Louis Vuitton Trophy-Auckland

It was a long day of waiting for us today and finally we raced Azzurra for 3rd/4th place. The race was over just as it started. The jury decided we fouled Azzurra on the entry and penalized us. From there we hung close waiting for an opportunity to pass, which we almost did on the final run. It would have been a lot to ask to pass them and get a penalty on them but stranger things have happened. Unfortunately, in the only minor scrap we got into with them, the jury awarded us another penalty.

That was it for us. Hats off to Azzurra. They sailed well.

Still the big picture for Artemis is that it has been a fantastic two weeks of sailing, we beat some very good teams here. The competition is getting very tight and that means all the teams are catching up to Emirates Team New Zealand.

Emirates Team New Zealand had beaten Azzurra in the 3rd and final race of their semi final yesterday and won the first race of the finals against Mascalzone Latino before we raced our match for 3rd and 4th. The best of five finals will continue tomorrow.

For WSTA and the Louis Vuitton Trophy, it has been a very successful two weeks as well. The sailing, much of it on the edge of too much wind, has produced some incredibly spectacular races. Most of the event was held in the shifty Southwesterly breeze which has allowed for lots of lead changes and the short course has meant high impact sailing.

The future is bright and now that America’s Cup 33 is behind us, we can move forward in a collaborative way with the new Defender and Challenger of Record to shape the future.

Paul

For complete results and live streaming of the racing plus other features go to www.louisvuittontrophy.com or http://artemisracing.com/pages/lvtv