Luna Rossa came hunting but ETNZ delivered a gutsy Race 2 win

Emirates Team New Zealand’s principal boat put Race 1 behind them with a performance that saw the team essentially hunted through the race by the two Luna Rossa teams. required real nerve, crossing the fleet on port tack at the start and holding off two Italian boats all the way to the finish in

The breeze had built, and conditions were pushing the limits of the AC40s. Gusting past 21 knots with a short, steep chop on the Bay of Angels brought its own challenges in Race 2.

The Brits suffered

Whatever technical issue ended GB1’s Race 1 was not fixed by Race 2. Dylan Fletcher’s crew retired early for the second time in succession, the same problem apparently still unresolved in the systems. Two races in, the Challenger of Record has zero competitive points and a mounting headache. Months of winter training in Cagliari, plenty of speed in the build-up, and nothing to show for it yet.

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Late in the race, running downwind in the freshening breeze, Athena Pathway was caught by a gust before the mainsail could be trimmed. The boat loaded up and went fully over. Hannah Mills and Ellie Aldridge’s crew had capsized in practice days this past week, so the recovery drill was familiar, but it ended their race at Gate 5 and left them with a rough scoreline after two races.

The start

Emirates Team New Zealand read a left shift in the dying seconds of the start, held their nerve, crossed the fleet on port tack, and hit the pin end clean. Outteridge, Seb Menzies, Andy Maloney and Iain Jensen had immediate clear air and first use of the left side. From there, they led every gate.

But Luna Rossa gave them no peace. Luna Rossa’s Women and Youth crew pushed hard from the opening upwind leg, while in Luna Rossa’s principal boat, Peter Burling and Ruggero Tita, split the course to approach from the other side. And this was the format for much of the race. Luna Rossa hunting, often on each side of the course; the principal ETNZ boat staying ahead.

On the final run, ETNZ used the race course to do the work. A sharp mark rounding on the inside pushed Luna Rossa Women and Youth wide, and the principal boat’s gybe was untidy enough to cost them ground at the critical moment. Outteridge got the gap he needed and didn’t give it back.

Tudor Team Alinghi repeated a mistake from the Italian playbook in Race 1, collecting two penalties, the second for not clearing the first within the required time. Fifth place, over three minutes back.

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La Roche-Posay had a punishing afternoon. A hard splashdown at speed sent the whole crew underwater, Diego Botín surfacing minus his goggles. They recovered and finished sixth, but the sea state was clearly giving Quentin Delapierre’s team serious trouble.

Outteridge post-race

On the water after the finish, Outteridge commented that the sea state was the real difficulty, not the wind number. Mark roundings and gybes demanded full attention from all four sailors. The starboard foil had been slow to drop on more than one occasion during the race, and the final gybe was untidy, but the handling overall was where he wanted it.

The principal ETNZ boat received 10 points placing them in a good position moving into the third race.

Luna Rossa Women and Youth

Not to be lost in the principal ETNZ boat’s victory is how well the Luna Rossa Women and Youth team is racing. They’re sailing with real authority, reading the Bay of Angles better than most and converting it into points.

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Two down, one more to race today.