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10:26 AM Sat 7 Feb 2009 GMT
Official Race reports, margins and clips from Day 3 of Round Robin 2 racing on 7 February in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series
Race 5:
Emirates Team New Zealand beat Alinghi The Kiwi team sailed the course without Alinghi after the Swiss boat forfeited the race.
Race 4:
China Team beat Pataugas K-Challenge - 57s Deltas
Mark 1 - 0:22 - China Team
Mark 2 - 0:04 - China Team
Mark 3 - 0:24 - China Team
Finish - 0:57 - China Team
Race 3:
TEAMORIGIN beat Luna Rossa - 04s A taut and tense battle between Italy's Luna Rossa and the newcomer British team TEAMORIGIN went to the wire in a fresh southerly breeze. After one attempt abandoned in light air when the time limit ran out, the race committee moved to a new course as the southerly filled in. Spectators crowding North Head were treated to a battle royal as Cup veteran Peter Holmberg steering the Italian boat swapped tacks and gybes with three-time Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie. After a pre-start that included a high-speed reach into the spectator fleet, the pair split at the gun with the Italians going right and the Britons going left. After a couple of tacks a big left shift under North Head put the Italians just ahead at the weather mark. The boats tore down the run, side by side, but despite his efforts Ainslie's team trailed by 16 seconds as they split at the leeward gate. Another challenging beat ended when Luna Rossa carried the British boat past the mark. Both boats wheeled into crash gybe sets around the buoy with the Italians just in front. The Britons split away on the run and moved out to an 80 meter lead as they closed the finish line on opposite gybes. The gun sounded for TEAMORIGIN with the Italian boat only a boat length and four seconds astern. Deltas
Mark 1 - 0:08 - Luna Rossa
Mark 2 - 0:16 - Luna Rossa
Mark 3 - 0:14 - Luna Rossa
Finish - 0:04 - TEAMORIGIN At 1500 hours local time, racing went on hold for the passage of commercial shipping.
Race 2:
Greek Challenge beat Team Shosholoza - 1m26s The rookie Greek Challenge gained some redemption with a virtually flawless victory over Team Shosholoza in their final appearance in the Silver Fleet. In an 8 knot sea breeze, the Greek and South African boats came together in the startbox then drifted backwards for two minutes before finally heading in the right direction of the startline. Both boats crossed the line on starboard tack, but the Greeks, with Gavin Brady at the helm, got more of a lift from the left side and simply sailed away from Paolo Cian and the South African crew. Shosholoza lost more ground with two unnecessary tacks near the top mark, trailing by 35s going into the first run, and even as they tried to engage the Greek Challenge in a gybing duel, the chasm only grew. The Greeks gave one of their best performances yet, spotting the shifts and covering their opponents, to win by 1m 26s. Both teams are now out of the running to win the challenger title, but will race each other again next week for 9th and 10th places in the final standings.
Deltas
Mark 1 - 0:35 - Greek Challenge
Mark 2 - 0:39 - Greek Challenge
Mark 3 - 0:59 - Greek Challenge
Finish - 1:26 - Greek Challenge
Race 1:
BMW Oracle Racing beat Damiani Italia Challenge - 26s Italian skipper/tactician Vasco Vascotto and his helmsman Francesco Bruni hit the port side of the startline at the five minutes gun with speed and flair. They sailed across the bow of BMW Oracle Racing whose skipper Russell Coutts turned and gave chase, both boats reaching down to leeward of the committee boat and outside the starboard tack layline. Two circles later Coutts broke away and turned back to the line, with the Italians slow to follow. Without enough speed to hook the US boat and control it, the Italians could only follow the Oracle team, starting 60 metres in their wake. Deltas
Mark 1 - 0:10 - BMW Oracle Racing
Mark 2 - 0:18 - BMW Oracle Racing
Mark 3 - 0:47 - BMW Oracle Racing
Finish - 0:26 - BMW Oracle Racing
Pre-Race Reports
1200 hours NZ Time Auckland enjoyed a soft lazy morning with bright sunshine and a few gentle puffs of breeze out of the southeast. Based on the morning forecast, there is not much of a chance of a start to racing before early afternoon. Wind was light and variable at Bean Rock at 0800 hours. With the influence of high pressure out to the west, we're expecting a northerly sea breeze at 10-12 knots in the Rangitoto Channel. Racing will be on the Blue Course. Race assignments have been set for the next five days of competition. For all the details, click on BREAKING NEWS on the home page. There are five pages of information.
by Louis Vuitton Media and ARL
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