AC34: Arrivederci, again

Published on August 7th, 2013

San Francisco, CA (August 7, 2013) – In another lop-sided match, the America’s Cup challenger Luna Rossa (ITA) trounced the Swedish Artemis Racing team in the second race of the Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger Semi-Final series. The final delta was 2:06 minutes.

The two minute start cycle provided riveting maneuvers, with Artemis Racing claiming a slight edge as they crossed the line to leeward of the Italians. But with better acceleration, the Italians rolled the Swedes at the first mark, popped up on their foils for the downwind leg, and quickly said arrivederci.

The wind speed of 10-12 knots proved to be a problem for the Artemis boat, which seemed too light for them to easily foil. Losing ground for most of the race, only an upwind shift on the last upwind leg helped the Swedes gain a minute, which they quickly lost on the final downwind leg.

The Italians are half way to completing a sweep of the Challenger Semi-Finals. With two wins in the best of seven series, the next two races are on August 9 and 10. The Challenger Finals best of 13 series against Emirates Team New Zealand begins August 17.