LV Final Race 2: Luna Rossa Even With ETNZ

Published on August 18th, 2013

San Francisco, CA (August 18, 2013) – Italy’s Luna Rossa Challenge evened the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup against Emirates Team New Zealand at 1-1 with a victory in Race 2. Luna Rossa was trailing by more than 400 meters on Leg 3, upwind, when the Kiwis stopped sailing, apparently due to a problem with the hydraulics. Luna Rossa completed the 10.02 nautical mile course in 25:34 at an average speed of 26.96 knots.

Luna Rossa helmsman Chris Draper did a nice job in the pre-start to get a fairly even start against Emirates Team New Zealand. But the Kiwis were to windward and literally took off, popping up onto their foils to open a 10-second lead at the first mark.

Emirates Team New Zealand sailed lower and faster than Luna Rossa on the first run and stretched its 10-second lead to 23 seconds at the leeward gate. Lower and faster “is a real good combination when you’re trying to win a sailboat race,” said announcer Ken Read. The course length is 10.02 nautical miles.

Race 3 is scheduled to start at 1410. AC Blog