America’s Cup: Kiwis need one more victory to advance

San Francisco, CA (August 24, 2013) – With two races scheduled and the prospect of today winning the best of 13 Louis Vuitton Cup, the wind gods intervened and allowed only one race today.

With the forecast calling for 17 to 22 knots of wind, a strong flood tide increased the permitted race wind limit to 23 knots for Race 7 and 22.3 knots for Race 8. While the wind stayed just under the limit for the first race, the strengthening sea breeze pushed past for the second race.

The lone race proved predictable, with Emirates Team New Zealand leveraging a slight advantage at the start into a four second margin at the first mark. Without any means to limit the multiple advantages that the Kiwis hold, the Luna Rossa Challenge team could only watch as they fell further behind. With a Kiwi top speed of 47.18 knots compared to the 43.46 by the Italians, the final delta at the finish was 1:58 minutes.

“It was full on, probably the windiest race we’ve seen,” said Luna Rossa helm Chris Draper. “Even though we weren’t winning and the Kiwis were sailing away from us, it was still an amazing race to do. Ten years ago, we’d set the world speed record. And we’re racing these boats around marks.”

Emirates Team New Zealand leads the challenger finals 6-1, needing just one more victory to advance to face defender Oracle Team USA in the best of 17 America’s Cup on September 7-23. The eighth race of the series is scheduled for Sunday, August 25.

PHOTO: Chris Cameron / ETNZ / www.chriscameron.co.nz