Go Alinghi!

Merrily

Administrator
Jerry's account of the America's Cup

Jerry is my son's father-in-law and he follows the race religiously. He has even witnessed a couple of them. Here's what he had to say the day before the race:

Tomorrow is the day. The syndicates had to state today which boats they will use in the race. New Zealand has been using NZL 92 this year and will stick with it. Alinghi raced SUI 91 earlier this year, but they had a newer boat delivered earlier this year, SUI 100. They announced that's the one they'll use for the America's Cup. The defender had more time to design their last boat, but they haven't had as much experience racing it as the challenger has had. Alinghi seemed to be a slight favorite in their older boat. Presumably they think the newer boat is a bit faster than SUI 91, but maybe it's just a ploy to unnerve the Kiwis. New Zealand won the coin toss to see who gets to enter the starting box from the favored side, so there's a tiny advantage to them.
 
Race 1

The wind was pretty steady for race 1, about 11 knots without big swings in direction, so luck in picking wind shifts would not be a factor. New Zealand got the better start, with a slight lead and the right side of the course it wanted. There was a lot of chop in the water and Alinghi seemed to bounce more, with the bow rising up and down a lot more than New Zealand, and slowly New Zealand built up a slight lead. Then Alinghi moved up to pull even, then New Zealand pulled ahead a bit, then Alinghi moved ahead. Alinghi was ahead when the boats first crossed, an important moment, and slowly it got farther ahead, to round 13 second ahead at the first mark. The amount of Alinghi's lead changed on the downwind leg, getting larger, then smaller, but it kept the lead, gaining 7 seconds on the leg. On the third leg, Alinghi got a bigger lead, then New Zealand got some better wind and pulled nearly even. But Alinghi managed to pull away again, although New Zealand gained 6 seconds on the third leg. It started close on the last leg, but part way down Alinghi just seemed to pick up speed and pull away. The winning margin was 35 seconds. It's just one race, but the people on Alinghi have to be pretty happy with their new boat.

Next race tomorrow.
 
Re: Race 1

One addition from my side.

During the first leg, Team NZL did lead the race up to the fist tack with about 10 - 15 meters (1/2 boat length). Then it came to the decision for both teams to tack. Team NZL did tack first and Holmberg and Butterworth of Team Sui decided to wait for about 1 or 2 minutes and then tack to starbord.

Team Alinghi made the better decision, because the winds, they got extra by holding the course for this 1 - 2 minutes, did allowed them to equalize the distance they have been behind Team NZL and: Team Sui got an extra reward of another 10 meters!

Aft Team SUI also did tack the first time to the left side of the racing area - and "suddenly" Team Sui did lead, exact with that extra reward of about 10 meters.
Holmberg and Butterworth have been wise enough to defense this lead up to the windward mark and this has been the win of the race, because they controlled Team NZL till the end of the race.

My interprertation: During such a race, a match race, if I would lead, I would more like to defense my lead, then to beginn to make an experiment and tack to get more distance between my boat and the boat that already is behind me. Am I right, hm? What to you think?

P.S.:
For the Europeans: Today, Sunday, the German Free-Digital-TV-Channel "ARD-Eins-Festival" (Astra 1B Satellite - Satellite-DVB-S, [19,2°East,Freq 12110, Horizontal, 27500]) does transmit the full 2nd race beginning at 14:45 pm to ~17:00 pm Berlin Summer Time (Greenwich Time plus 2 hours). No Commertials but German-commentary. Have fun :)

Cheers
LooserLu
 
Re: Race 1

... Holmberg and Butterworth of Team Sui ...

Sorry, I made a mistake, Ed Baird (fromer World Champion at the Laser ...:) ) is the helmsman at SUI 100.

And: Well done KIWI's :) Today, at the 2nd upwind leg during this race No 2, SUI 100 made the same mistake like Team Luna Rossa during one of the final races at the Luis Vuitton Cup, and went to far to the right side. Now all is open again, we the spectators, of course, want to see 9 races at all, don't we want? :D

Cheers
LooserLu

P.S.:
For the Europeans: NEXT TUESDAY, the German Free-Digital-TV-Channel "ZDF-INFO" (Astra 1B Satellite - Satellite-DVB-S, [19,2°East,Freq 11954, Horizontal, 27500]) does transmit the full 3rd race beginning at 14:45 pm to ~17:00 pm Berlin Summer Time (Greenwich Time plus 2 hours). No Commertials but German-commentary. Have fun :)
 
Race 2

Winds were lighter, about 10 knots, which seemed likely to favor New Zealand a bit, but Alinghi got to enter the starting box from a right, an advantage for Alinghi. New Zealand, which got the better of the start yesterday, quickly got the upper hand on Alinghi at today's start by sailing upwind past Alinghi to get to the right-hand side of the starting box. New Zealand crossed the line 3 seconds before Alinghi to the right of Alinghi, just like they wanted, and going faster. Like yesterday, New Zealand was to windward as they headed upwind on starboard tack. But just like yesterday, Alinghi pointed a bit higher and moved a bit faster, and after a few minutes forced New Zealand to tack away. There's no substitute for boat speed, and Alinghi looks slightly faster. By the first mark, Alinghi led by 19 seconds, larger than their lead yesterday, and the great majority of the time the boat ahead at the first mark goes on to win. Whereas popular opinion had been evenly split before the races began as to who would win the Cup, the experts were betting heavily on Alinghi. Once they're ahead, it's hard to get past them. New Zealand did manage to gain a bit on the down-wind leg, being 13 seconds behind at the second mark, but Alinghi was still in control. Alinghi kept a very loose cover on New Zealand, heading to the right while New Zealand went left. After awhile they crossed, with Alinghi comfortably ahead, with Alinghi then headed well to the left of New Zealand. Alinghi seems comfortable feeling that, with better boat speed, they didn't need a tight cover. Just like yesterday, on the third leg, New Zealand got a bit of a favorable wind shift and closed the gap, nearly pulling even with Alinghi. However, unlike yesterday, after awhile, New Zealand actually pulled a bit ahead, then increased their lead. When they next crossed, Alinghi was forced to tack, with New Zealand now to windward. Alinghi was forced a bit over the right-hand layline, and then both boats dashed for the mark. It was close to see if Alinghi could get an overlap with New Zealand as they rounded, but it didn't quite make it. New Zealand rounded the third mark 15 seconds ahead, a gain of 28 seconds on the third leg. New Zealand headed toward the right-hand side of the course, letting Alinghi go left, and for awhile Alinghi closed the gap a bit, but then a wind shift helped New Zealand and it won going away. Final margin was 28 seconds. So New Zealand was faster on 3 out of the 4 legs.

Races for the America's Cup in 1987, 1988, 1995, 2000, and 2003 were sweeps, where the losing boat failed to win a race; only in 1992 did the losing boat manage to win a single race. This is much more exciting; we guarantee this series won't be a sweep. The experts still seem to think Alinghi will go on to keep the Cup, but their team had its string of 16 consecutive wins broken. The New Zealand skipper broke his string of 6 consecutive losses. Stronger winds may help Alinghi, even though New Zealand changed their ballast bulb to one more suited for higher winds. Tomorrow is an off day, but there's a lot more excitement about Tuesday's race now. The New Zealand team now knows they can beat the new Alinghi boat.
 
Re: Jerry's account of the America's Cup

Good to see some visually interesting match racing during the second start.

Second start we see them well down in the box and ETNZ really going at Alinghi. An exciting start.

SUI still favoured the left and NZL the right. So that’s 8-12knots that Alinghi and ETNZ come out matched.

SUI by 19secs at top mark and Potty-mouth Butterworth makes a verbal appearance too! Good on ya mate! (We all talk like that :D )

At bottom mark Alinghi’s drop was not as smooth as it could be. The man on the bow was getting a bit impatient. These sorts of things will win or lose the race between these teams - everything is so close. I didn’t see any footage of the NZL boat’s drop so who knows if they also slowed it up. (before you accuse me of jumping on Alinghi. :rolleyes: )

ETNZ really put on the pressure up the second upwind leg and clawed back a 13sec loss to a 15 sec lead at the top mark.

First race I thought Alinghi had the faster boat and that was that. But it seems that the boats are so even as not to notice, and sailing skill and strategic decisions will win or lose. There’s still more in Alinghi and Baird. He was certainly awake this time, compared to the hesitancy of the first start. ETNZ were well asleep yesterday. It was like both teams didn’t click that this was the first race.

This racing is close! Fantastic racing!
 
Re: Jerry's account of the America's Cup

Just a minor correction - Alinghi did not own the 16 win streak - That belonged to skipper/tacticitian Brad Butterworth (and possibly some additional Kiwis on Alinghi), who had 10 wins with Team NZ in 95 and 2000, and 6 with Alinghi
 
Re: Jerry's account of the America's Cup

There were 4 more Kiwi's holding the 16 win streak
Simon Daubney, Murray Jones, Dean Phipps and Warwick Fleury
 
Re: Jerry's account of the America's Cup

yep, that'll change non-sailing people's perception of yacht racing being boring!

One thing I've started to notice is the differences between helm styles. When Baird bears away for speed, he really purposely bears away. When Barker bears away, he is timid about it. Dunno if this is related to boat design or not. It seems to make little difference on VMG.
 
Race 3

Jerry says:

My timing was rotten. The race was scheduled to start at 9 a.m. here (3 p.m. in Spain) and I had to go out for an appointment a few minutes before 9. Just before leaving, I checked the web site and it said the winds were light and quite variable and the postponement flag was up. New Zealand is thought to have a bit of an advantage in light winds, so this would be a good opportunity for them. Overall, New Zealand seems to handle the sails better than Alinghi, but Alinghi is a faster boat.

I got back about 10:45 to find the race was still being postponed. A little before 11 a.m., the commentator said either the current postponement would be the last and they'd start the race, or else they'd call it off for the day. At 11, they announced the race would start at 11:10. Pre-start began at 11:05. New Zealand entered from the favored starboard side. Shortly before the starting gun, it was clear that New Zealand wanted the right side of the course, and that Alinghi had the way blocked. The only way to get the side it wanted was for New Zealand to put in an extra tack, which meant it would start late and would not be up to speed. That's what happened. Alinghi hit the line on time at full speed 8 seconds ahead of New Zealand. By the time New Zealand was up to speed in the light air (averaging about 8 knots), Alinghi had an instant 60 meter lead. It's the first time Alinghi won a start in their 3 races. In contrast to the first 2 races where the boats started out close together until New Zealand was forced to tack away, this time New Zealand headed far to the right and Alinghi was far to the left. Soon they were about a km apart, which meant any small wind shift would provide a huge advantage for somebody. Alinghi's lead started shrinking; then New Zealand pulled even. Then New Zealand moved ahead by 30 meters, then 80 m, then a 100 m. Of course, it's hard to be sure of a lead when the boats are so far apart, but when both boats tacked and came together, New Zealand had a commanding lead of 100 meters. This was remarkable. The lead opened up even more the rest of the leg, and New Zealand rounded the first mark with an astounding lead of 1 min. 23 seconds. They had gained over a minute and a half on the first leg. Curiously, Alinghi sailed faster on this leg (and on every leg except one where they had the same average speed), but thanks to wind shifts New Zealand didn't have to sail as far.

It seemed impossible that Alinghi could be so far behind; in the Louis Vuitton Cup races it was very rare for any lead to be that big at the first mark. Going downwind one is headed more directly toward the next mark, so a given time difference maps into a large difference in distance, and New Zealand's lead was 400 meters! New Zealand has a habit of keeping a fairly tight cover once it's ahead, but here remarkably the two boats separated. Wind shifts helped Alinghi, and they cut the lead to 250 meters. Then another wind shift put it back to 360 m. As the boats got closer ready to round the second mark, it was clear that Alinghi had gained significantly, and the margin at the second mark was 1:02; Alinghi had gained 21 seconds. I kept wondering why New Zealand didn't cover more closely, and the commentators raised the same question.

Then disaster struck. As New Zealand got close to the mark, headed for a normal rounding, a sudden wind shift put them out of position; they needed to jibe twice but there wasn't room for that. They steered to miss the mark but lost control of the spinnaker. A bowman nearly fell overboard trying to reach the spinnaker. As they came about to head upwind, the spinnaker was draped over the winches needed to pull in the jib and it got jammed in the mechanism that pulls the jib in. So New Zealand couldn't sail the course it wanted without the jib set, and it was moving slowly with the spinnaker draped over things. Meanwhile Alinghi picked up speed and was rapidly closing the gap. Finally New Zealand got things under control, but its lead was now about 60 meters. Their huge margin was just about gone. The two boats again separated (why not cover closely, I was thinking), with New Zealand off to the right and Alinghi to the left. Again slight wind shifts would make a huge difference in the lead. The wind shifted left, and Alinghi pulled ahead. They got a significant lead, but then another shift put New Zealand back in front. As they got near the top of the leg, they crossed and Alinghi was in front. But the lead still bounced around with each wind shift, and as both boats approached the mark it wasn't clear who could round first. Less than minute before they rounded, the wind shifted again and suddenly Alinghi was clear ahead, rounding the mark 15 seconds ahead. As they headed downwind, Alinghi opened up the lead and soon was over 100 m ahead. It would be very hard to New Zealand to get past Alinghi from this far back, but with wind shifts there was always hope. Alinghi went to one side of the course, and New Zealand had to go to the other; if they stayed on the same part of the course any wind shift would affect both boats similarly and New Zealand wouldn't be able to get past. (Why didn't Alinghi keep a close cover, I kept wondering.) Half way down the leg, New Zealand made up some of the time on one wind shift and then lost it on another, and they really weren't showing any promise of pulling it out. This would be awfully hard for New Zealand to take, being way ahead and then to lose like this. Then another wind shift favored New Zealand, and this one continued; New Zealand steadily was cutting down the lead. Again it's hard to know exactly what the lead is when the boats are so far apart, but finally the web page showed New Zealand back in the lead! The wind was getting weaker (close to 5 knots), so at slower speeds a given lead in meters corresponds to a larger lead in time.

The web page has two parts; commentators give their assessment of the race, and a visual display shows who is ahead and by how much. The two were not always synchronized; I don't know who was more current. The display showed Alinghi with a 50 meter lead and the announcer said New Zealand just pulled into a good lead. Then as the display showed New Zealand suddenly 60 meters ahead, the commentator said the New Zealand had put its bow up (meaning aimed less directly toward the mark due to a wind shift) and Alinghi put its bow down and pulled into a sizable lead. The display suddenly changed, putting Alinghi 50 meters ahead as the commentators said New Zealand just got a great wind shift and was now well ahead. This whole thing was bizarre. The boats came together as they neared the downwind mark, and if they crossed we'd know for sure who was ahead at that point. It was New Zealand, with a slight lead, with Alinghi right behind them. Alinghi would gain, then New Zealand would pull away a bit. The mark was getting close. The announcer described New Zealand as holding on to their lead, but Alinghi was rapidly gaining on them. With a minute to go, it was anybody's guess who would win. Then, it was over. Another wind shift favored New Zealand, it put its bow down and crossed the line. Final margin was 25 seconds; New Zealand had gained 40 seconds on the last leg.

The commentators were asking each other if they'd ever seen a race like this. One said he'd been watching racing for decades and there was nothing he'd seen that was comparable. A couple days ago the New York Times had reported that in most America's Cup finals, one boat is clearly better and it leads the way around the course while the other one follows. This procession is repeated 5 times and it's all over -- actually sounds sort of dull when you think about it. And then this race happens.

One can argue the result was flukey, with all the wind shifts, and I bet the experts are still predicting Alinghi will retain the Cup, but the fact is New Zealand is up 2-1 and they staged a magnificent comeback (but then Alinghi did too on the third leg). New Zealand needs to win 3 of the last 6; Alinghi needs to win 4.

I was exhausted when this was all over. Wow!
 
Re: Jerry's account of the America's Cup

What does Ed Baird keep in his backpack? He always wears it.

Today he must have had an open can of boat speed in it.

2-2

Back to best of five races.
 
Re: Jerry's account of the America's Cup

is there a website wher i can get all this america's cup stuff its very intresting and is it on t.v
 
Re: Jerry's account of the America's Cup

What does Ed Baird keep in his backpack? He always wears it.

Today he must have had an open can of boat speed in it.

2-2

Back to best of five races.

I haven't seen a closeup of it, but it looks like a Camelbak, holds your liquid of choice, has a tube running out of it that you can lead to the front of your shirt and just suck on whenever you are thirsty

Bike riders use them on training rides... Use to be able to use them in Laser races
 
Race 4

Wind was on the light side again, but not nearly as variable as yesterday. Alinghi entered the starting box from the right side, an advantage for them. New Zealand really wanted the left side of the course. Shortly before the start, it looked as if New Zealand might get the better of Alinghi, but it became apparent that if New Zealand pressed ahead, it would be over the line early, so they had to back off and allow Alinghi to get a good start. Both boats crossed the line at speed on starboard tack, with Alinghi one second ahead and to windward. It was the mirror image of the starts in races 1 and 2, where New Zealand was the windward yacht with a slight lead. In both of those races, Alinghi managed to move slightly faster than New Zealand and move ahead, forcing New Zealand to tack away. Since New Zealand is thought to be more competitive in lighter air, this was a great chance to compare boat speed and see if New Zealand could do to Alinghi what Alinghi had done to New Zealand. It turns out they couldn't. Slowly Alinghi edged ahead. I think the evidence is strong that Alinghi is just a little bit faster than New Zealand.

They boats stayed on starboard tack till near the layline, and then Alinghi stayed mostly upwind of New Zealand to the first mark, rounding 20 seconds ahead. On the downwind leg, Alinghi kept a close cover on New Zealand, making sure the latter didn't have a chance to find different wind. Apparently Alinghi received a lot of criticism yesterday for not keeping closer cover when ahead, and they seemed to have learned the lesson. There seem to be two reasons why Alinghi didn't keep a close cover: 1) they felt they were the faster boat so they were likely to win and didn't need to cover closely, and 2) if you're ahead and you keep a close cover, then the skipper of the other boat dictates where you go on the race course and you forfeit your chance to make your own judgments. I think there's a bit of arrogance in that; the goal should be to win. Anyway, by keeping a tight cover, New Zealand had no chance to gain on the leg, and Alinghi rounded the second mark 34 seconds ahead. They have a choice of which of two downwind marks to round. The left mark was closer to the upwind mark, so rounding that one means having to travel a shorter distance, so Alinghi opted for that. However, they lost boat speed and stalled as they rounded. New Zealand headed around the right mark, traveling faster but have to go farther. The commentators speculated that, had New Zealand followed Alinghi around the left mark, their bow could have touched Alinghi's stern. They would have had to bear away and be downwind of Alinghi but they would have been very close.

As they headed upwind, Alinghi let New Zealand loose and abandoned a tight cover, and the boats got far apart. Slight wind shifts made a big difference in the lead, and at one point New Zealand was only half a boat length behind Alinghi (behind here meaning farther from the upwind mark). Another slight shift put Alinghi back several tens of meters ahead, and when the boats came back to the center of the course, Alinghi resumed a tight cover for the rest of the leg, and lead by 25 seconds at the last mark. Alinghi seemed to have learned the lesson once more and kept a tight cover on the last leg, providing New Zealand no chance to pick up a favorable wind, and Alinghi went on to win by 30 seconds. When the lead boat keeps a tight cover, they are much more likely to win, but the races aren't as exciting.

So it's 2-2, with a lay day tomorrow. If Alinghi just sails like it should and doesn't make any major mistakes, they should retain the Cup, but at least New Zealand has made this the most competitive race since Australia II defeated Liberty in 1983 to take the Cup from the United States for the first time.
 
ET New Zealand files a protest after Race 4

New Zealand protested Alinghi's victory yesterday, as described below. And I used to think a sail boat race was to see who could sail their boat faster.

By a majority decision the Jury dismissed the protest that Emirates Team New Zealand filed against Alinghi following race four. The Jury was not satisfied that Alinghi broke America's Cup Class Rule 31.6, which reads: "Mainsails shall be able to be lowered to the deck without the necessity of a crew member going aloft."

In its decision, the Jury noted it is at the discretion of the Measurement Committee to take any further steps it feels necessary to ensure yachts are in compliance with the America's Cup Class Rule.

Emirates Team New Zealand filed the protest after watching television footage that showed one of the normal post-race measurement checks. The measurers asked both teams to lower their mainsails, without the assistance of a man aloft, to demonstrate compliance with ACC Rule 31.6. Emirates Team New Zealand lowered its mainsail without a man aloft, to the satisfaction of the measurers.

The Alinghi team asked the measurer who had boarded SUI 100 if they could raise a man up the mast to fix a halyard (which wouldn't be put under tension) to the mainsail, for safety reasons, to prevent the sail from being damaged if it came down uncontrollably, and the measurer on board agreed to this request.

Alinghi bowman Pete Van Niewenhuyzen was raised to the top of the mast, fixed the halyard and held his arms out, to show that he wasn't assisting or interfering with the process. The halyard lock was tripped, and the mainsail was lowered to the deck. At the time, the measurer was satisfied with the demonstration.

But the television footage showed Van Niewenhuyzen's foot making contact with the mainsail as he swung around the mast with the boat rolling in the unsettled sea state. For Emirates Team New Zealand, that was enough to question whether he had interfered in the process. The team filed the protest later that afternoon, within the protest time limit.

Following a five hour hearing this morning, the five-member Jury dismissed Emirates Team New Zealand's protest.
 
Re: ET New Zealand files a protest after Race 4

And I used to think a sail boat race was to see who could sail their boat faster.

lol. Come on Jerry! This is America's Cup Racing! Do you need to be reminded of the actions of 1983 and 1988?

Ernesto thinks the protest was "a waste of time" and he feels for the guys who didn't "get their days off". lol. What an all round good guy. :rolleyes:

He also thinks the last race he lost shouldn't have been raced, but the next race in the same conditions -that he won- was ok.

:confused:

Given the chronology of events, you'd have to be mad not to protest such an obvious incident.

Stay tuned for the big protest if Alinghi lose the cup! lol.

just one more thing...

There seem to be two reasons why Alinghi didn't keep a close cover: 1) they felt they were the faster boat so they were likely to win and didn't need to cover closely, and 2) if you're ahead and you keep a close cover, then the skipper of the other boat dictates where you go on the race course and you forfeit your chance to make your own judgments. I think there's a bit of arrogance in that; the goal should be to win.

It's not arrogance in match racing, it's called tactics. The goal is, as you say, to win... Using tactics! lol.
 
Re: Jerry's account of the America's Cup

http://images.tvnz.co.nz/tvnz_video/windows/tv_one/am_cup_270607_128k.asx

This is a NZ media interview with Chris Dickson and a Sports Psychologist, shortly after the second win by ETNZ.

It’s a bit of a hoot watching Chris Dickson. He’s always right, even when he’s wrong! And everything the psychologist says he contradicts indirectly. lol.

I think he hits the nail on the head with regards to Alinghi’s superior boat speed and ETNZ winning by taking advantage of Alinghi’s mistakes.
 
Re: ET New Zealand files a protest after Race 4

It's not arrogance in match racing, it's called tactics. The goal is, as you say, to win... Using tactics! lol.

Jerry is referring to when Alinghi lost in Race 3 by not covering and counted on their superior boat speed. That's what he thinks was arrogant. And those tactics lost the race for Alinghi.
 
Re: Jerry's account of the America's Cup

ETNZ loses.

What a shocker! The only good thing to come out of the race was the wind it must have put up Alinghi for them to see how fast the ETNZ boat is in more wind. Even with a totally stuffed up sail change, twice, they were reducing the distance downwind. They may be ideal conditions for the ETNZ boat. If those conditions continue, without gear failure,there may still be a race for the cup.
 
Race 5

New Zealand entered the starting box from the right, probably the only bright spot they had in mind before the race. Winds were strong, about 15 knots, and the word on the street is that Alinghi would like this wind and New Zealand was more a low-wind type of boat.

New Zealand took advantage of its starting position and managed to dominate the starting sequence. It pushed Alinghi over the line well before the start, and Alinghi went downwind through the spectator fleet to try to get away, but New Zealand stayed right after them. New Zealand started with a 5 second lead, to windward to Alinghi as both boats headed to the right. One often hears that the boat that's faster upwind will win and one can often see that after five minutes, so the first five minutes were watched with great anticipation. New Zealand had changed their bulb at the bottom of the keel to improve their speed in high winds, but it seemed unlikely that would make enough of a difference. The first few minutes confirmed expectations. Alinghi slowly caught up with New Zealand, then steadily moved ahead. High winds are predicted for the race again tomorrow, so if Alinghi would keep going faster in high winds, the Cup seems assured of staying in Switzerland.

Then Alinghi's lead stopped growing. Then New Zealand gained it back, and retook the lead. I think everyone had to be surprised. Both boats stayed on port tack to the layline, with Alinghi close enough to New Zealand it might have had a hard time coming about. New Zealand forced Alinghi well over the layline, then tacked for the first mark. When Alinghi did likewise, Alinghi was trailing behind New Zealand by 2 or 3 boat lengths. It was remarkable. New Zealand rounded the first mark 12 second ahead, and as Slinghi rounded it put its bow down. That somehow seemed to be a bit threatening. Throughout the races, the commentators have said that New Zealand did a better job managing the sails, getting them up and down faster than Alinghi, etc., except of course for the one catastrophic spinnaker drop in race 3. On the downwind leg, it looked like New Zealand's spinnaker got a small rip as it went up, or else the rip was already there, and after a few minutes New Zealand brought another spinnaker up on deck, ready to replace the torn one, with a lead of 50 or 60 meters. Suddenly, the spinnaker blew out and was flying everywhere in the strong wind. Alinghi moved to pass New Zealand as they tried frantically to get the new spinnaker fastened. Apparently what happened next is that the anxious rear guard on New Zealand, seeing Alinghi beginning to pass, yelled "Hoist," which tells the grinders to go all out to lift the sail, but the men at the front didn't have the sail attached yet. The new spinnaker thus didn't set, and was soon a second disaster. It's rare for New Zealand to make such a mistake, but they did it this time. Alinghi moved well in front while the crew tried to cut off the old spinnaker and get a third one up and filling. It got twisted into an hourglass shape, but after a while they finally got it pulling. They were then on the layline and immediately gybed, but their 50 m lead was now a 150 m deficit. New Zealand quickly recovered its composure, but they were well behind.

Alinghi kept a loose cover for the rest of the leg and rounded the downwind mark 26 seconds ahead. Alinghi didn't cover New Zealand for awhile on the upwind leg and New Zealand gained until it was less than a boat length behind, but then Alinghi got a wind shift and pulled well into the lead again. New Zealand gained 2 seconds in the upwind leg, to round the top mark 24 seconds behind. In the heavy wind, apparently an asymmetrical spinnaker provides more power, but it stops pulling for a bit with each gybe. Alinghi used an asymmetrical kite, while New Zealand went with a symmetrical model. Speculation was they were out of fresh asymmetrical spinnakers. New Zealand gained intermittently on the downwind leg, pulling to within 55 meters at one point, but they couldn't pull around Alinghi and lost by 19 seconds.

Alinghi now leads 3-2 and has to feel pretty good at regaining the lead in points. New Zealand will have to win 3 out of 4 races to take the Cup. On the other hand, if I were on Alinghi, I think I would feel less comfortable now that I did when it was tied 2-2. In high winds, as predicted tomorrow, New Zealand looks slightly faster. Alinghi can't count on catastrophes to New Zealand to save it. The race looks more exciting than I thought it would be a this point.
 
Re: Jerry's account of the America's Cup

What a shocker! ... If those conditions continue, without gear failure,there may still be a race for the cup.
Yes, I say, Eddie has to lighten a candle at the church to win again..., I'm afraid. As spectator, I hope, we will see more than 3 races during the next days at Valencia, but I'm not sure in that.
NZL lost race 5, but, They have been the winner of the day I think, because they have let seen the spectators how to sail a boat and not lose control of her, althopugh 2 spi's got lost, whow... real experts on the water...
Chapeau!
LooserLu


P.S.:
For the Europeans: Today, Saturday 30th, the German Free-Digital-TV-Channel "ARD-Eins-Festival" (Astra 1B Satellite - Satellite-DVB-S, [19,2°East,Freq 12110, Horizontal, 27500]) does transmit the full 6th race, beginning at 14:45 pm to ~17:35 pm Berlin Summer Time (Greenwich Time plus 2 hours). No Commertials, but German-commentary. Have fun
 
Race 6

The winds were weaker than expected, around 10 knots, so if New Zealand is faster in high winds, that advantage won't help much today. Also, there was less chop on the water, and in previous races the chop seemed to bother Alinghi more than New Zealand, so there's another advantage for Alinghi. Alinghi entered on the favored starboard side. A win for Alionghi would make it 4-2, and New Zealand would have to win the last 3 in a row to take the Cup.

Alinghi really wanted to start to starboard of New Zealand and after considerable maneuvering (New Zealand gybed close to Alinghi, who appealed for a foul but the appeal was denied), the boats started at the same time, Alinghi to windward, at full speed, on starboard tack. They stayed on nearly parallel courses, although New Zealand matched Alinghi's speed and slowly sailed higher and got closer to Alinghi. Alinghi would like to force New Zealand over the layline, but before they got to the lay line New Zealand got close enough to Alinghi to force it to tack. This was quite a change to the starts earlier in the series when New Zealand could not force Alinghi away. Both boats headed to the right side, with Alinghi staying about 5 meters ahead, moving at the same speed. A slight wind shift to the left put New Zealand ahead by 20 meters as they approached the right layline. Alinghi came about and it looked like New Zealand had moved far enough ahead to cross upwind of Alinghi, but instead New Zealand tacked back to the left. As both boats head for the mark, Alight got a lift and gained, and it was nip and tuck whether New Zealand had enough lead to cross ahead of Alinghi. Alinghi had starboard advantage, but New Zealand just managed to get ahead and round the mark 14 seconds ahead. Impressive. A week ago Alinghi looked like generally a slightly faster boat, but they look pretty even now.

On the downwind leg, New Zealand kept a tight cover half way down, but then New Zealand went to the right and Alinghi to the left. Wind droped to 8 knots, and as the boats came back together New Zealand had slightly increased their lead, to about 100 meters. So leaving Alinghi uncovered paid off. But as both boats went along close together toward the bottom mark, Alinghi went slightly faster and narrowed New Zealand's lead. New Zealand rounded 11 seconds ahead, going around the left-hand mark and Alinghi around the right. By rounding different marks, Alinghi could be farther away from New Zealand going upwind, with the hope of getting a right-hand wind shift and providing an opportunity to pass. Both boats stayed on starboard tack to close to the layline, with Alinghi gaining as the wind shifted to the right. When Alinghi tacked onto starboard and headed toward New Zealand, New Zealand did not have enough of a lead to cross upwind of Alinghi, and it had to tack away. Alinghi started a tacking dual and pulled into a nice boat length lead! Suddenly Alinghi was in command. Alinghi held on to the lead around the top mark, crossing 16 seconds ahead. Since Alinghi seemed a bit faster on the previous downwind leg, it looked good for the Swiss.

For awhile Alinghi kept a tight cover and New Zealand started a gybing dual. New Zealand seemed to gain on each gybe, but Alinghi would pull ahead between gybes. Finally Alinghi stopped covering and let New Zealand go off to the right, giving them the hope for a favorable wind shift. The wind did shift a bit, but it favored Alinghi, and New Zealand had to gybe back toward Alinghi. The lead bounced back and forth but staying close to 100 meters. Another split developed between the boats and when the boats come back together suddenly New Zealand had gained back most of the lead, pulling to less than a boat length behind, but the end of the course was getting close! New Zealand's bow was close to Alinghi's stern. New Zealand went for another split hoping for a wind shift, but Alinghi got the better wind and quickly pulls well ahead again, crossing the line 28 seconds ahead.

This has to be very discouraging for New Zealand. Yesterday's loss was a result of a sail blowing out, but here they just lost. It's 4-2 for Alinghi. New Zealand would have to win the last 3 in a row to take the Cup. Still, the races are close and exciting, the best America's Cup race in many a decade.
 
Race 6

The winds were weaker than expected, around 10 knots, so if New Zealand is faster in high winds, that advantage won't help much today. Also, there was less chop on the water, and in previous races the chop seemed to bother Alinghi more than New Zealand, so there's another advantage for Alinghi. Alinghi entered on the favored starboard side. A win for Alionghi would make it 4-2, and New Zealand would have to win the last 3 in a row to take the Cup.

Alinghi really wanted to start to starboard of New Zealand and after considerable maneuvering (New Zealand gybed close to Alinghi, who appealed for a foul but the appeal was denied), the boats started at the same time, Alinghi to windward, at full speed, on starboard tack. They stayed on nearly parallel courses, although New Zealand matched Alinghi's speed and slowly sailed higher and got closer to Alinghi. Alinghi would like to force New Zealand over the layline, but before they got to the lay line New Zealand got close enough to Alinghi to force it to tack. This was quite a change to the starts earlier in the series when New Zealand could not force Alinghi away. Both boats headed to the right side, with Alinghi staying about 5 meters ahead, moving at the same speed. A slight wind shift to the left put New Zealand ahead by 20 meters as they approached the right layline. Alinghi came about and it looked like New Zealand had moved far enough ahead to cross upwind of Alinghi, but instead New Zealand tacked back to the left. As both boats head for the mark, Alight got a lift and gained, and it was nip and tuck whether New Zealand had enough lead to cross ahead of Alinghi. Alinghi had starboard advantage, but New Zealand just managed to get ahead and round the mark 14 seconds ahead. Impressive. A week ago Alinghi looked like generally a slightly faster boat, but they look pretty even now.

On the downwind leg, New Zealand kept a tight cover half way down, but then New Zealand went to the right and Alinghi to the left. Wind droped to 8 knots, and as the boats came back together New Zealand had slightly increased their lead, to about 100 meters. So leaving Alinghi uncovered paid off. But as both boats went along close together toward the bottom mark, Alinghi went slightly faster and narrowed New Zealand's lead. New Zealand rounded 11 seconds ahead, going around the left-hand mark and Alinghi around the right. By rounding different marks, Alinghi could be farther away from New Zealand going upwind, with the hope of getting a right-hand wind shift and providing an opportunity to pass. Both boats stayed on starboard tack to close to the layline, with Alinghi gaining as the wind shifted to the right. When Alinghi tacked onto starboard and headed toward New Zealand, New Zealand did not have enough of a lead to cross upwind of Alinghi, and it had to tack away. Alinghi started a tacking dual and pulled into a nice boat length lead! Suddenly Alinghi was in command. Alinghi held on to the lead around the top mark, crossing 16 seconds ahead. Since Alinghi seemed a bit faster on the previous downwind leg, it looked good for the Swiss.

For awhile Alinghi kept a tight cover and New Zealand started a gybing dual. New Zealand seemed to gain on each gybe, but Alinghi would pull ahead between gybes. Finally Alinghi stopped covering and let New Zealand go off to the right, giving them the hope for a favorable wind shift. The wind did shift a bit, but it favored Alinghi, and New Zealand had to gybe back toward Alinghi. The lead bounced back and forth but staying close to 100 meters. Another split developed between the boats and when the boats come back together suddenly New Zealand had gained back most of the lead, pulling to less than a boat length behind, but the end of the course was getting close! New Zealand's bow was close to Alinghi's stern. New Zealand went for another split hoping for a wind shift, but Alinghi got the better wind and quickly pulls well ahead again, crossing the line 28 seconds ahead.

This has to be very discouraging for New Zealand. Yesterday's loss was a result of a sail blowing out, but here they just lost. It's 4-2 for Alinghi. New Zealand would have to win the last 3 in a row to take the Cup. Still, the races are close and exciting, the best America's Cup race in many a decade.
 
Re: Jerry's account of the America's Cup

Dear oh dear.

Will ETNZ manage to take 2 races in a row to even be in the game?

no gear failure, no handling errors, no penalties, no tactical errors (always making the best decision) and retain enough boat speed when necessary?

any two of those things they've done before. To do them all, for at least two races...it's a real big ask.

Theoretically they could do it, they are good enough, but will it happen?

This series has broken plenty of the old rules of engagement. But to make a comeback from their positon now? That would totally reconstruct the way teams view the tendancies of the Americas Cup Racing.

I'd love to see it happen, but how often do miracles happen? Are we due for one yet? :D lol.
 
Re: Jerry's account of the America's Cup

It's like LooserLu said, only it's ETNZ that needs to light a bunch of candles now.
 
Re: Jerry's account of the America's Cup

Australia 2 won from a 3-1 position. So it's been done before. Dunno whether that makes it more possible or less possible. lol.
 
Re: Jerry's account of the America's Cup

It's like LooserLu said, only it's ETNZ that needs to light a bunch of candles now.
ha ha...Yup!, Merrily, it seems to go this way.

But, Race 6, I think, let us have seen how important it is, to be a good strategist. AND: To have the luck exact at the right time, to get from god of the winds "Rasmus" himself ;) , the right breeze / or better to say: the wind shift from the correct side to have the advantage to lead at that moment it is mostful a need. That's what sailing is about (don't we have all made such experiences on the water ourself often enough, during the races we joined ?!) and all those, that aren't infected by the virus we all together uncurable here have, never do understand us ... let those (uninfected) people go to Indie-Car - or F1- racing or Tour de France '07 ...

Good success ENZL, let's play the game today, Dean! The rest of the crazy sailing world wants to see some more of such exciting races next week, okay, won't we? :D


@49208
49208 said:
I haven't seen a closeup of it, but it looks like a Camelbak, holds your liquid of choice, has a tube running out of it that you can lead to the front of your shirt and just suck on whenever you are thirsty

Bike riders use them on training rides... Use to be able to use them in Laser races
At the TV of GER yesterday they told, Eddie uses sunglasses where informations of f.e. boatspeed, actual wind direction at the boat etc. are shown inside of the glasses for him. So, the bag, Eddie wears at the back, only carries the electronical stuff that is need to receive this informations for the sunglasses. We both know, not even a small electronical compass at the bracelet-watch is permitted at major races for the Laser ...
May we are correct to say: Eddie made the correct decision to change early enough from our, so called "one-design", sailing class to such another sort of "experimental"-"one design" sailing class where those "gizmos" are permitted... ;) ;)


Cheers
and:
Have fun (also: best greetings to Cascais/Portugal to all of the athlets at ISAF Worlds 2007! www.cascaisworlds2007.com)
LooserLu

P.S.:

For the Europeans: Today, Sunday July 1st, the German Free-Digital-TV-Channel "ZDF-INFO" (Astra 1B Satellite - Satellite-DVB-S, [19,2°East,Freq 11954, Horizontal, 27500]) does transmitt the full 7th race beginning at 14:45 pm to ~17:30 pm Berlin Summer Time (Greenwich Time plus 2 hours). No Commertials but German-commentary.

And:
If there (!!hopefully!!) are more races: Netxt race, race 8, would be broadcast at July 3rd, at the German Free-Digital-TV-Channel "ARD-Eins-Festival" (Astra 1B Satellite - Satellite-DVB-S, [19,2°East,Freq 12110, Horizontal, 27500]) beginning at 14:45 pm to ~17:35 pm Berlin Summer Time (Greenwich Time plus 2 hours). No Commertials, but German-commentary.
 
Re: Jerry's account of the America's Cup

Jerry says:

An analyst claimed that, had New Zealand been 10 meters farther ahead on leg 3 yesterday, it would have stayed ahead of Alinghi. Had that happened and had it not blown out its spinnaker on race 4, New Zealand would now lead the series 4-2. On the other hand, had the bizarre wind shifts on race 3 been slightly different, the score would now stand 5-1 for Alinghi, they would have retained the Cup, and it would look like they nearly swept New Zealand. I guess the breaks sort of even out.

Winds were light and highly variable today, and after waiting awhile they called off races for the day. Tomorrow is a lay day. Try again on Tuesday.
 
Re: Jerry's account of the America's Cup

Jerry says:

An analyst claimed that, had New Zealand been 10 meters farther ahead on leg 3 yesterday, it would have stayed ahead of Alinghi. Had that happened and had it not blown out its spinnaker on race 4, New Zealand would now lead the series 4-2. On the other hand, had the bizarre wind shifts on race 3 been slightly different, the score would now stand 5-1 for Alinghi, they would have retained the Cup, and it would look like they nearly swept New Zealand. I guess the breaks sort of even out.

Makes you wonder the use of predicting the future by projecting a single event into the future without considering everything else influencing that single event. Happens all the time, even by 'respected scientists'.

Where does an analyst stop collecting data to make a prediction? Just the stuff that happens on the course, or maybe chaotic stuff like a terrorist attack on the cup village blowing up all the boats?

There are guaranteed results, like if the crews don't launch their boats, they can't race. But outside of that, anything could happen. When we see that what we thought was going to happen does happen, we validate the reputation of the analyst and tell ourselves, "Of course, of course, how could it have been any different?". But was he right or was it just an elaborate guess? Hell of a way to make a living.

(don't we have all made such experiences on the water ourself often enough, during the races we joined ?!)

I once won a race simply because I arrived on the start line at the correct time and my nearest competitor was 30 secs late due to some misunderstanding of start times. Did I really win or did they lose? If in the previous races he beat me twice, should it be considered that he won the third race anyway? Should we subtract the 30secs and project it into the future result or is starting on time part of the race?

Ripped spinaker

Wind shifts

big waves

luck


Whoever hits the finish line first wins. Irritating as it was to hear, Chris Dickson was right:

regardless of everything else, someone is going to win and someone is going to lose.
 
Race 7

Jerry says:

Winds were strong, about 15 knots. A beautiful day for racing. New Zealand entered the start from the right and controlled the pre-start maneuvering, but Alinghi managed to get free and the boats started even at speed. The start on a long starboard tack, with Alinghi the windward boat, until after 5 minutes New Zealand provided enough back-wind to force Alinghi to tack away. New Zealand followed a couple minutes later with a 10 to 20 meter lead. !5 minutes after the start, New Zealand has slowly gained, both boats on port tack, with a difference of about 50 meters, so Alinghi tacks to get back close to New Zealand. As the boats get close together, Alinghi gained a bit of faster wind and New Zealand couldn't cross upwind of Alinghi, so New Zealand tacked away back to starboard, forcing Alinghi to tack away. The come together again, with the same result. Again they come together and again the boats have to tack away from each other. If this keeps happening, Alinghi will be forced over the right-side layline. Alinghi tacks back to starboard and New Zealand leaves them alone for awhile, then tacks back towards Alinghi. A right-hand wind shift helps Alinghi, so when the boats come back together New Zealand can't put a lot of back-wind on Alinghi. Both boats go to the left layline, with Alinghi the windward boat and they tack on the layline. Advantage to Alinghi. As they head back to the right, Alinghi is controlling. Curiously, both boats go head to wind until Alinghi bears away to go for the mark, with a 7 seconds lead. Alinghi seems to be a bit faster going down wind, so things look good for Alinghi, but it's close.

Both boats go to the right (as seen from downwind), with Alinghi 50 meters ahead. Symmetrical spinnakers are up for both boats. Part way down the leg, both boats go into a gybing dual. Suddenly the Alinghi spinnaker collapses for no apparent reason and they have a problem getting it going again, allowing New Zealand to get close and upwind, blocking wind to Alinghi. New Zealand then pulls into the lead. It's been very unusual for one boat the pass the other when they were close together on a downwind leg. New Zealand goes for the left-hand mark and Alinghi goes for the right. At the mark, New Zealand has a 14 second lead. I don't think anyone expected New Zealand to be able to pass Alinghi on a down-wind leg.

New Zealand goes onto starboard tack and Alinghi goes to the right, with New Zealand 50 meters ahead. New Zealand soon tacks to port to keep for letting Alinghi get too far away. Last time they had a rounding like this (Saturday), the wind shifted right and Alinghi regained the lead, so New Zealand doesn't want the boats to get too far apart. The wind has dropped to 13 to 14 knots. Alinghi then tacks and it's nip and tuck whether New Zealand will have enough lead to cross upwind of Alinghi. It turns out they don't, so once again New Zealand and Alinghi are forced to tack away. New Zealand's lead has dropped from about 60 to 30 meters. They come together again, and again New Zealand can't cross above Alinghi, so both boats tack away. Alinghi seems to be gaining each time they come together. Then Alinghi hits two big waves, nearly stopping the boat, and New Zealand increases its lead. The boats again come together, with Alinghi hoping they are close enough that they won't be forced to tack away, but it doesn't happen. Both boats bounce away again, with Alinghi only 2 minutes away from the right-hand layline. If New Zealand came keep bouncing Alinghi off, they can force Alinghi over the layline, but if Alinghi can gain a slight bit they can come together and stay on starboard tack, like on the first leg. It's anybody's game. A right wind shift helps Alinghi. Alinghi tacks to starboard on the right side layline, and New Zealand goes to the left side layline, then tacks toward Alinghi. Alinghi has right of way. The boats get close and Alinghi appeals for a penalty, saying it had to alter course to avoid New Zealand, and the umpires grant the penalty! Alinghi retakes the lead and crosses 12 seconds ahead at the top mark. So unless something dramatic happens, the Cup stays in Switzerland. If New Zealand had been just a few meters ahead on the third leg, it could have crossed above Alinghi and controlled the race. But that didn't happen.

They head downwind, with Alinghi ahead by 100 meters, plus New Zealand has to take the penalty. It's time for Alinghi to play it safe and keep a tight cover on New Zealand. No gain to New Zealand half way down the leg. Time is slipping away. New Zealand's two hopes are either a major breakdown on Alinghi or somehow New Zealand would get close enough to Alinghi and force Alinghi into a penalty, negating their own penalty. Neither is likely. Alinghi reaches the layline and heads for the mark. Then a big wind shift goes against New Zealand. When it rains it pours.

Who would have guess what happened next? Alinghi's spinnaker pole comes off the mast; the spinnaker goes flying. With the wind shift, this "downwind" leg is no longer downwind, and New Zealand takes down its spinnaker and puts up its jib. It's penalty requires that they have to tack, but since they already have the jib up the tack won't cost much time at all. Moreover, with the wind shift Alinghi is no longer on the layline. New Zealand powers into the lead! Amazing. Alinghi has to get going again and reach the new layline and then go for the mark, while New Zealand is well ahead. Alinghi gets it going again, and New Zealand starts a double tack to satisfy the penalty and to go for the mark. Alinghi is almost at the line, but New Zealand is still ahead and completing their tack. But New Zealand goes nearly dead in the water right at the line. Alinghi reaches for it and gets across first. The winning margin is officially one second. One Second! So the cup stays in Switzerland, and they become only the third country to successfully defend the Cup. The commentators note that this has to be the closest race in America's Cup history. While the result is 5-2, one might think Alinghi had a decided advantage. But those who lived through it know better.

Germany hired a new skipper for their challenge on the next America's Cup and they've ordered a new boat, GER 101. Life goes on.

Remarkable.
 

Back
Top