SailJuice Blog

Today’s line-up looked pretty ho-hum, and with the stronger breeze it seemed like everything would run to form. How wrong can you be! BMW Oracle v China Team should have been the dullest of matches, but no sooner had former BMW Oracle bowman Geordie Shaver made the comment on America’s Cup Radio that this was still a pressure race for the B-boat crew (because that is who was sailing USA 98 today), than the jib blew out of the headstay foil.

Poor old Sten Mohr and the rest of the B-boaters – sent out to do a routine bit of paperwork at the office – and then the window bursts open and all the paperwork goes blowing off down the street. Imagine going back to the BMW Oracle base and having to tell the bosses what happened… Read the rest

Victory Challenge seem to have been one of the underperformers of the Round Robins to date, not to mention their woeful catalogue of sail-handling errors in the fleet racing of Louis Vuitton Act 13. Yet here they are in 5th place on the leaderboard, so there is still much for the Swedes to play for.

How many more Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free cards will come their way though, such as the one handed to them by Shosholoza yesterday? The spinnaker pole breakage was another heartbreaking moment for the South Africans who, while they have great boatspeed and are sailing tactically very well, are being let down either by ripping spinnakers or snapping poles.

These can be the hardest defeats to take, as skipper Mark Sadler’s comment indicates: “It is so disappointing, you can’t imagine. Have a second spinnaker pole on board would… Read the rest

A fantastic day’s racing in Valencia to conclude a Round Robin that at one time seemed like it would never end. So what did we learn from today? Well, for starters, that none of the helmsmen in the leading teams are infallible.

It’s easy to overlook the fact that Chris Dickson, with all the other responsibilities he faces as head of BMW Oracle Racing, remains one of the best starters in the business. He has looked very consistent in the pre-starts. In the big decider match to determine who would win Round Robin One, he had Dean Barker and the Kiwis wrapped up like a kipper. Dickson saw a moment to close the Kiwis out of the start and put BMW Oracle at a massive early advantage.

However, Dickson got greedy and in his eagerness to post a ‘kill’, lost… Read the rest

While there’s not much point in Areva Challenge crying over spilt milk, they must feel a little hard done by after being ruled as Did Not Finish from yesterday’s finish line drama against Team Shosholoza.

I’m sure that race officer Peter ‘Luigi’ Reggio and Bryan Willis’s jury are absolutely correct in having determined that Areva’s mast tip never recrossed to the course side of the line, and rules is rules. But what a harsh way to lose a point. Natural justice would suggest that if you re-round the finish buoy without hitting it, then that should be sufficient to offload the penalty.

The counter-argument could run that if you don’t want to take the risks inherent with using the finish buoy as the place to offload the penalty, then Areva could have taken the… Read the rest

Fancy a ride on BMW Oracle, the boat of the moment? Well, if you’ve got $40,000 spare, then you could ride as 18th man aboard USA 98. Go and bid on Ebay for the spot. Actually, it’s already $40k and there’s four days to go, and the way that Chris Dickson and Co. are sailing, you can expect bids to go considerably higher.

What’s more, it’s all in a good cause, because 100% of the proceeds are going to a breast cancer charity. What a great use of an 18th man spot – a good deal better than Alinghi anyway – who have a policy of never taking a passenger. Not that it’s going to happen, but wouldn’t it be great to see an Ebay match race between the Challenger of Record and the Defender, and see who can pull… Read the rest

A lovely quote from BMW Oracle navigator Peter Isler this evening: “That sort of mojo is beautiful when you can earn it or talk yourself into it that you have it. There is a little bit of that going around. And confidence breeds confidence. To keep winning and keep doing well and not taking chances and sailing conservative races, taking a chance only once in a while when it is necessary, and as long as we are fast – that will end up putting points on the scoreboard.”

That sums up an excellent regatta so far for Chris Dickson and the Americans, who have gone unbeaten while every other team has dropped two or more matches. A good day for Luna Rossa too, as James Spithill confirmed his reputation as one of the smartest match racers on the racing… Read the rest

This from a media release by Alinghi this morning:

At a media briefing this morning, the Alinghi weather team, Jon Bilger (left in photo) and Jack Katzfey (right) explained to the media the recent weather pattern that has been plaguing the start of the Louis Vuitton Cup. They gave the statistics of sailing days in Valencia from 2000 until now and an explanation of the tools they use to make their weather predictions. Alinghi team skipper, Brad Butterworth, was also present.

Here are some of the frequently asked questions, answered:

1. Why do we have this irregular weather pattern in April?
“This April is very unusual in the sense that we have an atmospheric block over Europe which is not atypical, but it is a particularly strong block and the position of it is what is causing these weak winds… Read the rest

Well, knock me down with a feather! When Mark Lagesse said Shosholoza would be disappointed if they didn’t beat Luna Rossa, that just seemed like the usual bravado you get from sailors after a good day on the water. Apologies, Mark, I should never have doubted you!

The South Africans continue to shock and surprise, while Luna Rossa becomes more and more of an enigma. No sooner have they been whopped by the little people (in financial terms, anyway), than they hold BMW Oracle to one of the most tense and thrilling matches yet seen.

We may only have had three days’ racing so far, but every day has produced a big upset. Long may it continue.

You can tell a lot about a team from its attitude to light and fluky conditions. There’s no doubt that the wind conditions in Valencia – when they are good enough to actually race in – are a great leveller between the strong and the weak teams. So no wonder the big teams would rather wait while some of the minnows want to get on with it.

Ross Halcrow, trimmer on BMW Oracle Racing, hinted at just how touch and go winning and losing can become in the soft stuff: “In the light stuff a knot more pressure has a huge effect. Pressure is king out there and can easily make you look good or bad. The differences in boats start to come in at around 9-10 knots of wind.” Which presumably is why BMW Oracle are quite happy with… Read the rest

Shosholoza’s navigator Mark Lagesse revealed just how far Shosholoza’s ambitions extend now, with this comment after today’s racing. “The only boat that is considerably quicker than ours is Team New Zealand. Tomorrow we’ve got Luna Rossa and if we beat them I won’t be surprised – and if we lose I’ll be disappointed.” Such a statement of intent would have seemed laughable two and a half years ago when the South Africans muddled their way around the course at Louis Vuitton Act 1 in Marseilles. Thirteen regattas later, and the Africans are a real threat to the big guns.