TIGHT AT THE TOP Aug 28, 17:36
Today Alinghi continued their winning ways with two walkovers, beating China Team and United Internet Team Germany and lifting their record to 8-0.
The other three of the "big four," as the media call us (BMW ORACLE, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa), are all tied on 7-1. ETNZ had a shocker today, losing to the lowly but steadily improving +39.
Shosholoza were the toast of the town yesterday for notching their first-ever AC win, at the expense of local favorites Victory Challenge, the Swedish team. No doubt +39 are today, and will be the celebrating tonight. Full marks to skipper and Olympic gold medalist Iain Percy (GBR) and newly installed tactician Ian Walker (GBR), the double Olympic silver medalist and skipper last time of the GBR Challenge, for pulling off the upset so far of the regatta.
There were no dramas in our matches with China Team and Spain's Desafio Espanol, which our guys led wire to wire. Without putting too fine a point on it, Dicko, Gavin and co. did literally sail circles around Spain's new helmsman, the Pole Karol Jablonski, at the start of our match this afternoon. A real spanking and lesson in classic pre-start match racing tactics if ever there was one. Well done, guys.
And Dicko said it was not as easy at it may have looked, with big shifts and big holes -- the wind varying from 230 to 280 deg and from 3 to 17 knots, sometimes on the same leg -- keeping things interesting.
Tomorrow will be interesting -- Mascalzone Latino then ETNZ. No doubt Dean Barker, Terry Hutchinson and co. will be hurting a bit from their loss today to ETNZ, and come out "loaded for bear" as we used to say in my home state of Michigan. Not sure +39 did us any favors. Should be a great match up. Can't wait.
The other big match tomorrow is Luna Rossa vs. Alinghi. Then we race Luna Rossa on Tuesday.
Nice scheduling by Regatta Director Dyer Jones, which pits teams of equal levels (at least based on the ranking going into the regatta) against each other late in the regatta. A good climax is always nice.
From yesterday's race against Alinghi -- not a beauty of a race
for us, but one of the best "beauty shots" I have seen from the
regatta, courtesy of our celebrated team photog, Gilles
Martin-Raget.
Gilles Martin-Raget
The other three of the "big four," as the media call us (BMW ORACLE, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa), are all tied on 7-1. ETNZ had a shocker today, losing to the lowly but steadily improving +39.
Shosholoza were the toast of the town yesterday for notching their first-ever AC win, at the expense of local favorites Victory Challenge, the Swedish team. No doubt +39 are today, and will be the celebrating tonight. Full marks to skipper and Olympic gold medalist Iain Percy (GBR) and newly installed tactician Ian Walker (GBR), the double Olympic silver medalist and skipper last time of the GBR Challenge, for pulling off the upset so far of the regatta.
There were no dramas in our matches with China Team and Spain's Desafio Espanol, which our guys led wire to wire. Without putting too fine a point on it, Dicko, Gavin and co. did literally sail circles around Spain's new helmsman, the Pole Karol Jablonski, at the start of our match this afternoon. A real spanking and lesson in classic pre-start match racing tactics if ever there was one. Well done, guys.
And Dicko said it was not as easy at it may have looked, with big shifts and big holes -- the wind varying from 230 to 280 deg and from 3 to 17 knots, sometimes on the same leg -- keeping things interesting.
Tomorrow will be interesting -- Mascalzone Latino then ETNZ. No doubt Dean Barker, Terry Hutchinson and co. will be hurting a bit from their loss today to ETNZ, and come out "loaded for bear" as we used to say in my home state of Michigan. Not sure +39 did us any favors. Should be a great match up. Can't wait.
The other big match tomorrow is Luna Rossa vs. Alinghi. Then we race Luna Rossa on Tuesday.
Nice scheduling by Regatta Director Dyer Jones, which pits teams of equal levels (at least based on the ranking going into the regatta) against each other late in the regatta. A good climax is always nice.
From yesterday's race against Alinghi -- not a beauty of a race
for us, but one of the best "beauty shots" I have seen from the
regatta, courtesy of our celebrated team photog, Gilles
Martin-Raget.
Gilles Martin-Raget
Racing | by TFE
