Team New Zealand helmsman Peter Burling in Barcelona. Video / Michael Burgess
Team New Zealand will be back and racing tonight when the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series resumes, following a rapid repair job to their damaged AC75 Taihoro.
The boat was damaged after the team’s lone race on the opening day of the challenger series when being carried to its cradle by a crane. The crane failed, which saw Taihoro fall about six metres but land on its cradle, which limited the damage.
The America’s Cup defender was quick to rule out a return to racing on day two of the double round-robin event – in which Team NZ do not accrue points – and spent the past day working to get the boat back on the water as soon as possible.
The team confirmed they were setting their sights on a return to action tonight, with the damage not as significant as expected, and this evening confirmed they would indeed line up on day three of the competition.
With Team NZ returning to action and a more consistent breeze expected, race management will try to squeeze six races into the day’s schedule. That will see Team NZ race against French challenger Orient Express Racing Team and Swiss team Alinghi Red Bull Racing. Having six races will mean every team lines up twice.
“There was a big scope of work to figure out where the damage was and how to fix it. The structural damage is reasonably significant, but it was all stuff we can repair to the hull,” Team NZ structural engineer Dave Olsen said of fixing Taihoro.
“You wouldn’t say we were lucky because it was a bad afternoon, but compared to what it could have been we are feeling very thankful, for sure.
“The shore crew and boat builders are world-class; they turn this stuff around really high quality and really quickly. They are all putting in big hours and we will get this boat back on the water and racing again.”
Team NZ’s match against the French will be the second race of the day, coming in against a French team who also didn’t get to race yesterday, with racing being abandoned after two matches due to the conditions dropping below the 6.5-knot wind limit.
Day two was supposed to be a two-race day for the Kiwis, with matches against Ineos Britannia and Orient Express, but instead, the abandonment meant they missed just one race after their boat was damaged.
There was plenty of waiting on the wind to pick up on day two of the Louis Vuitton Cup. Photo / Ricardo Pinto, America's Cup
Although Team NZ were not on the water on day two, regatta regulations required races to start in order for the win to be awarded. Ineos Britannia successfully started their ghost race, before quickly having it suggested to them that they get off the course with the next race to start 10 minutes later.
However, race management opted to change the direction of the course in the hope of finding a more consistent breeze as Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and American Magic waited patiently to get to work.
It wasn’t to be, though, with race management calling an end to the day’s competition.
The one proper race that did get under way – American Magic against Alinghi Red Bull Racing – resulted in both teams spending time sailing in displacement mode, with American Magic creeping over the finish line to get their first win of the campaign.
Luna Rossa and American Magic will be racing tonight with the action getting under way at midnight. Team New Zealand’s match against Orient Express will follow it before the Kiwis are in action again in the final race of the day against Swiss team Alinghi Red Bull Racing.
Day two results
American Magic beat Alinghi Red Bull Racing by 2min58sec
Ineos Britannia beat Emirates Team New Zealand (retirement)
