SailJuice Blog

Big Four flop in the fleet racing

Alinghi might be leading the fleet racing of the Louis Vuitton Act 11 of the America’s Cup, but generally this was a tough day for the Big Four. BMW Oracle’s approach to the start line of the first race was incredibly late. USA-87 was the last to get on to starboard tack for the final approach and so Chris Dickson never gave himself a chance of a clear air start.

+39 Challenge, on the other hand, did exactly what they needed to in a slow boat, and booked the pin end of the line where Iain Percy could accelerate and put the bow down. Rounding the first mark in third place was a sensational result for the Italian team in the oldest boat on the race course.

Another… Read the rest

BMW strolls the last race

As expected it was a pretty one-sided affair in the re-match that was called off earlier in the week, between BMW Oracle and +39 Challenge. But as +39’s tactician, Ian Walker, commented yesterday, “We’re certainly not going to learn anything sitting in a coffee bar with hangovers.” So they went sailing with hangovers instead. But Iain Percy and his gang did as well as they could in a dog of an old boat, winning a marginal advantage at the start but unable to do anything with it. ITA-59 is just plain slow below 10 knots wind, and today’s race barely saw more than 6 knots.

I spoke to Percy afterwards, and asked if he had even seen a glimmer of hope of beating BMW ORACLE today. “No,” he said, matter of factly.… Read the rest

Alinghi still holding the aces

BMW Oracle’s victory in Louis Vuitton Act 10 proves that America’s Cup racing is not always won on pure speed. Pundits around Valencia have been marvelling at the ability of USA-87 to turn through an incredibly tight turning circle – a valuable trait not only for pre-start manoeuvring but for executing the killer move that Chris Dickson pulled on the Italians aboard Luna Rossa.

After the young (but older than his years) James Spithill won the better start and bounced Dickson off to the right just seconds after the gun fired, Luna Rossa seized control of the match in the early stages. Things were always nip and tuck between these two brand new Version 5 hulls, but Spithill still appeared to be holding the upper hand as he approached the windward mark on starboard… Read the rest

A chink in the armour

It took until the dying gasps of the 2005 season before Alinghi yielded a match race to another team. Then on that very last day of match racing in Sicily, the invincible Defender lost boat races, one to K-Challenge and the other to BMW Oracle. Apart from that, 31 out of 33 victories was an ominous display from the Swiss, suggesting they could hold on to the Cup beyond 2007.

It took just two days of the 2006 season before Alinghi fell to another team. Yes, the team are still using the boat from last year, SUI-75, but their moments of weakness have come from lapses of… Read the rest

As a travelling sailing journalist, I get to speak to the world’s greatest sailors on a regular basis, so this blog is an insight into the world of grand prix yachting. In the past year I’ve reported on Olympic events, America’s Cup Acts and offshore classics like the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race and the Volvo Ocean Race. Keep on coming back to the Sailing Talk blog for my latest comments.