With only a few more knots of wind on the racecourse off Barcelona on the fourth day of the Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robins, the intensity of the racing increased tenfold. The day’s matches were less about staying on the foils through maneuvers and more about high-speed course management and split-second tactical calls, which remain the strength of Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.
Technical challenges continued to hamper Alinghi Red Bull Racing, however, as they were late for their race with the defender, Emirates Team Zealand, delayed by the starboard mainsail skin’s bolt rope separating from the mast track. They missed their entry window, but made the start on time, but were chasing the New Zealanders around the course before both boats discontinued racing.
Once they were clear of the course, the highlight race of the day got underway between INEOS Britannia and Orient Express Racing Team, with boat boats entering the start box at 40-plus knots. The French were strong in the pre-start, pushing the Brits toward the pin, but INEOS was fraction too early on their turn up and were dinged with an OCS penalty straight away, giving the early lead to the French.
Orient Express kept pace with the Challenger of Record and controlled the race, rounding through the first gate with a 13-second lead, but INEOS Britannia was quick on the run with faster VMG angles, snatching the lead at the next gate by a slim 3 seconds.
Splitting sides, Orient Express regained the lead and the teams swapped sides. INEOS was set to regain the lead on the next cross but picked up a penalty with a close cross-and-tack-that had mere meters between the two boats. Another lead change: with Orient Express rounding with a 20 second margin.
But the Brits chewed into that delta on the run again and the French team’s lead around the next gate was down to 12 seconds.
Perhaps it was the pressure of the Brits breathing down their neck, or a misread of the course, but the French threw away control of the race with a leebow tack near the left boundary, giving the British the upperhand, and it was game, set, match.
Four lead changes in total made this one the most compelling race of the series thus far, but the ability of INEOS to dig itself out of two significant penalties is a positive for a team that has been improving its consistency day by day.
Telling, however, was the next race between Alinghi Red Bull Racing and the undefeated Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli. Luna Rossa’s ability to sail high and fast in close quarters benefited them once more as they quickly shed the Swiss boat off their hip after the start. From there, the Italians simply piled on the hurt with sharp boathandling and command of the course, leaving Alinghi Red Bull Racing winless in the series and bagging another win.
American Magic was next to face the defender once again, and this time, in more breeze, they were a sharper team. Co-helms Tom Slingsby and Paul Goodison managed the start well enough to lead away from the pin–although slightly downspeed as they were a fraction too early. The New Zealanders tacked away and the boundary-to-boundary battle was on with rapidity.
In the exchange of the day, American Magic, intersecting on port-tack, was able to sail over the top of the Kiwis after they tacked into a good leebow tack.
There was only 10 seconds between them through the first gate and American Magic comfortably led down the run, but with only 9 seconds between them they battled once again from boundary to boundary. Near the top of the beat, having loosely covered the Kiwis the entire leg, the Americans chose to split, and that was a decision they were quickly regretting. The Kiwis were only 3 seconds behind through the third gate, and sure enough, took the lead, locked down the race from there and continued their winning streak to remain unbeaten in the series.
