What did we learn on the first day of the Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin?

by Mark Jardine August 29, 15:34 UTC
29 August 2024

Light winds caused a delay before the minimum speed of 6.5 knots was recorded on the course. Not everything went to plan today and it is clear that we cannot make any assumptions about the outcome of the Louis Vuitton Cup.

The transmission is getting better every day.

• The Crew names are now displayed in the cockpit view. Given that sailors’ faces are protected by helmets and goggles, this is a welcome addition.
• The The impressions from the team support boat and the cheering photos are excellentand it would be great to present them more often.
• Onboard communication is clearer in audioand provide welcome insights.
• It would be good to know Wind strength and directionpossibly overlaid by water, as we saw before.

Orient Express Racing Team vs Alinghi Red Bull Racing

The French team put the Swiss under a lot of pressure at the start, while Alinghi turned and started on the port side.

Orient Express clearly wanted to go left and was ahead of Alinghi at the first turn, maintaining the lead, which was around 200 to 300 meters, throughout the first lap.

The French clearly prefer the left side upwind and defended this side on the second close-hauled leg, which allowed them to extend their lead to over 500 meters at times. In general, Orient Express seemed to be faster upwind, while Alinghi was slightly faster with the wind.

The French held their nerve to take a big win. The Orient Express Racing Team is learning how to sail its sister ship to the Emirates Team New Zealand yacht fast.

Emirates Team New Zealand vs Luna Rossa

We saw a very even start, with no pre-start skirmishes. ITA was on the left and had a little more speed. They went up and forced ETNZ to turn.

Luna Rossa led by 11 seconds at Windward Gate 1 as the teams chose different markers to round. Only 30 metres separated the yachts as they tacked downwind, with Luna Rossa leading by 5 seconds at Leeward Gate 1.

On the second upwind leg, Emirates Team New Zealand overtook while the New Zealanders survived on the port side on Luna Rossa’s hip. The two yachts then tacked port to starboard, with New Zealand using a high mode to luff out from under the Italians.

Luna Rossa was 22 seconds behind at Leeward Gate 4. In the end, Emirates Team New Zealand won by 12 seconds.

Emirates Team New Zealand clearly has a wide range of modes at its disposal, which it used skilfully to overtake Luna Rossa.

INEOS Britannia vs New York Yacht Club American Magic

In a breeze reportedly blowing at 10 knots, American Magic fell off the foils during the pre-start, arriving very late to the entry box and only able to get on the foils at start time, but well behind the start line, forcing them to turn around and restart, giving the British team a 700 metre lead.

In clearly borderline conditions, INEOS Britannia kept calm and stayed at the start. The lead dwindled and dwindled and American Magic was able to close the gap significantly, but in the end the British won by 14 seconds.

Orient Express Racing Team vs Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli

The French team wanted to go back to the left side of the track and managed to get out of a slow pre-start and cross the start line very evenly with the Italians. Unfortunately for them, they were already in the dirty air of Luna Rossa at the first turn.

Luna Rossa then dominated the race, despite losing control of the rudder during a gybe, which sucked air into the blade. They kept it under control, lowered the ride height and restored airflow, winning by 1 minute 24 seconds.