There was plenty of close racing on the second day of the America's Cup preliminary regatta in Jeddah. Photo / America's Cup
There was plenty of close racing on the second day of the America's Cup preliminary regatta in Jeddah. Photo / America's Cup
Finally, a day of racing that truly lived up to the hype that accompanies America’s Cup sailing.
In the first preliminary regatta in Vilanova i la Geltru, there were glimpses of how good the racing could be with all six crews sailing their one-design AC40s between weather-induced lulls in the competition.
When the second regatta got underway in Jeddah on Thursday night, the light breeze gave every team troubles at some stage in the day’s three fleet races.
On day two, there were no such issues.
The middle three fleet races iprovided the intense competition that had otherwise been just out of reach, with good breeze providing the platform for high-speed, high-quality sailing.
It was another good day on the water for Team New Zealand, who extended their buffer atop the leaderboard with two more race wins - however they were put under much more pressure from the rest of the fleet.
“It’s awesome. As a sailing team you want nice, tight racing to really challenge the skills and that’s what we got,” Team New Zealand starboard helmsman Peter Burling said on the broadcast after the final race of the day.
“It’s definitely been super tight ... we’re super happy to get a couple of wins on the board and get the boat back in one piece.”
The opening race of the day set the tone for what was to come. When several teams struggled to get on their foils early on day one – American Magic twice being ruled out of races due to their issues – all six teams flew over the starting mark in a relatively level line, with the Americans taking the early lead.
There was plenty of close racing on the second day of the America's Cup preliminary regatta in Jeddah. Photo / America's Cup
There was little to separate them from Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli though, and the trio battled for position only slightly ahead of the other three syndicates.
After winning the final race on day one, Luna Rossa’s form carried over as they sailed the perfect race; their young helming duo of Marco Gardoni and Ruggero Tita again impressing. Their decision-making and aggressive sailing saw them find the front in the first half of the six-leg race and on the second downwind leg they held a decent lead.
Team New Zealand and American Magic traded manoeuvres as they jostled for the minor placings, neither getting away from the other for the entirety of the race; Team New Zealand edging out their counterparts to finish second. It was a similar case with Ineos Britannia and Alinghi Red Bull Racing further back, while French entry Orient Express Racing Team had a couple of issues and finished last.
It was a similar case in the second race. After a penalty-heavy opening leg that saw American Magic penalised twice, while the British and French were both ruled to have crossed the starting line early, Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa battled at the front of the pack.
Team New Zealand looked to have the advantage downwind, however Luna Rossa were the faster boat upwind. That saw the teams trade the lead several times, but the Kiwis were able to sneak ahead on the final downwind leg.
In the final race of the day, it was a three-way shootout between Team New Zealand, American Magic and Alinghi Red Bull Racing, with the three racing in close quarters and trading leads from start to finish but again, the Kiwis found a way to get the job done.
The last day of the regatta gets underway late on Saturday night (NZ time), and will feature two more fleet races before the top two teams go on to compete in a match race to claim the event title.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
