Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Louis Vuitton Semi Final - Match 2

BMW Oracle comeback (yet again!) to beat Luna Rossa in the second match of the semi finals. Luna Rossa's helmsman James Spithill tied BMW Oracle in knots during the prestart, so much so that Oracle was forced to do 4 down speed tacks after crossing the line before being able to split away from Luna Rossa. Both boats then took a long port tack out to the right side of the course before getting in a right hand shift. Luna Rossa lead at the top mark by 58seconds. However, BMW Oracle sailed the shifty breeze to perfection and rounded the leeward gate only 20seconds behind. On the second beat they closed so much so that they had to duck Luna Rossa two thirds up the beat. Luna Rossa immediately tried to tack onto port to cover but Oracle luffed head to wind. The two boats sat for a while before Luna Rossa was able to pull away on port over the top of Oracle to lead again at the top mark by 13 seconds. But Oracle basically sailed around Luna Rossa on the run to win by 13 seconds.

In the match between ETNZ and the Spanish, Team New Zealand were able to fend off an aggressive start by the Spanish to lead all the way. The Spanish did however keep the pressure on but the Kiwi's did a good job of staying in between their opposition and the mark. ETNZ won by 40 seconds

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