LVC Report: China Team Gives Luna Rossa a Scare
LVC Report: China Team Gives Luna Rossa a Scare
VALENCIA, Spain-Round Robin 2 of the Louis Vuitton Cup got off to only a slightly better start than its predecessor as two of five matches went unsailed in a light, shifty seabreeze. The three that did finish-all sailed on the North Course-all went according to form, though there were a few small surprises. The biggest of which was when China Team, back on the water after a number of days off to fix a problem with its keelbox, took Luna Rossa Challenge and helmsman James Spithill to school in the prestart. China Team won the start by 14 seconds, won the first cross and even had a lead on paper three-quarters of the way up the beat. "It was very satisfying," said China Team tactician Sébastien Destramau. "James made a very slight mistake at one stage and Pierre [Mas, helmsman] saw the opportunity and grabbed it. I'm sure James was not very happy with himself. Things can change in an instant in this game. We took the start, the ideal start because we wanted to go left. It was fantastic. We tried to play the shift all the way up to the top mark, and we had a close cross with them that was quite exciting."Luna Rossa took advantage of a late left shift and gained just enough of an advantage to round in front. The Chinese Team-comprised largely of veterans of the French Le Défi campaign-kept the race relatively close down the run, another feather in a rather bare cap, but botched the takedown, eventually cutting the chute adrift. From there the only major question was if China Team or United Internet Team Germany, racing agains BMW Oracle Racing, would rack up the biggest losing margin in the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup. Neither did, however.Though he had little to do with the maneuver, Destramau took responsibility for the miscue. "What went wrong is me," he said. "We've got to be very careful the game we play and the game we are able to play with our boat. That's something we have to keep in mind all the time, where we are at and what sort maneuver we can do and which one we can't. These guys that can do whatever they want with their boats, they've been training for four years. So they can double jibe close the mark, hoist the jib, drop the spinnaker, not problem. For us it's a different story. We have to anticipate a lot. This time I really didn't anticipate in advance enough of what the situation was going to be and we pushed it too much."The third match of the day proved to be quite competitive. Team Shosholoza was able to protect the right early in the beat and then build a small lead around the first mark. The South African team held the lead on the first run and was able to head into a very one-sided beat-the breeze having gone right by a good bit-with a solid advantage. However on the spinnaker douse, the spinnaker pole broke, and the team faced the unenviable proposition of sailing the final run with the spinnaker tacked to the bow sprit. With a bow sprit and light winds, sailing without the pole isn't as painful as it would be in more wind, but still Team Shosholoza could do nothing to prevent Victory Challenge from rolling to a key win. A win for the South African team would've lifted them level with Victory Challenge and Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia into fifth place and boosted the team's hopes of making the semis. As it was Victory Challenge gained a much needed win and the South Africans for the third or fourth time this regatta are left to ponder a boathandling mistake that potentially cost them a victory."It was a little bit of luck and we were prepared to take advantage of it," said Victory Challenge mid-bowman Keats Keeley. "Anytime a team has a breakdown and another team is able to capitalize you look at is as sort of a mixed blessing. I feel back for the South African team, they put forth a great effort, really solid sailing team. On the water, they probably should've won that match, but fortunately we were able to take advantage of it."RR2, Flight 1North CourseVictory Challenge d. Team Shosholoza by 0:52BMW Oracle Racing d. United Internet Team Germany by 3:17Luna Rossa Challenge d. China Team by 2:57South CourseNo Races SailedRaces to be resailedEmirates Team New Zealand vs. Mascalzone Latino-CapitaliaAreva Challenge vs. +39 ChallengeOverall Standings1. BMW Oracle Racing (11 race sailed) 23 points2. Luna Rossa Challenge (11 races sailed) 21 points3. Emirates Team New Zealand (10 races sailed) 18 points4. Desafío Español 2007 (10 races sailed) 17 points5. Victory Challenge (11 race sailed) 16 points6. Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia (10 races sailed) 14 points7. Team Shosholoza (11 races sailed) 12 points8. Areva Challenge (10 races sailed) 9 points9. +39 Challenge (10 races sailed) 6 points10. United Internet Team Germany (11 races sailed) 3 points11. China Team (11 races sailed) 1 point
