LIVE UPDATES: THE PRADA CUP FINALS
LIVE UPDATES: THE PRADA CUP FINALS
On-The-Ground Updates and Highlights from Auckland
Two team racing for one seat in the America’s Cup match. INEOS TEAM UK and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli will sail 13 races, with the first team to win seven declared the winner of the PRADA Cup. This is an exciting time for North Sails as both competitors, and Defender Emirates Team New Zealand North Sails, and our NTG family brands Southern Spars, and Future Fibres to power their engine above deck. Our group has also supplied design talent and software to support the teams’ quest for the Cup. And for those of you who want to dress the part, North Sails is an official partner for event branded clothing.
Racing begins January 13th at 1600 NZL time. Make sure to check your time zone if you’re watching remotely. North Sails will also be covering the PRADA Cup on this live blog and on our social channels throughout the next few weeks.
February 20, 2021, 14:00 GMT
Not going down without a fight
“We’re going into the thick of the fight,” Sir Ben Ainslie said before he led his men into Race 5 and 6 of the PRADA Cup Finals. Following the Covid-19 alert in New Zealand that postponed two days of racing, Ainslie and the British team was four races down to Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in a best of thirteen event.
The time gave INEOS TEAM UK five consecutive days to hunt for the speed and agility they needed to extend their invitation beyond this weekend. With no boat modifications permitted, they looked at the human factor and went to light airs sailing school. After all, the day was a bit of a do-or-die race for the British team if they wanted to stop the Italians from steamrolling them straight to the America’s Cup.
“Some of these racing techniques, particularly through the maneuvers, are very subtle,” said Ainslie. “There is so much that goes into a single maneuver, from the sequencing of changing the load between the boards, the main and jib transfers, and more.”
Then they went back to the game film to study their opponent. “The more the teams race,” Ainslie added, “the better we are at figuring each other’s play in the pre-starts.”
Race 5 would reveal the Italians were likely doing the same.
The day started with a show of strength. In the shifting south-wester of 8 to 11 knots, INEOS TEAM UK brought out their biggest jib to help launch the boat in the light airs. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli hoisted a smaller jib, because their boat lifts onto the foils easier, and any unwanted sail power becomes drag as soon as their AC75 is foiling.
Then came the start. Both boats wanted the right side of the line, but Jimmy Spithill edged up to shut the door on INEOS TEAM UK at the mark, leaving Ainslie with a choice: barge for the line or bail out into oblivion. He barged.
At the last second, Spithill pulled out his new trick. He brought Luna Rossa into a high, slow mode beneath Britannia.
Wait a second – was that a luff? AC75s don’t luff…do they?
Both boats survived unscathed, except INEOS TEAM UK emerged with two penalties, and by the time that was cleared, Luna Rossa was ahead. Somehow, everyone missed what had just not-happened. The lead INEOS TEAM UK had for the first half of leg one quickly disappeared. Then Prada won the race.
For race 6, everyone expected a repeat performance.
Both boats were headed for the start line, with INEOS TEAM UK to leeward and ahead when Spithill pulled out his next new trick (the luffing one). He dived down to make big swoops behind TEAM UK to make them squirm and burn off speed, but the Brits didn’t fall for it. Nor were they seemingly phased by it. In fact, Spithill burned off his speed and crossed the line late.
This was suddenly a very interesting race
Ben Ainslie took full control of the race and threw in some lee-bow tacks and led at every mark. Upwind, INEOS TEAM UK’s big jib was slower through the tacks while Prada Pirelli flexed their new, higher angles. Downwind, INEOS TEAM UK sailed deeper and exited the gybes lower to regain lost ground and extend the distance. Both boats sailed flawlessly around the course.
Ainslie and tactician Giles Scott played to their strengths, largely avoided duels, and saved their grinders’ energy for a final gybe to stay between Luna Rossa and the finish. The Brits crossed 14 seconds ahead to take their first win of the Prada Cup Finals.
And so, the Brits lived to tell the tale another day.
On Day 3, INEOS found their fight. Expect Spithill and Bruni to come back swinging tomorrow.
January 14, 2021, 2100 GMT
Winning streaks and losing streaks
In the PRADA Cup Round Robins, INEOS TEAM UK sometimes followed the match racing handbook and sometimes closed the book and played the wind shifts. They then won every race, in a remarkable turn of events where the team turned their 100% losing streak from the America’s Cup World Series into a 100% winning streak.
Now, in the PRADA Cup Finals, the team finds themselves in the familiar, but precarious territory – 4 races down to Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli. The positive: they’ve come back before. The negative: the Italians are on a roll and will do everything possible to ensure the Brits’ comeback story was a one-time thing.
INEOS TEAM UK clocked their third and fourth losses on day two of the PRADA Cup Finals on a new venue: Course E, aka the Back Paddock. It’s surrounded by islands and, in the brisk northeasterly, it delivered shifty, gusty winds. The day promised a brawl: two evenly matched boats, lots of passing lanes, and three helmsmen highly skilled at match racing.
In race three, Ainslie entered the start box determined to get a hook on Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, but admittedly got a bit greedy and ended up below the layline. From there, Luna Rossa ruled the race course. Sometimes they tacked on INEOS TEAM UK in classic match racing 101; sometimes they played to their leader’s privilege to pick wind shifts.
For the trailing Britannia, every tack was an opportunity to make a gain (and they did at times). When the boats did engage in tacking duels, INEOS TEAM UK generally tacked wider, losing a precious few meters every time. And although the Italians misjudged some gybes, INEOS TEAM UK never came within striking distance to pass. The final delta was just 13 seconds – roughly the cost of the error in the start box.
For race four, INEOS TEAM UK wanted to make trouble, but a start-box maneuver went wrong and Britannia reared high evoking flashbacks from the now infamous American capsize. The mainsail swept across the deck, depowering just in time to prevent a capsize, but, once again, Luna Rossa was a force to be reckoned with. Again, INEOS TEAM UK tried to rewrite the script, but they could not force an error on Luna Rossa. The final delta was 41 seconds, but Spithill emphasized that the score-line doesn’t reflect the close racing. “You’re constantly just a split-second way from any mistake,” he said.
Ainslie knows there is still hope. “We have to go away and regroup and come back swinging,” he said.
Jaunaury, 13, 2021, 1330 GMT
It’s game on in the PRADA Cup Finals
As day one of the PRADA Cup finals, yesterday was a Very Important Day. Three weeks ago, INEOS TEAM UK won four in a row over Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli – but in America’s Cup terms, three weeks ago is like last year’s winter fashion. Yesterday, upon returning to the water, both teams would strut their new improvements on opening day of the penultimate series.
Going into the day, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli promised new foils, a modified mast, fresh sails, improved software, and communications. INEOS TEAM UK said they had found more speed and promised they were race-ready.
Race one opened in sunshine and a light breeze, and if you’re an AC75 named Britannia, that’s not the forecast you would order. INEOS TEAM UK fell off the foils in the prestart and was unable to catch up. Talk about an anti-climax.
Race two brought a perfect, steady breeze of 12 knots. The start was flawless. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli was to windward and tacked away. Both boats bounced off their respective boundaries and came back for the all-important first cross. Luna Rossa had it, easily, and commanded the lead for the remainder of the race. The Italians finished the day two-up on the Brits.
Well, we didn’t expect that.
Neither, it was clear, did Ben Ainslie. Immediately post-race, he appeared rattled but gained composure for the press conference an hour later. “I think it will come down to who sails the best and that’s absolutely how it should be,” he said.
We agree.
In race one, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli carried more depth in her mainsail than INEOS TEAM UK, which may have provided a power-boost to get her up onto the foils faster. For the second race, both boats switched to smaller headsails. Luna Rossa went with a fat-head jib, and INEOS TEAM UK, a peaked jib; both teams admitted they could have benefitted from smaller jibs as the wind developed through the race.
Our predictions going into day two? Well, expect to see INEOS TEAM UK sailors doing a wind dance overnight for a forecast suited to their liking.
