TeamOrigin falls to Artemis and drops out of Louis Vuitton Trophy

9:39 AM Thu 18 Mar 2010 GMT

'NEW ZEALAND, Auckland, 18th March 2010, Louis Vuitton Trophy, Elimination Day 2, TEAMORIGIN vs Artemis,' Ian Roman/TEAMORIGIN

Day 10 of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland regatta was crunch time for two more of the eight teams. The second Elimination Round would normally see the two pairs that had advanced from yesterday race best of three series, with the teams that won two races advancing to the semi finals on Saturday.

Regrettably the wind was light and fickle for the first part of the day causing the race committee to alter the programme to make it a 'sudden death'knock out race to fit the round into the programme when the wind did finally appear.

The first pair to race was TEAMORIGIN against the Swedish Artemis team. The last time this pair had met one of the most exciting Louis Vuitton Trophy races ever was delivered - TEAMORIGIN did end up on the losing side but only after the race had seen five lead changes and four penalties - it could have gone either way!

NEW ZEALAND, Auckland, 18th March 2010, Louis Vuitton Trophy, Elimination Day 2, TEAMORIGIN vs Artemis, - Ian Roman-TEAMORIGIN

The draw last night to assign boats and entry end for the best of three series saw British skipper Ainslie choose the perceived quicker boat for race two and ultimately third if required and so give up starboard entry for the first and third races. As the programme was curtailed today due to lack of wind the one and only sudden death race meant that TEAMORIGIN had neither the favoured end nor the perceived better boat.

Conditions at the start were around 12 knots of wind and the course was set in the Rangitoto Channel. The start sequence got underway at 1330 and following the entry the pair dialled up and held head to wind for quiet some time. The TEAMORIGIN afterguard, on the left hand side of the pair had become aware of a significant port end bias on the line and set themselves up to make a daring and unprecedented port tack start and cross ahead of the starboard tacked opponent. It looked incredibly close, with the Swedish yacht lifting the protest flag but the umpires looked favourably at the British team's audacity and considered there was no foul.

NEW ZEALAND, Auckland, 18th March 2010, Louis Vuitton Trophy, Elimination Day 2, TEAMORIGIN vs Artemis, - Ian Roman-TEAMORIGIN

When the pair came back together again with TEAMORIGIN tacking close to leeward again the protest flag came up from the Swedish boat and again the Umpires deemed 'no incident'. Already these two rivals were setting themselves up for another epic match.

The race was extremely close up the first beat with some of the purest forms of match racing being demonstrated. Both teams defending their respective positions with the leader keeping the race tight and the trailing boat taking care not to compromise its chances for later around the course.

The shallow water obstruction on the left hand side of the course played a significant role in the leg tactics and the British team used it masterfully to block opportunities that Artemis may have found that side, by constantly pushing them back to that side.

Both boats headed up the beat on port, Artemis to the left and TEAMORIGIN on the right side, incredibly close on the virtual eye. The wind appeared to be bending round and giving an advantage to Artemis. Artemis tack over towards TEAMORIGIN looking to be bow forward, Artemis on port and TEAMORIGIN tack to leeward of Artemis, really neck and neck. TEAMORIGIN then tacked onto the and took the power of the right, a great move .

NEW ZEALAND, Auckland, 18th March 2010, Louis Vuitton Trophy, Elimination Day 2, TEAMORIGIN vs Artemis, - Ian Roman-TEAMORIGIN

TEAMORIGIN forced two extra tacks onto the Swedish team, right on the obstruction using the opportunity smartly, TEAMORIGIN were in then in a controlling position coming in to the first critical turning mark. TEAMORIGIN lead around the first mark but still a close race.

Both boats did bear away sets at the top mark, the trailing boat Artemis pushing to take the air off TEAMORIGIN as they headed down the run. The attacker was the first to gybe hoping that the leading defender would fall into a trap. But TEAMORIGIN chose not to follow suit immediately and gybed a few boat lengths later making sure they had clear air from behind and safely maintained the leeward track. Artemis gybed back to keep it close, and TEAMORIGIN crossed in front on port, a mere 40 metres distance between them. Approaching the bottom gate the next set of key decisions were when to gybe for the final approach and which gate mark to turn. TEAMORIGIN was still clear ahead of Artemis but just by a mere boat length for the second upwind leg.

Having followed TEAMORIGIN around the same mark Artemis tacked off immediately to clear their air, whilst the British afterguard waited a bit to get into phase with the shifts. The British team started to work the shifts and tacked only when appropriate when covering with regard to the wind. The shifts and period of oscillations were not predictable and second second guessing them was going to be the key to success.

NEW ZEALAND, Auckland, 18th March 2010, Louis Vuitton Trophy, Elimination Day 2, TEAMORIGIN vs Artemis, - Ian Roman-TEAMORIGIN

Concentration was intense. The result of this close race would see one team eliminated and the other live to fight another day. About half way up this last upwind leg the British boat maintained a diverging course and split from the Swedish boat by a significant margin. The shifts looked good but then when the pair converged again it was clear that it had gone against the British team. Artemis crossed ahead having made a net four length gain which they converted into a 28 second lead at the top mark.

The last run left an awful lot for TEAMORIGIN to do to catch and pass the leader. Artemis suffered a small rip in their spinnaker but luckily for them it was along the foot of the sail and the crew managed to keep it together to take the win by 30 seconds and advance to the Semi Finals.

The second race of the day promised to be as exciting as the first one. Pitting the French/German ALL4ONE team against the Italian Azzurra team (winners overall of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice event back in Nov '09); both teams performed well in the round robin and sure to be pushing hard for a spot in the semi-finals. Azzurra managed to get a penalty against the French/German team before the start and went on to win the race and earn their place in the next round.

NEW ZEALAND, Auckland, 18th March 2010, Louis Vuitton Trophy, Elimination Day 2, TEAMORIGIN vs Artemis, - Ian Roman-TEAMORIGIN

Mike Sanderson, Team Director , commented emotively on the day's racing, 'We are bitterly disappointed in today's result. At this stage of the event, having it all count on one race is very tough. We had high hopes for this competition and the guys did some great work, especially in the starts and up the first beats. Today we went from having a comfortable lead to being a length behind which goes to show the level of the competition here. For sure we need to be much better than this, we have a really talented team, we must be positive and not stick our head in the sand, its all about reviewing, learning and moving forward to the next event in La Maddalena.'

Ian Moore, Navigator, added, 'Its been a real rollercoaster of an event, we had high expectations, a really good build-up, felt organised and in control and came in feeling strong. Unfortunately we just weren't able to fully draw on our core strengths. We started well, sailed well especially up those first beats but then we did not perfect certain executions and that makes all the difference. A small error here means you can get hammered by the other teams. Its been a great event for us and we are looking forward to the next one.'

Ben Ainslie, Skipper and Helmsman, summed up, 'A disappointing result for us today, it was a close race and the guys did a great job, we made one mistake and paid dearly for that. It's been a really competitive event and great to see some top teams here and such close race action. As ever it's been a really useful event for us, the guys have given 100%, and although disappointed, we will take a lot from it and continue to move forward.'

NEW ZEALAND, Auckland, 18th March 2010, Louis Vuitton Trophy, Elimination Day 2, TEAMORIGIN vs Artemis, - Ian Roman-TEAMORIGIN

Elimination Round TWO : Race results today:

Match A : Race 1: Artemis (SWE) beat TEAMORIGIN (GBR)
Match B : Race 1 : Azzurra (ITA) beat ALL4ONE (FRA/GER)

Semi-Final racing programme scheduled for Friday 19th March as follows:
Semi-finals take the format of a best of 3 race series. Emirates Team New Zealand as highest ranked from the RR1 selected Azzurra to race against.

Semi-Finalists:
Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) v Azzurra (ITA)
Mascalzone Latino (ITA) v Artemis (SWE)