Victory!

The first windward leg is where the duel is played out. Oracle, the big favorite to win the Louis Vuitton Cup, is very aggressive in the pre-start. China Team, with nothing to lose, defends its self on equal terms. The battle between the “big” and “small” gets off to roaring start. Oracle sailed the Chinese up to the committee boat, and Longtze was just able to squeeze through, with Oracle crossing the line one-boat length ahead.   The separation increased slowly, 50 meters, 100 meters. A few seconds later, it is unbelievable, China Team is in the lead with 200 meters advance, 250 meters, 300 meters. What has happened? Oracle, the indestructible, sees the genoa put out of the foil, flying around out of control. This is the second time the American boat has had the genoa come out of the head foil; China Team is now 1000 meters ahead, the American boat sails with only their mainsail. China Team will lead by up to 1400 meters in front of the American and pass the first windward mark with a comfortable 5 minute 24 second advantage. Oracle tries to come back and put on a little pressure. They take back 600 meters on the next to last leg. For their part, the Longtze crew take care not to break anything themselves… crossing the line as winners!  What sweet victory!

Pierre MAS, skipper
"We didn't steal this victory, Oracle gave it to us. It was a good day to recoup  some confidence in the boat after three day in the boatyard!"

Jeremy KOO, trimmer
« They were very aggressive during the start. They slowed us down alot next to the committee boat and we tacked over to the right of the course.Oracle covered us closely, in staying to windward of us. We stayed in contact, within 2 to 3 boat lengths behind! I didn't see exactly what happened with their boat. When that happened, I was concentrating on my work on board. It was Sébastien (ndr Destremau, tactician) who let us know and told us to stay concentrated on the racecourse and sail cleanly. So that is what we did, trying not to make any errors, be sure of our maneuvers. It's great, it is my second day on the water today! »

Fdb/Lh
Valencia 31st April

Onboard Longtze today

1. Bowman	Gilles ANDRE, France	10. Traveller	TANG Ming Feng, China
2. Bowman	François VERDIER, France	11. Main grinder	Olivier MAURELLI, France
3. Mast	Olivier HERLEDANT, France	12. Main trimmer	Sylvain BARRIELLE, France
4. Pit	Florent CHASTEL, France	13. Strategist	Wearn Haw TAN, Singapore
5. Pit assist	Olivier VIGOUREUX, France	14. Helmsman / skipper	Pierre MAS, France
6. Grinder	WANG Jue, China	15. Navigator	Guillaume FLORENT, France
7. Grinder	Aziz ESSADEK, France	16. Tactician	Sebastien DESTREMAU, Australia
8. Trimmer	Piotr PRZYBYLSKI, Poland	17. Sewer	Thierry BAROT, France
9. Trimmer	Jeremy KOO, Malaysia

 

 

flight 2 / Round Robin 2

BMW Oracle Racing	0-2	China Team
United Internet Team Germany	0-2	Challenge Shosholoza
Luna Rossa	2-0	Victory Challenge
El Desafio	DNS	+39 Challenge
Areva Challenge	2-0	Mascalzone Latino

 OFF:   Emirates Team New Zealand

 

General Classification

Class.	Syndicate	Country	Points
1	BMW Oracle Racing	USA	23
2	Luna Rossa Challenge	ITA	23
3	Emirates Team New Zealand	NZL	18
4	Desafío Español	ESP	17
5	Victory Challenge	SWE	16
6	Mascalzone Latino - Team Capitalia	ITA	14
7	Shosholoza Challenge	RSA	14
8	Areva Challenge	FRA	11
9	+39 Challenge	ITA	6
10	China Team	CHN	3
11	United Internet Team Germany	GER	3