Tudor Team Alinghi in the Fight
Tudor Team Alinghi finished Race Day 1 of the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta Naples with second place in the day’s second and final race.
After a long wait for stable conditions and a difficult opening race, the Swiss Team responded with a strong performance in Race 2. Paul Goodison, Phil Robertson, Nicolas Rolaz and Pietro Sibello were immediately in the fight at the front, leading during the opening upwind leg before settling into a close battle with Luna Rossa.
The Italians moved ahead, but Tudor Team Alinghi stayed within striking distance throughout the six-leg race, closing to nine seconds at the final leeward gate before finishing second.
The performance was also reflected in the data, with little separating the two boats on outright speed. Tudor Team Alinghi averaged 32.29 knots across the race, compared with Luna Rossa’s 32.33 knots.
With six fleet races still to come, the second race provided a clear reference point for building on over the weekend. The team ended the opening day sixth overall on 11 points.
Paul Goodison, Skipper: “It was a really good day for us to finish the way we did. We probably performed better than we ever have in that super-light stuff, and to bounce back in the last race when the breeze finally came up was really encouraging. It’s a good step in the right direction and a testament to the work everybody has been doing on the shore and in the sailing team.”
Phil Robertson, Port Helm: “We started with very little wind and had a lot of starts where we were towing up, foiling and then having the race abandoned. In Race 1, the breeze came in really quickly, and we got caught out over range with the J1 jib. For Race 2, we were on the J3 in around 15–18 knots and had a great race to finish second. It was nice to validate a lot of the work we’ve been putting in, and the boat was going fast in those conditions.”
Marcus Lynch, Coach: “We focused on our processes throughout the day, including several starts that didn’t become races. By the time we got to the second race, we’d dialled in how we wanted to deliver. We’ll revisit tonight what went well and make sure we come out tomorrow consolidating the insights from today.”
Racing continues on Saturday with four fleet races scheduled in the Bay of Naples.
All Images © Tudor Team Alinghi/ Samo Vidic
