On the last day in Naples, Oracle Slingsby won the Match Race Final and Luna Rossa Swordfish won the Fleet Race.
Photo:©2013 Luna Rossa/Carlo Borlenghi
 

From America's Cup Event Authority:
 

Photo:©2013 Luna Rossa/Carlo Borlenghi
 

Luna Rossa and Oracle Team USA Win in Naples

Led by helmsman Francesco Bruni, Luna Rossa Swordfish today won the overall championship of the America’s Cup World Series Naples. 

Bruni posted a thrilling win in the fleet racing finale, coming from behind on the final run in a race that saw the lead change hands three times. 

The win was cathartic for the emotional Italian helmsman.  Earlier in the day Luna Rossa Swordfish lost the match racing championship to Oracle Team USA Slingsby.  Bruni was critical of his performance in the loss after leading the match early on. 

“This win was the only way to forget our mistake in the match racing,” said Bruni, who will be the tactician aboard Luna Rossa Challenge’s AC72 in the upcoming Louis Vuitton Cup, America’s Cup Challenger Series (July 4-Aug. 30). 

“The fleet race win really means a lot to me.  We had an opportunity for the double win, but just missed out.  I can’t thank my crew enough, Paul Campbell-James, Max Sirena, Xabi Fernandez and Manuel Modena.  They did a great job today.”

Slingsby delivered on his stated goal: to secure the overall 2012-2013 America’s Cup World Series season championship for Oracle Team USA, the defense team in the upcoming 34th America’s Cup (Sept.  7-21).  He wrapped up that championship yesterday and today added the match racing title as well. 

“I’m really proud to be getting the America’s Cup World Series trophy for Oracle Team USA,” said Slingsby.  Oracle Team USA also won last year’s championship.  “Jimmy Spithill and his team set it up for us.  We just had to come here, do our best and luckily he gave us enough of a lead to take home the trophy.”

The second America’s Cup World Series Naples surpassed last year’s event in terms of spectators.  Local event officials estimate that more than 1 million people have turned out along the Naples waterfront and in the Race Village to enjoy the week-long event. 

The crowds began coming out in force last Sunday with some 100,000 people estimated to have lined the shores of the Bay of Naples for the informal coastal race.  The fans kept returning, lured by close racing yards from the shoreline and nightly entertainment at the Race Village. 

Slingsby won the match racing championship by overtaking Bruni on the second upwind leg.  After trailing by 22 seconds at the leeward gate, Slingsby showed the moves that have earned him the nickname “the wind whisperer” due to his ability to sniff out wind shifts and puffs. 

“It was so shifty that I honestly thought we had a good chance,” said Slingsby.  “I knew if we could get them out of phase on the shifts and we were in phase, huge gains could be made.  We said we could catch them and I’m so glad that we did.”

Slingsby passed Bruni when the Italian failed to cover.  Until that moment, Bruni had sailed a brilliant match.  He showed great patience in the pre-start, stuffing Slingsby and holding him off the course. 

“We did everything perfectly until that moment,” said Bruni.  “We made a couple of big mistakes on the last upwind leg.  The wind was shifting a lot and we had a couple of bad tacks where boat completely stopped.”

Second place in the America’s Cup World Series season championship went to Chris Draper and Luna Rossa Piranha.  The defending champions at America’s Cup World Series Naples placed fourth overall this year. 

“I think we were going so well just before event, we probably got a little bit expectant and ahead of ourselves,” said Draper, the helmsman of Luna Rossa’s AC72.  “But we’re pleased to place second overall in the series.  There are a lot of good teams out here.”

America’s Cup World Series Naples wraps up the 2012-13 America’s Cup World Series season.  The focus now shifts to the “Summer of Racing” planned for San Francisco.  It begins in July with the Louis Vuitton Cup, the America’s Cup Challenger Series, and concludes in September with the America’s Cup Finals. 

America’s Cup World Series Naples Championship Standings
1.  Luna Rossa Swordfish (Francesco Bruni) 80 points
2.  Oracle Team USA (Tom Slingsby) 80
3.  Emirates Team New Zealand (Dean Barker) 71
4.  Luna Rossa Piranha (Chris Draper) 70
5.  J.P.  Morgan BAR (Ben Ainslie) 65
6.  Energy Team (Yann Guichard) 58
7.  Artemis Racing White (Charlie Ekberg) 40
8. HS Racing (R. Hagara/H.S. Steinacher) 36
9.  China Team (Mitch Booth) 30

America’s Cup World Series Naples Match Racing Championship
1.  Oracle Team USA Slingsby,
2.  Luna Rossa Swordfish,
3.  J.P. Morgan BAR,
4.  Luna Rossa Piranha,
5.  Emirates Team New Zealand,
6.  Artemis Racing White,
7.  Energy Team,
8.  HS Racing,
9.  China Team

2012-2013 America's Cup World Series Season Championship
1.  Oracle Team USA Spithill/Slingsby 245 points
2.  Luna Rossa Piranha 191
3.  J.P. Morgan BAR 181
4.  Emirates Team New Zealand 171
5.  Energy Team 160
6.  Artemis Racing White 160
7.  Luna Rossa Swordfish 151
8.  Team Korea 105
9.  Oracle Team USA Coutts   98
10.  Artemis Racing Red 90
11.  China Team 73
12.  HS Racing 36

2012-2013 America’s Cup World Series Match Racing Championship
1. Oracle Team USA Spithill/Slingsby 29 points,
2.  Emirates Team New Zealand 22,
3.  Artemis Racing White 21,
4.  Oracle Team USA Coutts 16,
5.  J.P.  Morgan BAR 15, 6g
6.  Energy Team 15,
7.  Luna Rossa Swordfish 14,
8.  Luna Rossa Piranha 13
9.  Artemis Racing Red 8
10.  China Team 5
11.  Team Korea 5
12.  HS Racing 3

Also see Full Naples Results and 2012-13 ACWS Season Standings

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  Photo:©2013 Luna Rossa/Carlo Borlenghi
 

Clouds and sun alternate during the day, with unstable winds from South-West 10-12 knots and flat sea.

Fleet Race 7 (Final):
A good start at the pin end for both Luna Rossa, although Oracle and Energy sneak through and round the reaching mark and the downwind gate in front of the fleet, with Luna Rossa Swordfish and Luna Rossa Piranha respectively 3rd and 4th.

While the two leading boats choose the right side of the course the two Luna Rossa split and attack on the left side.  Luna Rossa Piranha comes back half way up the windward leg and goes deep to the shore, whereas Luna Rossa Swordfish stays on the left side where she finds more pressure.  At the windward gate the positions are unchanged and Swordfish (3rd) is penalized for boundaries.  Luna Rossa Piranha is still 4th, closing the gap on the leaders.

On the downwind leg Energy is favored by a wind shift that allows her to overtake Oracle at the gate; Swordfish and Piranha are still 3rd and 4th and go for the right end of the gate.  Oracle attacks on the right and regains its lead over Energy.  At the same time the two Luna Rossa come back on the right and this choice allows Swordfish to round the windward gate 2nd on the left end.

Oracle takes an opposite choice and starts the downwind leg on the left, whereas Luna Rossa Swordfish chooses the right where a favorable puff and a better pressure allow her to take the lead of the race.  Luna Rossa Swordfish keeps her position to cross the finish line 1st , thus winning both the race and the overall final fleet race ranking of the Naples America’s Cup World Series.

Luna Rossa Piranha, 4th at the windward gate, shares the Swordfish’s tactic choice and overtakes Energy, finishing the race 3rd and the final ranking in 4th place at only one point from Emirates Team New Zealand.

Patrizio Bertelli, Team Principal of Luna Rossa Challenge 2013, declared: “I was very pleased to see the team’s progress during its training period in New Zealand.  I did appreciate the final result of these series but I was especially pleased with Francesco Bruni’s start in the final match race.”

Luna Rossa Skipper Max Sirena declared: “I would like to thank the whole team for its effort and dedication during these races, until the last leg of the racing and both on board and ashore: they never give up.  The result is encouraging: we were close to the perfect final and to the third place in the overall fleet race ranking with Chris Draper, who proved once again to be up to our expectations.”

Match Race Final:
Notwithstanding its text-book start, Luna Rossa Swordfish loses the match against Oracle Team USA Slingsby after being in control for three-quarters of the race.  At the start Checco Bruni is in control leeward of Slingsby and, at the signal, closes the gate, luffs Oracle and “parks” him.  This maneuver allows Bruni to gain a good lead and to round the both the reaching mark and the downwind gate with a comfortable advantage.  In the first beat Luna Rossa Swordfish increases her lead and rounds the windward mark 19’’ ahead of Oracle, a gap that will be maintained throughout the downwind leg and up to the gate.
Half way up the second windward a left wind shift favors Oracle who is on the right side of the shift and crosses in front of Luna Rossa Swordfish and rounds the mark in the lead.  On the last downwind leg Luna Rossa Swordfish cannot close the gap and is therefore second in the overall match race ranking of the ACWS Naples event.

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From Artemis Racing:
 

Artemis Racing in Fleet Race 7, skippered by Charlie Ekberg in his ACWS debut. An 8th pace finish left them in 7th place overall for the regatta.
Photo:©2013 ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget
 

Great Experience for Ekberg as America's Cup World Series Season Concludes

After nine successful Americas Cup World Series events, the revolutionary concept which has changed the landscape of sailing, concluded yesterday afternoon in Naples.  Nowhere has this circuit's successful concept of stadium racing been more evident than in Naples, with close to one million spectators out to watch the nine teams battle it out on the Gulf of Naples.

Oracle Racing Slingsby, with Australian Tom Slingsby at the helm, dominated the event and swiftly defeated Luna Rossa Swordfish in the match race finals, giving further evidence that the future of sailing truly is in the hands of the young, up and coming sailors. 

Going into yesterday’s fleet racing, it could have been anyone’s event, with 40 points up for grabs for the winning team.  Competition was intense with lighter air and shifty conditions on Super Sunday. 

It was the hometown favorites, Luna Rossa Swordfish, who took the bullet in the fleet racing giving Francesco Bruni’s team the overall win for the fleet racing element of the ACWS Naples.  In second place, was Oracle Racing Slingsby followed by Luna Rossa Piranha.

Onboard Artemis Racing White, young Swedish helmsman Charlie Ekberg, the newcomer to this ultra-professional fleet, executed an excellent start to plan, but a slow gybe at the first reach mark and a misgauged call on the second upwind meant the team didn’t quite achieve the results they had hoped for.  It’s been a steady week of improvement for the team however, despite the overall finish in seventh position.  It’s also been a once in a lifetime experience for young Swedish helmsman Charlie Ekberg who has his sights firmly set on the Red Bull Youth Americas Cup in September.

The Artemis Racing team wore black arm bands yesterday, in honor of Swedish Americas Cup and Volvo Ocean Race veteran Magnus Olsson who passed away yesterday and was an inspiration to us all.

The team now returns to San Francisco where training continues for the Louis Vuitton Challenger Selection Series which begins on 4 July.

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Photo:©2013 ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget
 

Match Race Win and Season Championships for Oracle Team USA

Three America’s Cup World Series regattas this season, and three match racing titles for Oracle Team USA.  On Sunday in Naples, Italy, skipper Tom Slingsby and crew secured the third, defeating Luna Rossa Swordfish in the match race final.  After a second-place finish in the Super Sunday fleet race, Oracle Team USA also wraps up a successful season and claims the overall ACWS 2012-13 season championship.

“We are really proud to be getting the trophy for Oracle Team USA,” said Slingsby.  “Obviously, Jimmy Spithill and his team really set it up for us and we just had to come here, do our best.  Luckily, they gave us a big enough points lead to take home the trophy.”

Oracle Team USA entered the ACWS Naples carrying a 44-point lead in the season standings with skipper Jimmy Spithill at the helm.  While he remained in San Francisco to prepare for the team’s second AC72 to launch, Slingsby took the reins.  With today’s results, Oracle Team USA captures the ACWS season championship with 245 points, followed by Luna Rossa Piranha (191) and JP Morgan BAR (181).  Spithill guided Oracle Team USA to the inaugural ACWS championship last year.

On the match race final start, Luna Rossa Swordfish pinned Oracle Team USA inside to lead off the line.  Slingsby was behind through the first four gates.  On the fifth leg, the crew made up ground, closing what was once a more than 100-meter gap, to gain the advantage.  Oracle Team USA rounded the final two gates in the lead, and extended across the finish line to win by more than 30 seconds.

“A great win for the team,” Slingsby said.  “Luckily it was a long race, and half way through we were quite a bit behind.  But, I said to the boys, we’re still in this.  Slowly, but surely, we caught up and made the passing maneuver on the last beat, and went on to hold it from there.”

Oracle Team USA won each of the match racing titles at ACWS events this season.  Russell Coutts guided a crew to the win at the ACWS San Francisco in August 2012, and Spithill and crew took the win at the ACWS San Francisco in October 2012.

Slingsby carried course knowledge learned from the match race into the Super Sunday final fleet race, where bonus points were on the board.  After a slingshot start, Oracle Team USA took the early lead.  Energy Team moved ahead at the third gate, and Slingsby met Luna Rossa Swordfish again at the mark.

On the fifth leg, Oracle Team USA moved ahead, taking advantage of a big lift of wind.  But, following the sixth gate, Slingsby was forced to bear away from China Team and lost ground.  Luna Rossa Swordfish took the late lead and carried it across the finish line.  Oracle Team USA finished second.

“The racing was so shifty, the positions were changing all the time, going up the last beat I felt we had it in the bag,” Slingsby said.  “But, unfortunately we fell into a bit of a hole up the last beat, we took the wrong mark at the top, didn’t lay the mark we wanted, and we paid the price.  Swordfish passed us and they took the overall honors.”

Oracle Team USA and Luna Rossa Swordfish finished tied with 80 points in the overall regatta fleet race standings, but the tiebreaker went to Luna Rossa Swordfish for the win in the final race.  Emirates Team New Zealand finished third at the ACWS Naples with 71 points, followed by Luna Rossa Piranha (70) and JP Morgan BAR (65).

The team now turns attention to the launch of their second AC72 on Tuesday, April 23, in San Francisco, marking the start of the next phase of training for the 34th America’s Cup Final in September.

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
 

J.P.Morgan/BAR Takes Third in America's Cup World Series Season

It was an event full of expectation for J.P.Morgan BAR, as the team headed into the finale of the 2012-13 World Series in Naples.  After a second place finish in San Francisco last October the team came with a clear aim, to win the event.  But it wasn’t to be.  Another hard fought day on the water saw the team finish fifth in Super Sundays bumper points fleet race, not enough to podium at the event, but it was enough to place them third overall in the 2012-13 three event series.

Skipper Ben Ainslie reflected on the final race today, “To win the event we really needed to win the race today, unfortunately it didn’t happen for us.  We struggled in the middle of the fleet.  The conditions were difficult today but it was the same for everyone and we just weren’t able to quite get it right which is a shame and its frustrating for the team.  But that’s sports, that’s life and you have to learn what you can from it and move forwards.  I think we had more potential than where we finished, so we know we have to work harder next time round to get ourselves to the top of the fleet at the next event.”

Today’s fleet race was do or die, the overall event title was up for grabs with the top five teams all in contention to walk away with the trophy.  The start once again proved to be a deal breaker, Matt Mitchell talked through the start and race for J.P.Morgan BAR, “We thought we had the right end of the start line, but it wasn’t to be.  It’s been the story of the last few days, the starts have not been clicking for us, you try to pick your way through the fleet, but again you get dictated into your lanes and it limits how far you can get back up through the fleet."

After rounding the first gate, J.P.Morgan BAR found themselves buried in the middle of the pack, but the crew didn’t give up constantly searching for opportunities to pull back places.  For the boats at the front when its going well it racing looks easy, but on a day like today for the majority of the fleet it was a battle as Mitchell explained, “Having found ourselves once again with a deficit on the leaders you just have to keep blazing away and working hard until the end, We kept working away all the way to the end.  We missed out on a few things and we know that small mistakes are pretty costly in this event and that was the difference today.”

The tricky conditions saw the lead change hands throughout the seven lap course.  Oracle Team USA, Team Energy, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa Swordfish all threatened to take line honors, but it was Francesco Bruni onboard Luna Rossa Swordfish that finally secured a win, taking the lead on the final downwind leg, in front of adoring home crowds that lined the shoreline in Naples.

Four-time America’s Cup winner J.P.Morgan BAR headsail trimmer Simon Daubney has enjoyed the experience with the team.  “Sailing at these events with Ben has been great.  We have a great bunch of guys and we’ve fought hard at every regatta.  Its good sailing with him, it was hard at the first event, he came straight from the Games so it was a big learning curve for all of us, but we sailed really well in the second event and we were really pleased with the result last October.  Conditions were very different here and it didn’t go as we hoped that it would, but were still friends and we will live to fight another day.”

For the crew onboard J.P.Morgan BAR it’s the end of competition for this year, as the sailors prepare to shift attention back to the America’s Cup finals in San Francisco this summer.  “It’s a little bit sad of J.P.Morgan BAR today.  It’s been a pretty cool thing we’ve had going on, we have a good boat and good bunch of boys to sail with.  We have shown great promise at times, and the overall experience over the series has been awesome,” Matt Mitchell.

“We would have love to have done a lot better in this event, but it shows a lot of promise and lot to build on for the future,” concluded Ainslie.

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