The Louis Vuitton Aukland Regatta was called off Thursday, March 11, after three days of competition due to high winds in Waitemata Harbour. Emirates Team New Zealand, representing the host Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, is undefeated with three wins, while three teams each have a 2-1 record. They are the German/French team All4One, the Swedish team Artemis, and Azzurra from Italy. Racing is expected to continue on Friday.
The regatta is sailed in America's Cup Class yachts as a series of match races among eight international teams. The ACC yachts are not identical, but must conform to a class formula. The boats are 25 meters (82 feet) long and have a crew of 17.
Although BMW ORACLE Racing isn't fielding a team at Aukland, it is a founding member of the World Sailing Teams Association (WSTA) that co-sponsors the regattas in venues around the world with Louis Vuitton. It has provided one of its two ACC boats (USA 87) to the regatta as a backup. BMW ORACLE Racing is planning a return to action in May in the next regatta in Sardinia. The Auckland event was too close to the America's Cup Match for the team to be prepared to race.
The event is being raced in two Emirates Team New Zealand boats, with USA 87 a backup in case one of the two Emirates boats is damaged. With gusts over 30 knots, and only three boats available, the race committee was worried Thursday that damage could prematurely end the regatta before the March 20-21 championship match. Already there have been some spectacular mishaps. In the opening race between Emirates and Britain the spinnaker and jib on the British boat became draped over the foredeck and a broken spinnaker pole went over the side.
Below are photos of the first three days action in winds up to 25 knots. Winds for the next seven days are expected to be 10 and 20 knots.
BMW Oracle Racings' two ACC boats will be used in the La Maddalena event in Italy and onwards in the other stops on the Louis Vuitton Trophy circuit.
Live streaming web coverage of the Louis Vuitton Trophy in Auckland is available on the event website, www.louisvuittontrophy.com.
Comments