Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup Day 4
by Mark Jardine 16 Oct 13:54 UTC 16 October 2024
Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup Race 5 - October 16, 2024 © Ian Roman / America's Cup
A huge day in the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup. Two more wins for Emirates Team New Zealand would put them on match point. Any wins for INEOS Britannia will give them belief that a comeback is possible.
The British have been working hard on speed in the manoeuvres, after watching the Kiwis glide through the tacks and gybes, hardly losing any pace.
With light winds and a big swell anything could happen.
Race 5: Emirates Team New Zealand vs. INEOS Britannia
Despite the light winds, racing started on time with the Kiwis coming into the start area from port, with both boats taking a different approach, heading to the left boundary and Emirates Team New Zealand falling off the foils.
With the wind being only just over 6 knots, this was a huge opportunity for the Brits, and they sailed over the top of the New Zealand boat twice, giving them gas to prevent them from getting foiling again.
With a dip start INEOS Britannia was away while Emirates Team New Zealand wallowed.
It was now all about staying up and foiling for the Brits, while the Kiwis needed to find enough to get up and chase them while in the area with the lightest wind on the course.
With a 1500 metre lead, Emirates Team New Zealand got up foiling. The chase was on, but INEOS Britannia were soon round the first windward gate with the destiny of the race in their hands and in the lap of the wind gods. The Kiwis rounded 2 minutes and 15 seconds behind.
For INEOS Britannia, rounding the leeward gate presented the most jeopardy due to the lowest wind at the bottom of the course, and there were many holding their breath as the Brits stayed fast through the round up and first tack as they navigated the huge sea state.
Emirates Team New Zealand narrowed the gap to 1 minute 59 seconds at the first leeward gate, reducing to 1 minute 37 seconds at the second windward gate, but bar a mistake this should prove academic.
The wind was gradually increasing, and the course length was increased for the final lap. For INEOS Britannia this meant less chance of falling off the foils, but they were still very much minimising manoeuvres to reduce the chances of a mistake.
The Brits made no mistake through the final lap, going on to take the win by 1 minute 18 seconds and register their first point on the board in the America's Cup Match, and only Great Britain's sixth ever race win in it.
Far too early to call it a turning point in the match, but hugely beneficial for morale within the team and amongst INEOS Britannia fans.
Race 6: INEOS Britannia vs. Emirates Team New Zealand
With more breeze the course was extended to eight legs, and the Kiwis matched the Brits move for move in the pre-start, trying to hold them high of the start line. At this point it looked like a tricky situation for the British to try and get out of.
On the final approach, INEOS Britannia just managed to roll over the top of Emirates Team New Zealand, forcing them to tack away before the start, as the British team started at the pin end powering across the line travelling 10 knots faster than their opponent.
At the first engagement INEOS Britannia crossed Emirates Team New Zealand on port, but decided to continue on rather than planting a tack directly on them.
At the next cross the British were on starboard and decided to continue on to the windward gate lay line, rounding six seconds ahead.
On the first downwind leg INEOS Britannia extended their lead to 150 metres at the first cross, again continuing past their opponent into more pressure, extending their lead to nine seconds at the first leeward gate.
The advantage of being the boat ahead was showing, with INEOS Britannia now able to make their own decisions, while slight frustration was creeping into the voices of Nathan Outteridge and Pete Burling on Emirates Team New Zealand.
Ben Ainslie and Dylan Fletcher were calmly discussing options with their trimmers and flight controllers, holding their nine second lead at the second windward gate.
Emirates Team New Zealand then had a big touchdown at the second leeward gate, losing control of the rudder and rounding sixteen seconds behind.
With the wind dropping slightly, INEOS Britannia rounded the third windward gate thirteen seconds ahead, with Emirates Team New Zealand touching down briefly after the first gybe. The confused sea revealed just how tricky it can be to sail an AC75.
Kiwi coach Ray Davies said, "We had them on the ropes in that pre-start and let them roll us on that last gybe back to the line and that was a bit of a shame. They'd done such good work controlling that start, but we're just one manoeuvre away from them and right now we're as close as we've ever been to them, so it's all on here."
On the fourth upwind leg INEOS Britannia had a touchdown on a tack, which allowed Emirates Team New Zealand to close to within 80 metres, and the Brits then put a tack directly on the Kiwis, forcing them to tack away.
On the next tack the Brits again splashed the bow, but extended their lead to just over 100 metres. The tension was showing on the British boat, but they were holding on to their lead by the skin of their teeth.
INEOS Britannia rounded the final windward gate just seven seconds ahead, with the teams choosing different gates. It was all down to a final drag race to the finish line.
Downwind the British boat gybed ahead of the Kiwi boat, forcing them to gybe away with just 60 metres between the teams. On the next cross INEOS Britannia went around the bow of Emirates Team New Zealand to win the race by seven seconds.
A huge day for INEOS Britannia moves the overall scoreline to 4-2. The mood in the British team base will be very different to how it was this time two days ago.
Ben Ainslie said after the race, "We were out here yesterday training, and every day we get better at sailing this boat, and that's down to the shore team delivering us a reliable package, and the designers and technicians helping us understand how we can improve the performance and obviously the squad out here on the water doing their thing. It's a huge team effort."
Britain's first wins in an America's Cup Match for 90 years...
