December 13, 2024

Pushing hard at the start (Photo by Colin Merry)
Pushing hard at the start (Photo by Colin Merry)
 
 Three capsizes tell the story of an epic final race in the Plymouth AC Preliminaries
with winds gusting close to 30 knots (35 mph; 55 kph) across Plymouth Sound. The
race course was pushed up close to The Hoe, and once again, the crowds on the
hill were rewarded with thrilling racing just meters from shore.
 
   
 
   
  
 The blustery conditions pushed the crews and the boats to their limits, and in some cases beyond. \Three teams capsized; the French Aleph, Team Korea and just meters from the finish, Spain’sGreen Comm Racing. In each case, the crews escaped unscathed, the boats, with minor
damage to their wings.During the race, the ORACLE Racing Spithill
crew had many near misses and was lucky not to capsize as they passed the first
mark with the lead. Other boats challenged them for their early advantage, with
first Artemis Racing, then Emirates Team New Zealand taking their turn at the head of the fleet.
But it was a game of least mistakes, a war of attrition that eventually went
back in favor of James Spithill and his slick ORACLE team.France’s Energy Team sailed a strong race to finish fourth, after battling around the course with Russell Coutts for a podium spot. China Team too, sailed well in the conditions to finish in fifth place. Artemis Racing, meanwhile, was forced to retire, moments after relinquishing the lead on the second lap of the course, with equipment problems. Aleph was the first to capsize, nose-diving right in front of the crowds gathered along Plymouth seafront, early in the race.

Team Korea (Photo by Colin Merry)
Team Korea (Photo by Colin Merry)

 

Nose Dive (Photo by Colin Merry)
Nose Dive (Photo by Colin Merry)

Team Korea digging in (Photo by Colin Merry)
Team Korea digging in (Photo by Colin Merry)

 

 

nose-diving right in front of the crowds gathered along Plymouth seafront, early in the race. Then, at the top of
the course Team Korea speared their bows into the waves and flipped over.

And tantalizingly close to the finish, Green Comm Racing was toppled by a gust on
the final leg of the race. Luca Devoti, sports director from Green Comm
commented later: “Nobody has been hurt and the wing has been damaged; we’ll need
two days to fix it.”

All day, the sailors and the boats were racing at
their very limits, unless a nonchalant James Spithill was to be believed after
the race. “It was great racing for sure, not even at the limit of the boats; still a way to go.” Brave words after a race that had spectators gasping with disbelief.

 While Spithill won the race, his rival Dean Barker’s second place was sufficient to give victory to the Kiwis in the Plymouth AC  Preliminaries.

In Sunday’s AC500 Speed Trials, it looked like the Kiwis had it in the bag with two great runs while others were spinning off the race track. James Spithill’s words nearly came back to haunt him as the ORACLE AC45 flipped right on to its edge – there were a few moments of doubt as to whether it would capsize – before it slapped back down on its floats.

Powering to the Mark (Photo by Colin Merry)
Powering to the Mark (Photo by Colin Merry)

With Spithill out of contention in the speed trials, it was up to the
remaining teams – and ORACLE Racing Coutts in particular – to take the fight to
the Kiwis. Once again Russell Coutts had the bit between his teeth and turned in
a scorching final run to post a winning time of 37:48 seconds.

Upended (Photo by Colin Merry)
Upended (Photo by Colin Merry)

Monday and Tuesday are off days at the America’s Cup World Series – Plymouth allowing the teams a chance to rest and repair both man and machine. Racing resumes on Wednesday with qualifying races for the Plymouth AC Match Race Championship.

 Results – Plymouth AC Preliminaries

Place
Team
RACE
#1
 RACE
#2
 RACE
#3
 RACE
#4
 TOTAL
POINTS
  Place
Points
Place
Points
Place
Points
Place
Points
 
1Emirates Team New
Zealand
110381102937
2ORACLE Racing
Spithill
291104711036
3Artemis
Racing
382929DNF329
4ORACLE Racing
Coutts
OCS347383826
5China
Team
6556655622
6Aleph
477456DNF320
7Energy
Team
8365744719
8Team
Korea
56DNF3836517
9Green Comm
Racing
748393DNF313
Flying a hull (Photo by Colin Merry)
Flying a hull (Photo by Colin Merry)

 

Plymouth AC500 Speed
Trials – Sunday

PlaceTeamSpeed (km/h)
1ORACLE Racing
Coutts
48.00
2Emirates Team New
Zealand
47.36
3China
Team
44.12
4Energy
Team
34.34
 ORACLE Racing
Spithill
DNF
 Artemis
Racing
DNS
 Team Korea
DNS
 Green Comm
Racing
DNS
 Aleph
DNS
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