Light winds haunt Youth America’s Cup

Barcelona, Spain (September 20, 2024) – The minimum wind for the Youth America’s Cup is 7.5 knots, ostensibly because the AC40 needs that much to reliably foil, and that much wind has been hard to come by. The six Group B (invited) teams had been delayed for two days due to conditions, but finally got to race today… sort of.

The opening day of fleet racing for Australia, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden took place in marginal easterly ‘Llevant’ conditions on a day of heavy cloud cover and rainstorms, and from the start it was all about who could stay on the foils on the 0.5 metre swell. And that included nobody.

After some small delays for the weather to settle, the fleet of six AC40s got away with Andoo Team Australia, led by Cole Tapper, making an excellent start at the port end of the line.

Concord Pacific Racing from Canada, with Andrew Wood steering, joined the Australians on the initial drag race to the left boundary, but the Canadians were carrying three pre-start penalties due to their struggle to get foiling before the start. While clearing the penalties, they dropped back to fifth.

The Swedish Challenge were the first to capitalize on errors elsewhere, and whilst many of the yachts fell into displacement mode, Oscar Engström’s team stole into what looked like an unassailable lead, rounding the top gate almost 400 metres ahead of the Spanish.

With the course now shortened to three legs, the first downwind leg saw all of the yachts fall off the foils and huge separation of the fleet with the leaders almost a leg ahead of those still struggling to get around the first windward gate.

It was all about to change though, as Canada, Australia, and Germany picked up some new breeze at the top of the course and came charging back into contention. For the Swedish and Spanish, who were almost half way up the final leg to the finish, they could only watch as slowly the back-markers ate up the gap.

Somehow, Spain managed to get foiling out to the left of the course, just as the fickle Llevant delivered a significant right shift which allowed the Swedish to point directly for the finish line – but still in displacement.

The Spanish nailed a foiling tack and came back to the middle of the course before just making it through a final foiling tack that brought them on the same line as the Swedish. Crossing the line at around 20 knots, Spain secured the win and 10 points to top the table.

For Sweden, it was heartbreak as what looked like a certain second place was snatched away when a foiling Concord Pacific Racing flew by right on the finish line, relegating the Swedes to third.

“It was the best way possible to start the series, but we are disappointed we couldn’t do the four races,” shared Spanish helm Martin Wizner. “We haven’t sailed so many days as a team on the AC40 …”.

Canadian skipper Andrew Wood admits they were not certain where they were finishing within the fleet. “We were putting so much time in focusing on just staying on the foils that it wasn’t really a priority to figure out where we were.

“We just had our heads down trying to keep the boat up. The conditions were quite difficult because there were such big holes out there, you really had to try and connect up the pressure. Everybody fell off the foils, so it was about just finding that extra pressure and getting up as quickly as possible.”

The Invited Teams will continue their series tomorrow, starting at just after 1400 CET.

After one race

After four races

Viewing details – Race information – Weather forecast

Format: Beginning September 17, 12 teams are split into two groups of six for an initial fleet race series in the AC40s. The top three teams from each side after eight races will race together in four fleet races to decide the top-two crews and from there it’s a one-race, winner-takes-all for the title on September 26.

Following the publication of the AC37 Protocol and AC75 Class Rule on November 17, 2021, the AC75 Class Rule and AC Technical Regulations were finalized on March 17, 2022. The entry period was from December 1, 2021 until July 31, 2022, but late entries for the 37th America’s Cup could be accepted until May 31, 2023. The Defender was to announce the Match Venue on September 17, 2021 but postponed the reveal, finally confirming Barcelona on March 30, 2022. The 37th America’s Cup begins October 12, 2024.

Teams revealed to challenge defender Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL):
• INEOS Britannia (GBR)
• Alinghi Red Bull Racing (SUI)
• Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team (ITA)
• NYYC American Magic (USA)
• Orient Express Racing Team (FRA)

2023-24 Preliminary Regattas
September 14-17, 2023 (AC40): Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain
November 30-December 2 (AC40): Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
August 22-25, 2024 (AC75): Barcelona, Spain

2024 Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger Selection Series*
August 29-September 9: Double Round Robin
September 14-19: Semi Finals (Best of 9)
September 26-October 7: Finals (Best of 13)

*Team New Zealand competes in the round robin stage only, but the results of their races were not included in the challenger leaderboard.

2024 America’s Cup
October 12-27: 37th Match (Best of 13)

For competition details, click here.

Additionally, 12 teams will compete in the Youth America’s Cup and Women’s America’s Cup.

Noticeboard: https://ac37noticeboard.acofficials.org/
Event details: www.americascup.com/en/home

Source: ACE