Energy on a higher level, Friday.  Photo:©2013 ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget
 

From America's Cup Event Authority:
 

  Luna Rossa about to make a point. Photo:©2013 ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget
 

Collision and Consistency Mark Day 2

Strong performances by Oracle Team USA Slingsby and Energy Team along with a jarring collision between Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa Challenge were the hallmarks of Day 2 at America’s Cup World Series Naples.

Helmsman Tom Slingsby led Oracle Team USA into the top spot in the standings with finishes of 1-2 in today’s two fleet races.  Slingsby, filling in for team skipper Jimmy Spithill, also won his first competitive match race, a 34-second victory over HS Racing led by co-skippers Roman Hagara and Hans-Peter Steinacher. 

“It was an ideal day for us, we’re really happy,” said Slingsby, the 28-year-old Australian who won the Gold medal in the Laser class at last year’s Olympic Regatta. 

“The wind was a bit steadier today so you just had to worry about getting a good start, boathandling and positioning,” Slingsby continued.  “You didn’t have to read into watching the wind and everything it did.  It was a beautiful seabreeze with small shifts and made things a bit easier.”

Slingsby’s performance impressed even the U.S. Ambassador to Italy, David Thorne, who was guest racer aboard Oracle Team USA. 

“Looking at the racing, it’s really spectacular,” said Thorne.  “Being in it, doing it, it's so much fun to get engaged in something like this.  These are not really sailboats, they're airplanes.  It's a spectacular feeling of speed and movement.  It's completely thrilling.”

Led by skipper Yann Guichard, France’s Energy Team posted a 2-1.  They were overtaken by Slingsby on the second upwind leg in the first fleet race, but rebounded for a 26-second win in the second race. 

“Yesterday was difficult to understand the race course, it was very shifty.  Today the wind was very steady so I could really focus on the speed of the boat, especially on the start,” said Guichard, who led Energy Team to 4th place at last year’s AC World Series Naples. 

“It will all come down to Sunday, but it's really important to do well day after day so we can be confident going into the last day,” Guichard said. 

While the fleet races were tame in terms of boats banging off each other, the same cannot be said of the day’s first match race between Luna Rossa Swordfish and Emirates Team New Zealand. 

The rival crews who spent the winter training on AC72s in New Zealand were involved in a collision at the windward mark that flattened the starboard bow of Luna Rossa Swordfish and damaged the port stern scoop of Emirates Team New Zealand. 

Dean Barker got Emirates Team New Zealand off to a good start when he forced Francesco Bruni and Luna Rossa Swordfish over the start line early.  Barker led by 5 seconds around the leeward mark but Bruni steadily chipped away at that lead upwind. 

As the two crews aimed to round the left side windward mark, Barker approached on starboard with Bruni on port.  Video replays show that Bruni got to the three-boatlength circle a split second before Barker, which gave Bruni rights to round the mark free of interference from Barker. 

Barker, however, continued sailing straight to the mark and Bruni crashed into him as he started to tack towards the mark.  Barker was penalized on the ensuing run and Bruni won the match. 

But the damage to the boats was done and later Luna Rossa Swordfish retired from the second fleet race due to the damage despite finishing 3rd in the first fleet race. 

“We are happy with our win over Team New Zealand because they are one of the best teams on the water so to beat them is a nice thing to do,” said Luna Rossa Challenge skipper Max Sirena, a trimmer aboard Swordfish. 

“In the second race we broke the headstay bracket on the bowsprit, it dragged back 10 centimeters.  We think it’s because of the damage in the collision,” Sirena said. 

Barker was upset that Luna Rossa Swordfish didn’t do more to avoid the collision. 

“Normally, even if you're in the right you avoid collisions resulting in serious damage and it doesn't seem like they did a lot,” said Barker, a past match racing world champion.  “I think it's pretty poor to be honest.  But the umpires see it the way they see it and our guys have a long night to fix the boat.”

Both boats were hauled from the water for their shore teams to affect repairs. 

Racing resumes tomorrow at 14:00 local time (CEST) and will be streamed live on YouTube worldwide (subject to territorial rights agreements). 

America’s Cup World Series Naples Championship Standings
(Provisional, after 4 of 7 scheduled races)
1.  Oracle Team USA (Tom Slingsby) 38 points
2.  Energy Team (Yann Guichard) 36
3.  Emirates Team New Zealand (Dean Barker) 36
4..  J.P. Morgan BAR (Ben Ainslie) 35
5.  Luna Rossa Piranha (Chris Draper) 33
6.  Luna Rossa Swordfish (Francesco Bruni) 23
7.  Artemis Racing White (Charlie Ekberg) 21
8.  HS Racing (R. Hagara/H.S. Steinacher) 17
9..  China Team (Mitch Booth) 14

Saturday’s Match Racing Schedule
Semifinal 1: Luna Rossa Piranha vs.  Luna Rossa Swordfish
Semifinal 2: Oracle Team USA SLINGSBY vs.  J.P.  Morgan BAR

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  Photo:©2013 Luna Rossa/Carlo Borlenghi
 

Another beautiful day on the water in the Gulf of Naples: flat sea, 10-13 knots of slightly more stable South Westerly winds versus yesterday.

Match Race:
During the pre-start Luna Rossa Swordfish is in a good position but is penalized for OCS (early over the line); this drawback allows Emirates Team New Zealand to take the lead.

At the downwind gate Emirates Team New Zealand chooses to sail offshore whereas Luna Rossa Swordfish separates and sails towards the land.  This decision allows Luna Rossa Swordfish to move closer to Emirates Team New Zealand: at the windward mark Luna Rossa Swordfish gains the inside but Emirates Team New Zealand does not respond correctly and the collision is inevitable.  Despite the damage to Luna Rossa Swordfish’s bow Francesco Bruni continues with the race and moves to the lead as Emirates Team New Zealand gets penalized.

Luna Rossa Swordfish qualifies for the semifinal where they will race against Luna Rossa Piranha.

Fleet Race 1:
A good start for both Luna Rossa boats, with Luna Rossa Piranha on pin end and Luna Rossa Swordfish in the middle of the starting line.  At the reaching mark Swordfish takes the lead of the fleet, whereas Luna Rossa Piranha is rolled and rounds the mark in the middle of the fleet.  The positions remain unchanged up to the first windward mark where Luna Rossa Swordfish is still in the lead.  Francesco Bruni will stay in this position also on the downwind leg, with Piranha following in 4th place.  During the final beat a left wind shift favors both Oracle and Energy who choose to tack offshore.  Luna Rossa Swordfish will round the mark and close the race in 3rd place, followed by Luna Rossa Piranha.

Fleet Race 2:
At the start Luna Rossa Swordfish and Luna Rossa Piranha switch their positioning on the starting line with respect to the previous race: Luna Rossa Swordfish is on pin end and Luna Rossa Piranha in the middle.  Luna Rossa Swordfish starts fast and with good timing, whereas Luna Rossa Piranha incurs in a penalty for OCS (early over the line).  At the reaching gate Luna Rossa Swordfish tacks in 3rd place behind Oracle and Energy, whereas Luna Rossa Piranha is still in the pack.  At the downwind gate Emirates Team New Zealand passes in front of Luna Rossa Swordfish but Francesco Bruni regains his previous position on the windward leg and rounds the mark in 3rd place, with Luna Rossa Piranha following in 5th.

On the downwind leg Luna Rossa Piranha closes the gap and moves into 4th place.  On the second beat Luna Rossa Swordfish, just before reaching the mark, suffers a bowsprit and headstay failure (due to the previous collision) and is obliged to withdraw.

On the second downwind leg Luna Rossa Piranha loses one position on Ben Ainslie and finishes 5th.
 

  It doesn't look like much, but the damage to the LR Swordfish boat will keep the shore crews busy getting ready for Saturday.
Photo:©2013 ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget
 

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From Artemis Racing:
 

Artemis hangs in. Photo:©2013 ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget
 

Hard Day for Swedish team

A tough day for Artemis Racing on day two in Naples.  Fleet race three and four took place after two match races; Emirates Team New Zealand defeated Francesco Bruni onboard Luna Rossa Swordfish and Oracle Team USA  Slingsby won over HS Racing.

Young Swedish helmsman, Charlie Ekberg, had a tough time getting to the starting line on time in race one and was one of four teams over early in the start of the second fleet race.  After the starts it was all about making up lost ground.  With a short sprint to the first leeward gates it’s not easy.  The team managed to get 6th and 7th place in the two fleet races.

There is only experience to be gained with this new team and for Ekberg, every moment on the water is experience that can be transferred to his Swedish Youth Challenge team after this week as they prepare for the Red Bull Youth Americas Cup in September.

The Artemis Racing shore team will have a longer night than usual today with a near capsize in race two and an accidental collision with HS Racing during a mark rounding.

Sebastian Tenghage, Swedish shore team member and reserve sailor for Artemis Racing White, explains his long night ahead.  Unfortunately we had to lift out the boat and start doing some repairs on the bow and other bits and pieces that have broken during racing.  It shouldn’t be an all-nighter and we will be ready for racing tomorrow.

Tomorrows match racing semi finals will be Oracle Team USA- Slingsby vs.  J.P. Morgan BAR and the Luna Rossa Teams going head to head against their Italian teammates.

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Oracle Team USA Slingsby moved to the top of the Fleet Race leaderboard.
Photo:©2013 ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget
 

A win in the match race quarterfinals, followed by first and second-place results in fleet racing, completed a successful day of racing for Oracle Team USA at the America’s Cup World Series in Naples, Italy, on Friday.  The crew moves into the lead in the regatta fleet race standings with 38 points and will face JP Morgan BAR in the match race semifinals on Saturday.

“We had two good fleet races and got through to the next round of match racing sort of an ideal day for us,” said helmsman Tom Slingsby.  “I’ve got an excellent crew.  We’re gelling really well, confidence is good, everyone’s getting along, and it shows.”

Oracle Team USA sailed a clean race in their first match of the regatta.  HS Racing was penalized during the pre-start, opening up the opportunity for Slingsby to lead on the first leg.  The crew never relinquished the lead and crossed the line 34 seconds ahead of HS Racing.

Winds were blowing 10 knots at the start of fleet racing on the Bay of Naples.  Slingsby rounded the first four gates in second and gradually gained ground to move into the lead down the fifth leg.  After rounding Gate 5 in first, Oracle Team USA again held consistent to win the third fleet race of the regatta.  The crew finished 19 seconds in front of Energy Team.

The nine-boat fleet was back on the line for the second fleet race of the day.  Oracle Team USA crossed the start clean after nearly half of the fleet was penalized for an early jump.  Energy Team was around Gate 1 first followed by Slingsby, and the two positions remained the same across the finish.  Oracle Team USA finished 27 seconds behind the French crew in second.

“I wanted to keep it pretty clean,” said Slingsby of the match race.  “We had a good start, they took the penalty, and from there we were able to hold on and take the win.

“We were very fortunate on each fleet race start because the boat below us was over the line, allowing us a bit more room and a bit more speed.  We had two good first legs and two good results,” Slingsby continued.

Following Oracle Team USA in the fleet race standings are Energy Team (36 points) and Emirates Team New Zealand (36).  Both match races on Saturday will feature teammates competing.  The JP Morgan BAR crew is part of the Oracle Team USA roster for the 34th America’s Cup, and Luna Rossa Piranha will face Luna Rossa Swordfish in the second semifinal.

“The team is starting to tie together really well.  We had a few communication issues on the first day and that’s all getting ironed out.  I think we’re going to keep improving as well,” said trimmer Kinley Fowler.  “We’ve got a pretty tough match race against BAR, which will be good.  We’ve done a fair bit of match race training with them recently.”

Racing begins on Friday at 14:05 local CET/5:05 PT for Oracle Team USA with match race semifinal No. 1.  The entire nine-boat fleet will then be on the line for the fifth and sixth fleet races of the regatta.

Racing will be streamed live on YouTube worldwide (subject to territorial rights agreements) beginning at 14:00 local time (CEST) each day.

The nine boat fleet: Artemis Racing White (Charlie Ekberg), China Team (Mitch Booth), Emirates Team New Zealand (Dean Barker), Energy Team (Yann Guichard), HS Racing (Roman Hagara), J.P. Morgan BAR (Ben Ainslie), Luna Rossa Piranha (Chris Draper), Luna Rossa Swordfish (Francesco Bruni), and Oracle Team USA SLINGSBY (Tom Slingsby)

Crew List:
Tom Slingsby (helmsman), Sam Newton (wing trimmer), Kinley Fowler (jib trimmer), Rome Kirby (runner), Piet van Nieuwenhuijzen (bowman)

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From J.P.Morgan/Ben Ainslie Racing:
 

  Photo:©2013 ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget
 

Tough Day  for BAR

It was a tough day on the water for Ben Ainslie’s J.P.Morgan BAR.  Two bad starts for the crew saw them forced to play catch up, but some great crew work, boat handling and good tactical calls kept the team in contention on the overall leaderboard.  They head into the penultimate day of racing in fourth place overall, just three points separate the top four teams and with the loaded points on the final race on Super Sunday there is everything still to play for.

The first start of the day saw J.P.Morgan BAR late for the line following a wrap in the wing sheet, skipper Ben Ainslie explained the issue after racing, “We had a problem with the wing sheet where it got wrapped around the winch handle and then we weren’t able to trim it on.  It’s a bit like driving a car out of gear, pressing the accelerator when you're not in gear and nothing happens, so obviously we couldn’t accelerate and we were last off the line.”

The crew battled through the pack, picking the best shifts and trying to avoid the bad air as the boats jostled for space on the race course.  At times the fleet was caught in a giant pile up at the gates as everyone fought for space.  The team worked hard pulling back valuable places to finish sixth on the first race.

In race two J.P.Morgan BAR was one of four teams who jumped the gun and were forced to take the time penalty.  Strong crew work saw the team pull back to fourth at the finish, just behind Emirates Team New Zealand.

“It was a tough day at the office,” was Matt Mitchells synopsis of the day, “We were back in the ruck today and it was pretty scrappy on the race course.  In that situation you don’t get to choose where you want to go, so it was a totally different world from yesterday.  As a result it was a day of pain for the boys on the boat, but we battled back nicely in both races.  We rolled our sleeves up and got back up to mid-fleet and managed to salvage a few points.  It’s still super close for the top five places so we will come back tomorrow and work hard for some more consistent results.

Many teams had mixed fortunes today including damage to both Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa Swordfish after a port starboard incident in their match race.  Elsewhere Oracle Team USA Slingby and the French Team Energy had a faultless day, both teams posted a first and second in the two fleet races.

J.P.Morgan BAR will line up against their training partners Oracle Team USA in tomorrow’s match racing semi-finals.  Ainslie is looking forwarded to the race against fellow Olympic gold-medalist Tom Slingsby.  “The match racing semi-finals are going to be great, we have been training with Oracle Team USA a little bit before this event so there will be plenty of bragging rights in house, so I’m looking forward to that.  They had a fantastic day today so it should be a close race.”

With three fleet races remaining, including the Super Sunday, just three points split the top four teams.

J.P.Morgan BAR crewmember Simon Daubney has competed in eight Americas Cups and won four, little surprise that he is considered as one of the most experienced sailors on the Americas Cup World Series circuit.  His impressive background makes him perfectly placed to comment on the Cup and how big a task the next Cup cycle will be.

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