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

Another day without wind at America's cup

Luna Rossa team members wait for the wind.

Monday was another disastrous day for sailing in the Louis Vuitton Regattas.
In a recent statement the Committee announced that they were changing the rules of the competition.
"A stretch of unusual weather has forced the cancellation of five out of six days of racing over the past week," said Michel Bonnefous, the CEO or AC Management. "As a consequence of this situation and following consultation with the Challenger Commission, AC Management, as the sole event authority to the 32nd America's Cup and Louis Vuitton Cup, has decided to modify the competition for Round Robin One and Round Robin Two of the Louis Vuitton Cup."

The changes mean that there will be no 'off day' between Round Robin One and Round Robin Two. All full flights of racing will be sailed in order. There are two reserve days (May 8 and May 9) at the end of Round Robin Two. If needed, Round Robin Two may include two races per day. The date of the start of the Semi Finals is unchanged, with racing scheduled to begin on May 14."

Today, tuesday, is looking a little more hopeful.... we wait and see...

Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher and Chloe Sevigny In Valencia

Ashton Kutcher 18th man on Luna Rossa

Chloe Sevigny Arrives at the Prada Party

Demi arrives with Ashton at the Prada Party at the Mercado Central in Valencia

Helen Clark, New Zealand Premiere as 18th man on the Emirates New Zealand Boat in Port America's Cup

David Bustemante and friends wait for the wind at America's Cup

Well, the rumour that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were among the guests expected at the Prada bash at the Mercado Central proved to be just that, but among the mostly European stars that did turn up were Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher and Chloe Sevigny. Non Hollywood was Helen Clark, the New Zealand Prime Minister

It was a rainy night (again) in Valencia but the stars arrived in their droves for this private party at the beautiful Mercado Central with onlookers kept at a distance in the hope of seeing someone. The building was a mass of red lights and there was chill-out music. Limo after limo came up the street and discharged its precious cargo onto the steps in front of the building.

Among the Spanish stars who were there were Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, wearing a typical Agatha Ruiz de la Prada outfit, who left on foot, looking none too happy, shortly after the arrival of Demi and Ashton.

Those that did stay, danced and ate until the early hours. The Stallholders had been reportedly paid 350 euros each to stay open throughout the event.

Next day both Ashton Kutcher and Helen Clark were 18th men on the Prada and Emirates New Zealand boats.

David Bustemante and his wife sat around with friends on one of the Hospitality boats waiting, in vain as it turns out, for the racing to begin. No wind stopped play but hopefully today there will be enough wind to start the round robin Luis Vuitton Matches.

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

Finally, Some Real Racing

Yesterday, the unthinkable happened; BMW Oracle, one of the top teams suffered an embarrassing loss of both spinnaker and foresail during Race 5 and dropped from joint second in the series to fifth.

Race 4 was sailed in almost perfect conditions with sunshine and blue skies, despite thunder clouds building over the Sierra de la Calderona. Cup holder Alinghi, steered by Ed Baird took an early lead and won comfortably from two Italian boats, Mascalzone Latino steered by Flavio Favini and Luna Rossa steered by Australian James Spithill

Race 5 started in a steady 12 knot breeze. It looked as if Alinghi made a deliberate attempt to start down the fleet – maybe to give the crew more experience of close-quarters racing? Even so, she pulled back from 9th to round the windward mark in third, behind Luna Rossa and Emirates Team NZ. During the final run, any one of three or four boats could have one but Emirates Team NZ, helmed by Britain’s Ben Ainslie took the gun, followed by Luna Rossa and Alinghi.

After 5 races, the leader board looks like this:

Alinghi 55
Emirates Team NZ 47
Luna Rossa 46
Mascalzone Latino 45
BMW Oracle 39
Desafío España 37

Two more races are scheduled for today but, with persistent rain and light winds forecast, it is likely that only one race may be possible. If so, the battle would seem to be for second place with just one or two points separating Emirates Team New Zealand from Italian teams Luna Rossa and Mascalzone Latino.