race report
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 This future America's Cup sailor was part of a group sporting Emirates Team New Zealand gear. ©2013 norcalsailing.com |
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The Louis Vuitton Cup from Pier 27
July 22, 2013 On Sunday, July 21, a rematch between Luna Rossa and Emirates Team New Zealand was scheduled to round out Round Robin 3. If you went to the San Francisco waterfront, whether by public transportation or on your own, you may have noticed that the sailboat race wasn't the only game in time. The convergence with a Giants game was easy to spot at Larkspur's ferry terminal, where the typically long and tidy line of Giants fans formed. Almost all the passengers aboard the packed 9:40 ferry to the City were Giants fans, except for just about a half dozen America's Cup fans. Liz and Nick, recreational sailors from San Rafael, have been watching every race on You Tube, but this was their first time out in person. They brought their bikes. "We're going to try the spit at Golden Gate Yacht Club," they said.
On their way from the San Francisco ferry building to the Marina, Nick and Liz stopped in at Pier 27/29, where the America's Cup 'Park' is set up. This will eventually be a cruise ship terminal, but for now it's a little like a trendy amusement park for sailors.
The race began on schedule, and the fans at Pier 27 watched on the big screen TVs which are sprinkled all over the park, and, yes, you can see the screens just fine in sunlight. The fog lingered Sunday morning though, and the wind blew in the low to high teens for the race. At the end of Pier 27, spectators had a view of the leeward gates southeast of Alcatraz, rather far off, and the finish line, right up close.
The two boats started evenly, but with ETNZ picking up speed and pulling away. During the first upwind leg, the crowd drew a simultaneous breath and held it as ETNZ's jib started to slip down. The clip attaching the halyard to the sail had broken. While the sail was lolling about on the forestay, Luna Rossa was able to make up ground on the Kiwis. Announcer Andy Green called it, "Emergency on Planet Kiwi." The crew used their knives to get the sail down and jettisoned it overboard, right into the path of Luna Rossa.
The Kiwis' Protector, a safety boat which follows it around the course, swooped in to pick it up, causing Luna Rossa to tack away. ETNZ was still ahead, and now, without the dead weight on the forestay, they accelerated again. The TV announcers thought the bear away would be tricky without the jib for control, but ETNZ had doubled their delta by the windward mark. Announcer Tucker Thompson quipped that, "Luna Rossa should take their headsail down as well." Luna Rossa had the advantage of stability downwind with foil to foil jibes. Regarding ETNZ's jibless jibes, Andy Green said, "Danger, danger, warning, warning. They've got to keep their antennas up." The Kiwis were doing 33 knots, and the Italians 28 in 17-18 knots of wind. The Kiwis were averaging four knots faster than their competitors. The race was held on a flood current, so, going back upwind, the Kiwis went for the cone of Alcatraz, with the Italians heading closer to shore, each seeking current relief in their own way. Luna Rossa drifted over the left boundary of the course, and were given a penalty: They had to slow down. (If the penalty had been boat to boat, they would have had to go behind their competitor.) Within five boatlengths of the course boundary, they get a blinking green light that warns them to turn away. As the race wound down through seven legs of sailing, a crowd began to head to the end of the pier where the finish would be. They could still hear the race commentary, but there were no TV screens to watch. The announcers, who were located at a booth midway down the pier, called it, "the biggest crowd we've seen so far at America's Cup Park."
On a prime spot for watching the finish, right at the railing, Steve and Joanne live in Karamea, on the west coast of New Zealand's South Island. They aren't sailors, and they were only in San Francisco for a couple of days, on their way from Alaska to Denver, but of course they were having a grand time. "It's really good," said Joanne. "We would love to be here if we're in the Finals. Rich and Nancy from Lodi, also non-sailors, had a spot along the rail next to Steve and Joanne, and Sunday's was the first race they watched. "It's exciting, like watching a horse race. There's a lot of power in those boats," said Rich. "It's beautiful here today. We came here to get out of the heat." The sun came out as the race finished, ETNZ 2:20 minutes ahead of Luna Rossa. The crowd at the end of the pier enjoyed a fly-by and cheered both teams.
After the race ended, the announcers took questions from the crowd, and also from Twitter. The big question: Did ETNZ foul Luna Rossa when they dropped their jib, and their chase boat picked it up? Andy Green answered, "The support boats are a safety measure. Did they impede Luna Rossa? The umpires on the course decided not to give them a penalty. Luna Rossa has an opportunity to protest, within an hour."
Outside the media center, about midway down the south side of the pier, the press gathered to interview representatives of the race. This activity also was in full view of the spectators, though it was not amplified.
Within half an hour or so of the race finish, it would be replayed on the big screens. The America's Cup Pavilion, on the northwest part of the pier, would be the scene of a free concert later in the afternoon.
In case you're wondering if you can see the pier and race course from the Telegraph Hill steps or from the base of Coit Tower, the answer is no – too many trees. The next race is this Tuesday, July 23, a rematch between ETNZ and Luna Rossa which kicks off Round Robin 4. See www.americascup.com for all the info. In other AC34 news, Artemis Racing launched their second AC72 today. The boat was christened Artemis Racing, but is nicknamed Big Blue.
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