Another good win for Artemis in the Louis Vuitton Trophy - Auckland

11:11 AM Wed 17 Mar 2010 GMT

'Race day 8, first day of the elimination round. Artemis (SWE) wins from Azzurra (ITA). Auckland, New Zealand, March 17th 2010. Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland (8-21 March 2010)' Sander van der Borch / Artemis ?

Another good win for Artemis today over the Italians on Azzurra. No wild excitment like yesterday against the Brits, just steady control of the race, abeit in the upper wind range.

In fact we were on hold for 45 minutes as the wind had built to 25 knots at our scheduled start time. It came down to 20 knots and we were underway. It was still a race in which I felt keeping it simple would pay off.

Race day 8, first day of the elimination round. Artemis starts on the right hand side of the line. Artemis (SWE) wins from Azzurra (ITA). Auckland, New Zealand, March 17th 2010. Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland (8-21 March 2010) - Sander van der Borch _- Artemis &copy

Our call for the start was 'wide right' and we ended up with 'tight right' which was still ok with me. We hung on the hip of Azzurra for about 40 seconds while both boats rode out a lift on starboard tack. As that lift faded, and before we got weak, we tacked away onto a nice lift on port tack. Just as we finished building back up to full speed the wind faded back to the right and we tacked back onto starboard.

Instantly, we were strong on Azzurra and from there on we just controlled them. By tacking on them every time they came to the right, we forced them up against the exclusion zone on the left side of the course and carried a three length lead into the top mark.

Race day 8, first day of the elimination round. Artemis crosses Azzurra (ITA). Artemis (SWE) went on to win tha match. Auckland, New Zealand, March 17th 2010. Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland (8-21 March 2010) - Sander van der Borch _- Artemis &copy

We kept it simple again down the run, one gybe and in to the right gate mark while the Italians attempted to go to the left gate and they had a few more issues than we did at the bottom mark. From that point on things were pretty easy for us and we went into cruise for the remainder.

In the other races, Origin beat All4One, Masclazone beat Aleph and Team New Zealand beat Synergy. So at this stage, Team New Zealand and Masclazone move straight to the semi final round as the top two winners and Synergy and Aleph go home as the bottom two teams. The other four of us will race in two, two out of three series, to determine the other two semi finalists.

Race day 8, first day of the elimination round. Artemis (SWE) wins from Azzurra (ITA). Auckland, New Zealand, March 17th 2010. Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland (8-21 March 2010) - Sander van der Borch _- Artemis &copy

Tonight we are having an 'all teams' photo with the America's Cup which is on display here in Auckland, also signaling the America's Cup Defenders belief in the Louis Vuitton Trophy's importance in the road to the next America's Cup.

Paul

www.artemisracing.com

Race day 8, first day of the elimination round. Artemis (SWE) leads Azzurra (ITA) around the first bottom mark. Artemis (SWE) went on to win the match. Auckland, New Zealand, March 17th 2010. Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland (8-21 March 2010) - Sander van der Borch _- Artemis &copy

Race day 8, first day of the elimination round. Artemis (SWE) leads Azzurra (ITA) on the first run en went on to win the match. Auckland, New Zealand, March 17th 2010. Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland (8-21 March 2010) - Sander van der Borch _- Artemis &copy

by Paul Cayard