Louis Vuitton Trophy – Auckland
Greetings yachties,
Below is a collection of all the best links, stories, lies and video of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland New Zealand 9 – 21 March 2010
Enjoy
Waitemata Harbour to host America’s Cup boats
Auckland, dubbed the City of Sails for its huge sailing fraternity, hosted two hugely popular America’s Cup Matches in 2000 and 2003. Auckland also hosted the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series in February 2009, which gave rise to the WSTA and Louis Vuitton Trophy.
Sailed in former America’s Cup boats, the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland is the second of five match race regattas.
Part of the Auckland Festival of Sail organized by Emirates Team New Zealand, the Louis Vuitton event will overlap with the Auckland International Boat Show. The two Cup boats will race on New Zealand’s Waitemata Harbor and dock in the heart of the Viaduct Basin on the quayside adjacent to Aucklanders’ favourite restaurants and wine bars, providing an unprecedented opportunity for spectators to view boat preparation and the departures and arrivals of the teams each day.
© Paul Todd/outsideimages.co.nz
Image Gallery
© Bob Grieser/outsideimages.co.nz
The Sailing Teams
Latest News here
Live Racing here
Race Day One – Running commentary
Cup Talk on Crew.org
Chatter on Sailing Anarchy here
Azzurra delivers stand-out performance on opening day
© Bob Grieser/outsideimages.co.nz
Azzurra, the Italian boat with the old name and the young crew, defeated Britain’s TEAMORIGIN in the closest of four hard-fought races on the opening day of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland.
Italian skipper and helmsman Francesco Bruni snatched a victory from Britain’s three-time Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie at the first weather mark of their race as their boats rounded the mark overlapped. Sailing above the mark, Ainslie tried to luff his opponent only to see the Italian execute a swift spinnaker set, sail clear and go on to win.
“Azzurra sailed a good race today, they seem to have a knack of overtaking us which is getting very frustrating!” Ainslie said. “We were fully in contention at the top mark and tried to hold them up, we were unfortunately set up for a gybe set and they were set up for a straight hoist which allowed them to gain some distance.”
In their efforts to stay on schedule, the race committee spent a long first day on the water. In the morning, cloudy skies killed any chance of a sea breeze developing and delayed racing. The Rangitoto Channel entrance to Auckland Harbour was so glassy at late morning that Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio joked that it appeared to have been paved.
The long wait for wind ended at 2:45pm as the first pair started on the Blue Course at the mouth of the channel between Rangitoto Island and the Takapuna cliffs. The breeze was five to seven knots from the northwest. After a second race in similar conditions, the breeze switched to the south for the third race inside the harbour. The last race didn’t start until 7:10pm and finished after sunset just before 8:00pm
© Paul Todd/outsideimages.co.nz
Cayard – master of acrobatics in Auckland
Paul Cayard is juggling – fast. In any one day at the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland, he could be calling tactics on the capricious waters of the Waitemata Harbour, rallying his crew as skipper of the Swedish team Artemis, or making a decision in the running of the World Sailing Teams Association in his new role as chairman.
And in the bigger picture, the evergreen American hopes he is playing a hand in moulding the future of the world’s oldest sailing prize.
Cayard, 50, seems to be taking it all in his cowboy-like stride. At some point he knows he may have to relinquish some of his responsibilities, but right now, he’s relishing them all. “I need to have some mix,” he says. “But I need a month or two to figure what I’m going to do, what I’m going to let go of. There are a lot of roles that need a lot of attention all of a sudden, and I’m just taking the temperature of all the different projects before I make a decision.”
Sailing still ranks right up there. The former America’s Cup skipper returned to the big boats in the Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice last November, shooting straight to the top of the mast for the first time in his sailing career, as Artemis’ strategist and windspotter. As tactician in the crew reshuffle for Auckland, Cayard is just enthusiastic back down on deck.
“Sailing these boats again is fairly second nature…but I’m kind of into new experiences. As you get older, you take age-defying actions, but hopefully not too desperately; hopefully nothing that’s ridiculously beyond your abilities. I went to the Olympics at 45 years old, and that was cool too. A lot of the athletes I was mixing with, divers and track runners, were the same age as my kids. It’s cool,” he says.
TEAMORIGIN READY FOR RACE ACTION
Today, Monday 8th March 2010, was the last of the two practise days here in Auckland and
tomorrow sees the start of action with day one of racing planned. As ever the event set-up is slick
and professional with Emirates Team New Zealand boat preparation and technical set up for the
event second to none. Two ETNZ race boats are being used : NZL 84 and NZL 92, with a BMWOracle
Racing boat as a back up.
TEAMORIGIN have been here for around two weeks now, they did some boat preparation and
shake-down sailing with ETNZ towards the end of February and then the match race team competed
in the Omega Match Race event, taking 2nd place after achieving more race wins than any other
team but sadly losing out in the finals to ETNZ.
Torbjorn Tornqvist’s experienced team, Artemis is well known for their success in the Transpac 52 and RC44 Classes, having won the TP52 MedCup Circuit and TP52 World Championships in 2007. It was a natural progression for Artemis to enter into the Louis Vuitton Trophy, which includes five regattas around the world in the course of the next year. The first Louis Vuitton Trophy took place in Nice (France) in November 2009, followed by Auckland (NZ) in March 2010, La Maddalena (Italy) in May 2010, Dubai (November 2010) and Hong Kong in January 2011.
Artemis has a solid foundation in place, with strong leadership and a clear vision. Under the direction of world-renowned sailor Paul Cayard and management of Jared Henderson (Team Manager).
Entering into the Louis Vuitton Trophy, Artemis expanded and strengthened the team by adding Terry Hutchinson (Helmsman) and Cameron Appleton (Strategist), both of whom have had impressive results in various one design classes and match racing.
Artemis represents the Royal Swedish Yacht Club in Stockholm.
Louis Vuitton Trophy WSTA 1er entraînement et 1ères impressions françaises
Parmi ces huit concurrents, Aleph, un projet français, et All4One, un projet franco-allemand. Quelles sont leurs impressions à l’issue de cette première journée d’entraînement?
Sébastien Col, le barreur d’All4One, est plutôt positif. « Les conditions étaient bonnes – nous avons eu entre 8 et 15 nœuds, ce qui nous a permis de travailler sur plusieurs tranches de vent. C’était bien de retrouver toute l’équipe et nous nous sommes assez vite mis dans le coup. »
Bertrand Pacé, le skipper et barreur d’Aleph est lui aussi satisfait. « C’était la première fois que je naviguais à bord de NZL84 et les sensations de barre du bateau sont fantastiques! Il est bien équilibré et facile d’utilisation. »
Une nouvelle session de deux heures attend les marins demain. Pour Pacé, ces entraînements sont « cruciaux ». Col est du même avis. « Deux heures, c’est toujours court mais je crois que nous les avons vraiment bien utilisées. Nous nous sommes entraînés à Valence mi-février avec notre ancien bateau, FRA93, mais le vent était trop faible ou trop fort. Alors aujourd’hui, c’était une mise en jambes. Nous avons redécouvert les bateaux, aussi bien au niveau de la conduite que de l’ergonomie. C’est un premier pas qui est plutôt bien engagé. »
Teams competing in the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland regatta have assembled in Auckland to prepare for the start of racing on Tuesday, March 9.
Sunday was the first practice day and each team spent two hours sailing Cup boats NZL92 and NZL84. The two Emirates Team New Zealand yachts have been re-commissioned for the regatta. Shore crews have worked for two months restoring the yachts to racing condition. Keels, bulbs and rudders have been reattached; electric, electronic, hydraulic systems and deck gear have been reinstalled. One yacht owned by BMW Oracle Racing has been re-commissioned as a “spare” in case either NZL92 or 84 is damaged and cannot race.
The Emirates Team New Zealand crew were sailing too, first on the TP52 which they will race on the Audi Medup circuit this year and then on the familiar team America’s Cup boat.
LOUIS VUITTON TROPHY AUCKLAND: KIA ORA* ALL4ONE
ALL4ONE, l’équipe franco-allemande menée par Jochen Schümann et Sébastien Col, sera sur la ligne de départ du Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland mardi 9 mars 2010, avec 7 autres équipes : Artemis (Suède), Synergy (Russie), Azzurra (Italie), Aleph (France), Team Origin (Grande Bretagne), Mascalzone Latino (Italie) et bien sûr la célèbre équipe résidente : Emirates Team New Zealand (Nouvelle Zélande).
Après sa 5e place lors du Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice en novembre dernier, l’équipe a pu s’entrainer à nouveau ensemble à Valencia, (Espagne), mi-février, à bord de son propre Class America : FRA 93, afin de préparer cette nouvelle compétition regroupant des équipes de voile de très haut niveau et parmi les meilleures du monde.
Les équipiers sont pour certains présents depuis une semaine sur le plan d’eau d’Auckland, où ils ont pu se préparer en participant à l’Omega Auckland Match Race. Les autres les ont ensuite rejoints il y a 3 jours pour les entrainements sur les bateaux du Louis Vuitton Trophy (qui ont eu lieu aujourd’hui et hier) : NZL 84 et NZL 92.
Primo allenamento ad Auckland
Primo allenamento in Nuova Zelanda per Mascalzone Latino Audi Team, in vista del Louis Vuitton Trophy che inizierà martedì 9 marzo nella acque antistanti Auckland.
Stamani “i mascalzoni” guidati dallo skipper Gavin Brady si sono allenati assieme agli svedesi di Artemis (skipper Paul Cayard) a bordo della coppia di barche Classe Coppa America messe a disposizione da Team New Zealand. Nel pomeriggio l’allenamento è proseguito a bordo degli MRX, barche più piccole ed espressamente concepite per il match race: “Anche se stiamo subendo i postumi del cambio di fuso orario, oggi è stata una giornata veramente proficua – ha dichiarato Flavio Favini, elemento chiave dell’afterguard – dopo esserci tolti la ruggine allenandoci a Valencia in febbraio, adesso stiamo oliando il meccanismo del team, quasi completamente rinnovato. Domani continueremo ad allenarci in queste acque, che hanno visto l’esordio di Mascalzone Latino in Coppa America.”
Louis Vuitton Trophy, Auckland: 1er Match et 1ère Victoire pour les français d’ALEPH SAILING TEAM
9 mars 2010, Auckland – Commençons par l’essentiel, c’est-à-dire la victoire des Franco-Allemands d’All4One face à ML Audi Team et, à la nuit tombante, le triomphe d’ALEPH SAILING TEAM face aux Russes de Synergy, si brillants à Nice.
Pour ce premier jour du Louis Vuitton Trophy, on craignait de devoir annuler les courses par manque de vent mais le magicien Peter Reggio – ‘’Luigi’’ pour tous les régatiers – a réussi à trouver un peu de vent sous le volcan Rangitoto pour lancer deux régates de petit temps (cinq à sept nœuds). Le premier match revient à All4One, le deuxième aux Italiens d’Azzurra, magistraux dans le vent léger face à TeamOrigin.
C’était avant que le vent de sud-est, pourtant prévu demain seulement, n’arrive prématurément et permette de courir deux matchs supplémentaires tard dans l’après-midi. Remportée par Emirates Team New Zealand face à Artemis, la troisième manche s’est courue dans des conditions très délicates. Le quatrième match a confronté les Français d’ALEPH SAILING TEAM aux Russes de Synergy. Bertrand Pacé, vieux renard du match-race et ex-champion du monde, s’impose dans le crépuscule néo-zélandais.
Cette journée d’ouverture, avec des courses très disputées, a validé une fois encore le concept de ces régates courtes où toutes les équipes s’affrontent avec les mêmes chances.
Russell Coutts, membre fondateur de la WSTA (l’association des équipes mondiales qui organise ces courses avec Louis Vuitton) est venu apporter au Louis Vuitton Trophy sa bénédiction et celle de l’équipe américaine vainqueur de la Coupe de l’America.
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Auckland, Nuova Zelanda – 6 marzo 2010. Il team Azzurra dello Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, con Francesco Bruni nel ruolo di skipper/timoniere e Tommaso Chieffi alla tattica, oggi ha concluso l’Omega Auckland Match Racing Regatta. Il team ha completato i due Round Robin guadagnando sei vittorie, ma non è riuscito a piazzarsi entro i primi quattro, che sono avanzati alle Semifinali e Finali (Ben Ainslie, Torvar Mirsky, Adam Minoprio & Dean Barker).
‘SYNERGY Russian sailing team’ project.
Sailing team «Synergy» is a long-term project created with the help of private means of a group of Russian businessmen in 2004. Love for the sea and passion for sailing have become the motivation for taking part in a project, and the main goal has been a creation of professional Russian-speaking sailing crew, able to compete with the most experienced teams of the world on equal grounds. The investors of the project are Pavel Gorelov, Vladimir Senko, Vladimir Smyshlyaev, Mikhail Tuzov, Roman Trotsenko and well-known Russian politician, businessman and public figure – Valentin Zavadnikov who is the crew captain.
Defending champion Barker predicts tough competition at Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland
Louis Vuitton Trophy teams drew for race pairings at a press conference and cocktail evening at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron tonight, ahead of the first day of competition tomorrow.
The draw, before a packed house in the Squadron’s Westhaven clubhouse, also decided which teams will enjoy the preferred starboard entry before their starts.
The pairings for the first races tomorrow of the seven-day round robin are: Mascalzone Latino Audi Team (NZL92) vs. ALL4ONE (NZL84), Azzurra (NZL92) vs. TEAMORIGIN (NZL84), Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL92) vs. Artemis (NZL84), ALEPH Sailing Team (NZL92) vs Synergy Russian Sailing Team (NZL84).
The eight teams completed their second day of boat orientation and training in mixed conditions today in the waters off the mouth of Auckland Harbour. The crews encountered calms at times in the convergence zone at the harbour mouth as weak sea breezes from the Pacific and Tasman coasts fought to get established.
The forecast for the first day of racing is for light southeasterlies, increasing during the day. Winds are expected to increase later in the week.
Dean Barker, skipper of host team Emirates Team New Zealand, and the winner of last year’s Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, said his team had its work cut out for it.
“The fantastic thing about this event this year is that the standard has got better,” Barker said. “I think it’s a lot higher. Many of the teams have been training in the Version 5 boats in preparation, so I think the bar has been lifted. We have to keep pushing to get as better as everyone else is. All of the teams sitting here have the opportunity to win every time they line up.”
Teams train without incident on first practice day in Auckland
One of the oldest names in recent America’s Cup history went out and trained today on Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour with one of the newest Cup hopefuls.
Italy’s Azzurra, a name first made famous in Newport, RI, in 1983, joined with the Synergy Russian Sailing Team as the first pair of boats to test their skills aboard the two Emirates Team New Zealand boats they will race for the next two weeks.
Favored by brilliant blue skies and a puffy easterly breeze that backed to the south, each of the eight teams here in Auckland for the Louis Vuitton Trophy took turns transferring aboard the race boats for two all-too-brief hours of familiarization and training. They’ll repeat the same process on Monday before racing starts with the first of seven days of round robin competition.
“We needed a good practice day in decent breeze and today was very good. We got the rust off the crew,” said Tommaso Chieffi, tactician aboard Azzurra, after returning to the dock in the Louis Vuitton Village. “We had the opportunity in Valencia to train in light air but today we could try a few manoeuvres in bigger breeze.
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