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Sorting the Weakest Link
We’ve had four more days of sensational racing on Bermuda’s spectacular Great Sound since the last report and we have now reached the end of the qualifiers.
So what happens now?
Oracle drop out to practice by themselves, the lowest placed qualifier gets to enjoy Bermudan hospitality earlier, while the four remaining qualifiers race off in a semifinal and final format to determine the top qualifier to race Oracle for the Auld Mug.
In the continually changing and sometimes mysterious world of modern day America’s Cup, the top qualifier gets to choose who they race in one semi-final, whilst the remaining two qualifiers race off in the other semifinal.
The final twist is the top placed boat at the end of the qualifying round get to carry a point through to the Americas Cup final, should the team make it that far.
Could this be the America’s Cup showdown?
So what happened in racing day’s four to seven?
A variety of wind conditions were experienced for teams to try out their different set-ups. We had one day postponed with winds less than the minimum 6 knots, one day of light winds (7-9 knots), one day of strong winds (16+ knots) and two moderate wind days.
Winds are expected to lighten as the regatta continues, and if day five sailed in 7-9 knots is any benchmark, Team NZ continue to look the qualifier to beat. They were impressive looking smooth, stable and fast in light conditions. They sailed at speeds up to 4 times the wind speed and stayed on their foils almost the whole race. On the other hand, their opponent BAR almost becalmed into the 2nd mark to compound their earlier issues, and in the end were so far behind they nearly had to be rescued by the Coast Guard.
Other races in the light conditions saw Japan comfortably account for Groupama, only to then be beaten by Oracle in a later race. Oracle were behind going into the last upwind leg, rolling the dice and creating a split at the bottom mark, then seemingly benefitting from a wind shift to roll over Team Japan. The final race of the day saw BAR overcome a spirited Groupama.
Contrasting this, the following day saw the strongest wind conditions of the regatta with winds at 16+ knots. Once again, Team NZ looked very impressive, clocking up wins over Team Japan and Groupama. In the latter race, they achieved the current holy grail of America’s Cup racing with 100% “fly time”, or 100% time on foils. They looked fast, stable and aggressive in their manoeuvres.
Artemis, establishing a dark horse status, recorded their second victory over Oracle, being the only qualifier to date to beat the current cup holders. Oracle were earlier in the day towed back to port for repairs to a broken rudder which may have affected their performance. However, Artemis who haven’t exactly had the rub of the green regarding umpiring decisions, showed that when they get it right they have great boat speed and look impressive. Artemis won by 24 seconds.
The final race on day six was a classic match race between Artemis and Team Japan. Artemis lead from the start after becalming Japan in the start box, however the lead rarely exceeded 100m for the first five legs. The final upwind leg became a tacking duel as Team Japan tried to find a wind shift. Unfortunately a couple of loose tacks from Team Japan near the fifth mark ended their challenge and Artemis held on to win by 18 seconds.
Results were varied on the other two days of racing with perhaps the most significant being the victory for Oracle over Team NZ in the first race of day seven. Team NZ still remain the strongest challenger, and indeed finished top challenger after the qualifying round. However, they have now lost two from two against Oracle who will clearly hold a mental advantage should Team NZ be the team to compete for the America’s Cup proper.
The win also meant Oracle finished top in the qualifying round, giving it the bonus point for the America’s Cup final. The effect of this is the challenger will actually start on -1, as organisers want to ensure the final series has a minimum of 5 races.
Somewhat predictably, Groupama (France) were the challenger to drop out. Despite a gallant effort on the least funded campaign (possibly because they have to prop up all the poor countries in Europe), they were the least stable of all the boats and ended with only two wins. So it’s “au revoir mes amis”.
This leaves Team NZ, Artemis, Team Japan and BAR to scrap out the best of five semifinal and final series to determine the challenger. Being top qualifier, Team NZ got to choose their semifinal opponent and opted for BAR, possibly on the back of nearly lapping them in the light conditions of day five. Artemis and Team Japan fight out the other semifinal.
Going to form, one expects Team NZ to comfortably account for BAR, having easily beaten them in both qualifying races. However, one assumes Sir Ben Ainslie wasn’t knighted for sitting at home playing tiddlywinks, so I’m sure there’s plenty of fight left in the British bulldog yet. Team NZ will be hoping for light winds where they hold the clear mental edge, however today’s loss to Oracle will remind them they still have plenty to work on.
In the other semifinal, Team Japan’s Dean Barker will be relieved they’re not racing BAR. He must still have nightmares of the 2013 final series, when 8-1 up in the best of 9 series, Oracle brought aboard Sir Ben Ainslie to complete arguably the greatest comeback in sporting history, and win the series 8-9 to retain the cup.
Artemis remain the enigma of the challengers, and arguably the most dangerous on their day. They’ve beaten Oracle in both their qualifying races, narrowly lost to Team NZ in both races, and look both fast and competitive combined with an aggressive, never say die attitude.
It will be an intriguing few days of racing, and in as little as four days we may know the challenger finalists. The smart money would be Team NZ and Artemis to advance, however in the cut-throat nature of this latest format of America’s Cup racing, all it can take is one mistake or a boat breakdown and it’s curtains.
Meanwhile, Oracle having written itself into the qualifying series, now gets to play by itself…
