KEY POINTS:
Despite their win over Team New Zealand, Luna Rossa helmsman James Spithill believes his team are still making too many mistakes.
Spithill went one-up over his long-time nemesis Dean Barker in the much-anticipated hitout between Luna Rossa and Emirates Team New Zealand in flight nine of the Louis Vuitton Cup.
The 48s win was much needed by the Italian side, who went into the match having already suffered defeats against Shosholoza and BMW Oracle Racing.
"It shows we are capable of winning races," Spithill said. "We made quite a lot of mistakes out there as a sailing team and we can improve a lot more, so, in that regard, it is quite encouraging."
Spithill, widely regarded as the best starting helmsman in the America's Cup, had life made easy for him after Barker charged into the startbox from the left a little too eagerly and instantly copped a penalty for turning in front of the Italians.
"Dean and I always have some great racing so we approached it pretty aggressively," Spithill said. "It was nice to come off with that advantage. It certainly gave us a cushion to the end."
Barker, however, felt he was hard done-by. "The dial-up is one of the tough ones," Barker said. "The umpires are looking to see if the guy entering from the left is doing enough to keep clear. I felt pretty strongly that we were doing enough and weren't on a collision course.
"Looking at the footage I still don't believe it was a justified decision - but you have to live and die by what the umpires decide. It's their call."
The penalty aside, Luna Rossa sailed a better race than the Kiwis. On a day where the breeze was light and fickle, Luna Rossa positioned their boat better, controlled the New Zealanders at the mark roundings and out-gybed them.
They also remained calm when Team New Zealand came hunting for them at the end. Team New Zealand led down the final run but were never going to be far enough ahead to complete their penalty turn and still win.
Moments from the line, they dropped their spinnaker and sailed straight for the Italians, trying to get a penalty on them. "We knew they were going to come and get us," Spithill said. "We have got confidence in the guys and the boat handling and I knew if we kept it together we'd be right. It is a very important win, given the tough day we had a couple of days ago."
A disappointed Barker said there were some positives to be taken from the loss.
"I think we are sailing well. While we got a penalty today, I don't think there was too much that we did that was bad. We got a nice start, we got the favoured side, the game plan was pretty solid."
With two losses, Team New Zealand have their work cut out if they are to claim the top spot at the end of the round-robin competition. The top qualifier gets to choose their own semifinal opponent.
"We want to be able to control our destiny, so to be the top qualifier is pretty important," Barker said. "But that's two races we have lost now and Oracle haven't lost any. They are creating a little bit of a comfort or buffer at the top of the table - but there is still a round to go."
After eight races, Team New Zealand have six wins and two losses. They were scheduled to have met Victory Challenge and BMW Oracle Racing in their final two round one races overnight.
Standings
BMW Oracle 19
Team New Zealand 16
Luna Rossa 15
Desafio Espanol 15
Mascalzone Latino 14
Victory Challenge 12
Team Shosholoza 10
Areva 7
United Internet Team Germany 3
+39 2
China Team 1
Jury still out over which team has a secret weapon
Speculation remains that one of the teams in the America's Cup has worked out how to move or reduce the deflection of their keel fin, which could provide them with a speed advantage. Are we any closer to working out who?
The Facts
The Herald revealed that one of the teams asked the measurer if it was possible to use the forces generated by the huge rig loads to help stiffen the keel fin. Cup boats have 19- to 20-tonne lead bulbs at the bottom of 4m keels to keep the boats upright against the pressure on their massive sails. But the bulbs are so heavy that the long, steel keel fin deflects under load when the boat heels over. The straighter the keel, the better the performance. Moving the keel by just one degree could improve upwind stability as much as 3 per cent. The measurer said it is legal to link the rigging to the keel - but the rig loads cannot be used to deflect the keel. Natural forces (wind or water) can be used to deflect the keel. The measurer also ruled that the rig cannot be locked in place.
The Suspects
Alinghi, BMW Oracle and Luna Rossa.
The Evidence
* Alinghi: Alinghi's SUI91 and SUI100 have a couple of suspect features - the shrouds (which support the mast) go through the deck; the fin on SUI100 has a mysterious bulge near the top, where it connects to the hull. America's Cup veteran Paul Cayard said: "I think the whole design team at Alinghi is very smart. I remember [Alinghi designer] Rolf Vrolijk when he was with the Spanish team in 2000 trying some things with hydraulic rams to control the structure. It was disallowed eventually. He has been thinking about that concept for a long time. It wouldn't surprise me if there has been some good progress minimising the deflection of the fin." When asked if his team had gone a step further and had a swinging keel, which is illegal, Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth said; " All round the port are a lot of smart guys working out how to make the boats go faster. If somebody comes up with a good idea, they are going to protect it."
* BMW Oracle Racing: When it was launched, Chris Dickson described USA87 as the most innovative America's Cup-class yacht built. We still do not know why. Several months later, mid-bowman Phil Jameson was singing the praises of the syndicate's second boat USA87. "The new boat is beautiful, just an absolute masterpiece. It is a shame that not everyone gets to see below deck and how much work has gone into it. We are extremely fortunate to have the funding to do that sort of thing." It is believed Oracle asked the measurer about moving the rig. The syndicate certainly have the money to test any number of ideas. They also have the creator of the victorious round-the-world boat, ABN Amro One, Juan Kouyoumdjian, in their design team.
* Luna Rossa: The fact that Luna Rossa sent a cast of thousands, including team boss Patrizio Bertelli, to a recent briefing by the measurer indicates they are either hiding something or are scared that someone else is. So far the Luna Rossa boat ITA94 hasn't exactly set the word alight, which indicates it is probably the latter. It is understood that Prada were investigating a kind of swinging keel concept in the last cup. Maybe they have cracked something. There is nothing visible on their boat which gives anything away.
Conclusion
The smart money would be that Alinghi have cracked the deflection problem. Most believed that the 2003 Alinghi boats were half a generation ahead of the rest. It should come as no surprise that Alinghi are thinking outside the square. But with a budget of more than $200 million, Oracle cannot be totally crossed off, either. Their boats have shown some interesting spurts of speed this week. More investigation and more questions need to be asked.
