skipper and helmsman of BMW Oracle said after the series ended: “We’re all stronger today than we were three weeks ago at the beginning of Round Robin One. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and we’re all stronger today.” This has to be the major element in the challenger trials that Cup defenders Alinghi fear most. The four teams going through to the semi-finals have been race-hardened by the events of the last month in an atmosphere that must be almost impossible to create in the boat-for-boat racing within the Defender’s team. The semi-finals start on Monday 14 May. Meanwhile, we say farewell and ‘buenasuerte’ to the seven teams who have helped forge the top four into worthy challengers.

Final Overall Positions after Louis Vuitton Round Robin 2

1 Emirates Team NZ 38
2 BMW Oracle 37
3 Luna Rossa 35
4 Desafío Español 29
5 Victory Challenge 26
5 Mascalzone Latino 22
7 Shosholoza 20
8 Areva 17
9 +39 12
10 UI Team Germany 5
11 China Team 3

The Louis Vuitton Act 13. Alinghi are the Victors

Prizegiving Alinghi: Brad Butterworth, skipper, receives the trophy from Christine Belanger, Louis Vuitton Cup Director.
ACM 2007/Photo: Carlo Borlengh

The weather gods smiled on Valencia yesterday afternoon. The rain stopped, the clouds parted and the sun appeared, bringing with it a gentle, if variable breeze.

Race 6 got under way after 75 minutes when the wind settled to a steady 7 knots. Desafío Español (the name means Spanish Challenge), steered by Karol Jablonski of Poland rounded the windward mark ahead of Alinghi, with Ed Baird of USA steering. They were followed by Emirates Team NZ steered by Ben Ainslie of Britain and these three boats held their positions to the finish.

Race 7 started at 17.30, a time when most sailors are thinking of heading for port with the prospect of a hot shower and a few beers – but hey, this is professional yacht racing and there are still places to be gained (or lost) on the leader board! Once again, Alinghi start at the back of the fleet – they really have nothing to lose at this stage and this is the last opportunity they will have to pit themselves against the real opposition until the Cup match itself in June. By the windward mark, they had climbed to 4th, with BMW Oracle leading Desafío Español and Luna Rossa. Desafío Español suffered two penalties in quick succession and the resulting turns they had to accomplish pushed them down the fleet. Alinghi sailed a faultless race to claim their 4th victory of the series. BMW Oracle was second, followed by Mascalzone Latino in third.

The final scores for the series:

1 Alinghi 78
2 Emirates Team NZ 64
3 Mascalzone Latino 63
4 Luna Rossa 60
5 BMW Oracle 57
6 Desafío Español 55
7 Shosholoza 43
8 Victory Challenge 35
9 Areva 31
10 United Internet Ger 29
11 +39 17
12 China Challenge 15

Alinghi have truly stamped their authority upon fleet but now they have to go and play on their own for the next two months! The rest of the fleet will be busy analysing their results and competing vigorously with one another in a series of ‘to the death’ contests to find the challenger capable of taking on Alinghi for the America’s Cup.
Moke O'Neill