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12:52 AM Tue 10 Feb 2009 GMT
The first two races have been sailed on 'Super Tuesday' to determine which team will meet Alinghi in the Challenger Final of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series to be sailed on Thursday
Both races were dramatic with Team Origin staging a come from behind win, and Luna Rossa mangaing to clear a pre-start penalty and still win against China Team.
Louis Vuitton Pacific Series - Day 11, 10th February, 2009
Race 2:
TEAMORIGIN beat Pataugas K-Challenge - 1m52s
Pre-race favourite TEAMORIGIN had to fight a drama-filled skirmish with the charged-up French K-Challenge to stay in this regatta. In the pre-start, both boats actively sought the committee end of the start line, with TEAMORIGIN skipper Ben Ainslie doing an outstanding job to start on port tack right next to the boat, forcing K-Challenge helmsman Sebastian Col to tack away once they had crossed. The British boat protected the right up the beat, but the French instigated a tacking duel that evened up the game. With the top mark in sight, TEAMORIGIN dialed down and tacked just in front of K-Challenge, holding them out by 9s at the top mark. However the British spinnaker set was slow and K-Challenge rolled them. In the ensuing drama, Ainslie launched a luffing attack on the French boat, which copped a penalty for failing to keep clear and, for good measure, partially dropped its spinnaker when the halyard let go. TEAMORIGIN headed left and regained the lead, before crossing back to the right to lead K-Challenge around the right-hand buoy at the bottom gate. The last two legs were a drag race, with the British ahead, knowing the French still had to complete their penalty turn.
Deltas
Mark 1 - 0:09 - TEAMORIGIN
Mark 2 - 0:10 - TEAMORIGIN
Mark 3 - 0:25 - TEAMORIGIN
Finish - 1.52 - TEAMORIGIN
Race 1:
Luna Rossa beat China Team - 01s
The Italian team Luna Rossa skippered by Peter Holmberg pulled out a heart-stopping one-second win as they completed a penalty turn on the finish line of their match against the China Team. British match race champion Ian Williams had laid the penalty on the Italians 30 seconds before the start, after they attempted to tack across the bow of the Chinese boat. Holmberg nevertheless enjoyed a small lead at the start and slowly eked it out to a 150 metre lead at the finish. He jammed his boat around in a tight turn bringing it almost to a halt as it spun around. Williams carried fresh breeze down to the line and crossed at speed but not before Holmberg crawled across to take the gun one second in front. Luna Rossa will now meet BMW Oracle Racing in the second quarter final race later today.
Deltas
Mark 1 - 0:14 - Luna Rossa
Mark 2 - 0:19 - Luna Rossa
Mark 3 - 0:24 - Luna Rossa
Finish - 0:01 - Luna Rossa
Pre-Race Report 1100 hours NZ Time
The Race Committee is on the Green Course, out in the Rangitoto Channel, looking to start a five-race day on time. A band of heavy showers overnight is clearing now but some light rain is expected, with clearing as the day wears on. The air is sub-tropical, warm and humid, with a gradient flow from the northwest. Forecast wind direction is a shifty 270 to 320 degrees around noon at 8-13 knots, moving to 270 to 290 degrees at 12-15 knots later in the day.
The program calls for the two sail-off races to select the last two quarter-finalists, followed by the challenger quarter finals and the semi-finals. For more information about the race schedule, click on BREAKING NEWS and then choose RESULTS
Filed live and on the water from the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series.
by Keith Taylor
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Low Rocky Point, TAS
