La Maddalena Brief

La Maddalena Luxury Yacht Charter & Superyacht News

Louis Vuitton Trophy Day 6: Sweden and New Zealand first equal

May 27, 2010

Emirates Team New Zealand won two races today at the Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena to end the day first equal on points with Sweden’s Artemis, each with 4-1 records.

Louis Vuitton Trophy: Dean Barker at the helm of Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Photo Credit Bob Grieser

In other competition the Swedish boat skippered by Paul Cayard and steered by Terry Hutchinson lost today, the first time since the regatta in Sardinia started.

Crews in the ten international teams spent another long day on the water with the first race starting soon after 0900 and the last not finishing until 1730. There was wind all day from the west, shifty and with big speed changes on different parts of the course. There were gusts up to 20 knots near the weather mark.

The shape of the scoreboard changed in the first four races as the Kiwis, third equal yesterday with two points, deftly dispatched Azzurra and then ALEPH Sailing Team to claim second place. In the fourth race Mascalzone Latino trounced Artemis to advance Team New Zealand to first equal.

“It was tough losing a race to Luna Rossa (on Tuesday) but losses sometimes help kick-start the team and make us realize we’ve always got things to work on. I think we’ve been sailing a lot better since that race,” said Dean Barker, skipper and helmsman of Team New Zealand.

Mascalzone Latino slammed the door on Artemis with a strategy the Italian team had been refining for some time. “The guys on the boat made a great call for the left side and Gavin did a beautiful job of executing that,” said tactician Morgan Larson. “We spent a lot of time this morning talking about Terry Hutchinson’s weaknesses in the prestart. I think Gavin exploited that weakness. It was very close. Terry was really close to getting an overlap with us that would have shifted everything. If they got an overlap they would have got the left and probably won the race.”

Flight Sixteen, Race Two: Emirates Team New Zealand def Azzurra 00:13– Francesco Bruni steering Azzura gauged his start perfectly at the pin with speed. ETNZ on his hip was forced to tack away. The leg and the race belonged to Bruni but approaching the weather mark on port and leading, the Italians tacked short of the mark and opened the way for ETNZ to seize the starboard tack advantage, slip inside and hold their opponents out. The surprising reversal put the Kiwis 13 seconds ahead and they consolidated from there on.

Louis Vuitton TrophyDay6. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) vs Azurra (ITA) - Photo Credit Bob Grieseroutsideimages.co.nz

Flight Six, Race One: Emirates Team New Zealand def ALEPH Sailing Team 00:29 – ETNZ dominated an initial race which was abandoned near the top mark due to a mark positioning error. The new start was initally a mirror of the first, a long starboard tack with ETNZ on ALEPH’s hip, until the French forced them to tack. However the Kiwis had the power of the right and forced the persistently-clinging French team away as they carried ALEPH above the weather mark for a seven second delta at the top mark.

Louis Vuitton Trophy, Day6. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) vs ALEPH Sailing Team (FRA) - Photo Credit Bob Grieseroutsideimages.co.nz

Flight Fifteen, Race Two:  TEAMORIGIN def Synergy Russian Sailing Team, 00:06 – ORIGIN was bow-out in mid-line at the start with Synergy close to the committee boat. The Russians hung tough on the starboard tack but were forced away after two minutes.  They led approaching the starboard layline, only to drop back in a left shift that put Ainslie ahead by 14 seconds at the top mark.  The boats rounded opposite leeward marks. ORIGIN conceded valuable seconds as the gennaker went under the bow but held a handy lead.

Louis Vuitton Trophy, Day 6. TeamOrigin (GBR) vs Synergy Russian Sailing Team (RUS) - Photo credit Paul Todd

Flight Fourteen, Race One: Mascalzone Latino def Artemis, 00:46 – Gavin Brady the Kiwi skipper of the Latin Rascals destroyed the perfect record of Sweden’s Artemis with a king-hit before the start. He locked out Sweden’s Terry Hutchinson on port tack before the gun, with both boats stalled below the line. Brady tacked, and got away first to lead at speed by 26 metres and pull away. The Italian boat was 22 seconds ahead at the top mark as the breeze built to 20 knots. Artemis set off on pursuit only to see their gennaker explode as they settled into the first run. Mascalzone sailed away.

Louis Vuitton Trophy, Day 6. Artemis (SWE) vs Mascalzone Latino Audi Team (ITA) Photo Credit Paul Todd

Flight Sixteen, Race One: Synergy Russian Sailing Team def ALEPH Sailing Team, 00:33 – Karol Jablonski won the start as both boats sailed slowly up to the committee boat on port. Jablonski tacked and sailed Synergy off the line at speed while Pacé was slow to tack ALEPH and follow. ALEPH drew level close to the top mark but Jablonski had starboard tack advantage and was nine seconds in front at the top mark.

Flight 22, Race One, Luna Rossa def BMW Oracle Racing, 00:22 – This was a comprehensive victory for the Italians. They started at opposite ends of the line with Luna Rossa near the committee boat. James Spithill and BMW Oracle Racing got off the line faster near the pin but only enjoyed their lead for a few seconds. The Italian boat steered by Ed Baird was in better breeze and sailed steadily away from James Spithill and Oracle.  Close to the port layline when Luna Rossa on starboard crossed ahead of her opponent, the Americans were 220 metres dead astern. They made subsequent gains but finished 50 metres back.

Louis Vuitton TrophyDay6. BMW ORACLE Racing (USA) vs Luna Rossa (ITA) - Photo Credit Paul Toddoutsideimages.co.nz

Provisional win-loss leaderboard after Thursday racing

  =1.  Artemis, 4-1, 4 points

  =1.  Emirates Team New Zealand, 4-1, 4 pointsâ

  =3.  Mascalzone Latino Audi Team, 4-1, 3 points *

  =3.  All4One, 3-3, 3 points¨

  =3.  Synergy Russian Sailing Team, 3-3, 3 points

  =3.  TEAMORIGIN, 3-3, 3 points

  =7.  Azzurra, 2-3, 2 pointsâ

  =7.  Luna Rossa, 2-5, 2 points

  =9.  BMW Oracle Racing Team, 1-4, 1 point

=10.  ALEPH Sailing Team, 2-4, -2 points *

  *  Penalties deducted by Jury/Umpires

Louis Vuitton Trophy: Artemis in control at La Maddalena

May 26, 2010

The Swedish team Artemis, skippered by Paul Cayard and steered by Terry Hutchinson, won another race at the Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena today to preserve an unbroken record of four wins and no losses.

Their nearest competition after five days of competition between ten international teams is the French/German All4One. They have three points but with six races sailed, they also have three losses. Five teams are equal third, each with two points.

Superb sailing conditions on the Golfo di Arzachena off the Sardinian island of La Maddalena saw five races completed but, with half of the opening round robin now completed, many of the top names of America’s Cup competition remain at the bottom of a topsy-turvy results table.

“It’s only four races so far. These races are very, very difficult. They are tight and we’re working hard on keeping with the ‘winning by a boat-length theory’ which puts a lot of internal pressure on the boat but so far its still moving along,” said Artemis helmsman Terry Hutchinson, after defeating fellow American Ed Baird who is skippering and steering the Italian Luna Rossa.

“There is still a lot that we can do and a lot that I can do. Our learning curve with the team is still fairly vertical. Looking at the big picture, our goal is to be here in 12 days time on Sunday.”

In their race against Luna Rossa, Artemis got off the start line bow-forward with more speed.

“It was a really good job of boat handling on our boat,” Hutchinson said. “The guys in the middle of the boat and the bow did really nice choreographed work. I think Luna Rossa stalled a little bit in an effort to shut the door on us as they went for their speed build. We had really nice time and distance and when they stalled it made our slingshot pretty handy.”

Flight Twentyone, Race One: Artemis def Luna Rossa, 00:35 – Terry Hutchinson pulled off a perfect start at speed but the Italian boat steered by Ed Baird went on the attack with 17 tacks up the short weather leg to round the top mark close astern, with a time difference of just five seconds. The next three legs were a minefield of shifts and holes but Artemis prevailed.

Louis Vuitton Trophy, day five saw plenty of close racing with Artemis and Luna Rossa battled for weather mark and finish with Artemis winning Photo CreditBob Grieserousideimage

Flight Two, Race Two: All4One def Luna Rossa, 35 seconds – Sébastien Col driving All4One paid a heavy price to win the right hand side of the race course with two slow tacks near the starting line. But the wisdom of that sacrifice became clear two-thirds of the way up the race track when All4One, with starboard tack advantage, was just able to prevent Luna Rossa from crossing clear ahead.

Louis Vuitton Trophy - Race day 5. All4One beat Luna Rossa in a close race. Photo Credit Bob Grieserousideimages.co.nzLouis Vuitton Trophy

Provisional win-loss leaderboard after Wednesday racing
1. Artemis, 4-0, 4 points
=2. All4One, 3-3, 3 points

=3. Mascalzone Latino Audi Team, 3-1, 2 points *

=3. Emirates Team New Zealand, 2-1, 2 points

=3. Azzurra, 2-2, 2 points

=3. Synergy Russian Sailing Team, 2-2, 2 points
=3. TEAMORIGIN, 2-3, 2 points
=8. BMW Oracle Racing Team, 1-3, 1 point
=8. Luna Rossa, 1-5, 1 point

=10. ALEPH Sailing Team, 2-2, -2 points *

* Penalties deducted by Jury/Umpires

Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena Day Five Report – Mascalzone Latino Audi Team beat Russian Synergy by 8 seconds

May 26, 2010

Southerly breeze tending south east today. Breeze was ten knots before the first race but quickly built. At the second race start it was up to 14-16 and still increasing.

Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena Day Five - Photo Credit Paul Todd

Flight Three, Race One: Mascalzone Latino def Synergy Russian Sailing Team, 00:8– Mascalzone Latino earned a thrilling come-from-behind win in this match on the final run to the finish. Skipper Gavin Brady and his team did a masterful job of positioning their boat on the first gybe of the run and were able to roll over the top of Synergy. Karol Jablonski, the skipper on the Russian boat, was then too aggressive in attempting to protect his position and the Umpires penalised him for sailing above his proper course. Game over.

Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena Day Five - Photo Paul Todd

Flight Thirteen, Race One: Emirates Team New Zealand def Synergy Russian Sailing Team, 00:04– The Kiwis made a bold move out to the right hand side of the race course on the first beat while Synergy played the left. When they converged before the top mark, it was Emirates Team New Zealand holding a narrow lead. With the boats nearly overlapped approaching the top mark, Kiwi skipper Dean Barker threw a hard luff at the trailing Synergy, gaining a few extra metres in the process. Team New Zealand held that lead around the track until Synergy made a dramatic late charge at the finishing line. Exploiting a little bit of bias on the line, skipper Karol Jablonski closed the gap in a hurry to finish just four seconds back.

Flight Seventeen, Race One:  BMW Oracle Racing All4One, 00:17 –Sébastien Col on All4One got the best of this start, bow out on James Spithill steering Oracle. Spithill hung in and got an edge but Col took him all the way to the port layline and they rounded the top mark bow to stern with the French/German boat leading.  One gybe on the run and Spithill rolled his opponent approaching the lee mark in a flurry of gybes and unanswered protest flags. The Americans held the lead for the next two legs to win.

Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena Day Four Report – BMW ORACLE Suffers Damage

May 25, 2010

Wind aplenty today. Racing started in 12 knots of westerly breeze and began building as racing progressed. The day started with a plan to sail five flights of two races each, weather permitting, but a start line collision between ALEPH Sailing Team and Azzurra, for which the French boat was disqualified, will limit racing today.

Artemis on Day Four at the 2010 Louis Vuitton Trophy

Flight Ten, Race One: Synergy Russian Sailing Team def Luna Rossa, 00:15 – Nice start by both boats. Karol Jablonski claimed the right as both boats came off the line together on starboard.  Synergy was slightly bow forward and resisted any attempt by Ed Baird steering Luna Rossa to squeeze him off.  Synergy split close to the port layline and the advantage went to Luna Rossa, which continued on before tacking onto port for the mark.  At the weather mark, Jablonski came in on starboard and dialed down to force Baird away and lead by 16 seconds. The Russians controlled for the next three legs.

Race Day Four at the Louis Vuitton Trophy 2010

Flight Ten, Race Two: Artemis  def  BMW Oracle Racing, 00:16 – The start was owned by  Terry Hutchinson driving the Swedish boat Artemis. After chasing James Spithill round the start box, Hutchinson led back for a perfect start, at the committee, with Spithill trailing astern by a boat length. Oracle short-tacked relentlessly all the way up the first leg but Artemis covered and rounded the top mark with a seven second margin. Oracle clung to their rival’s transom down the run and the leeward mark margin was still seven seconds.  Artemis extended slightly through eight tacks on the next leg as the breeze freshened and gained on the run as Oracle split away in a final futile search for salvation.

Flight Eleven, Race One: TEAMORIGIN def All4One, 00:05 – All4One led to the line with a clean start, followed by TEAMORIGIN on his hip. Ben Ainslie steering the British boat quickly tacked away and Sébastien Col soon followed as the French/German axis eked out a 20-metre lead on a long port tack. When Ainslie eventually tacked onto starboard, Col responded with a lee-bow tack.  Ainslie was able to survive on All4One’s hip and tacked again to lead into the mark overlapped before carrying their opponent far above the buoy.  The British boat sailed out to a 150 metre lead which All4One chiselled down to 37 metres on the final run as the breeze freshened.

Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena Day Four of the race

Flight Eleven, Race Two: Azzurra def ALEPH Sailing Team, 00:00 – The Italian boat won after ALEPH was disqualified following a collision 36 seconds before the gun as both boats reached down the line towards the pin. Azzurra, leading, hardened up as ALEPH turned down to attempt a leeward hook. ALEPH struck the Italian boat’s starboard side about one metre from the transom. Both of the BMW Oracle boats suffered damage.  USA 98 lost a portion of the bow USA 87’s stern was splintered.  In addition to her black flag disqualification ALEPH will lose a penalty point and may face further sanctions.

Flight Twelve, Race One: Luna Rossa def Emirates Team New Zealand, 00:13 – Ed Baird on Luna Rossa claimed the right at the start but it was Dean Barker who started at speed on the left after a hard luff that slowed the Italian boat. Luna Rossa initially found better air in the middle of the course and moved ahead and although the Kiwis hooked into a good shift it was never enough to put them in front. Baird carried them out beyond the port tack layline to round the top mark a boatlength in front.  On the second beat the Kiwis again clawed back ground but Baird came across on starboard before the top mark to lock in the lead for the rest of the race.

Italian teams feature prominently Louis Vuitton Trophy at La Maddalena

May 25, 2010

Three Italian boats featured today in some of the closest and most contentious racing in a very long day on the water at the Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena.

When the last race finished in fading light just after 8:00 pm local time, Mascalzone Latino was the top scoring Italian boat with a 2-1 record after losing today to All4One in a race that saw the umpires impose a red flag penalty on the local boat for a collision just before the weather mark. However she may be assessed a further scoring penalty – redress hearings are scheduled for Monday night. The Italian boat Azzurra won her first race of the series, beating Luna Rossa, and now has a 1-2 record. Luna Rossa’s loss today puts her on 0-2.

All4One coming into the weather mark drops its spinnaker pole. Mascalzone fails to give them room and gets red flagged - photo credit Bob Grieser

Francesco Bruni, Azzurra’s young skipper reported: “It felt very exciting. I did struggle a little bit on the start line today, but we drove the boat fast and kept the game close. I’m very happy because it was a group win, not down to one single department on board, but a team effort. We did a very beautiful Sambuca [tack, gybe, set] and the match was open again.

Luna Rossa - photo credit Bob Grieser

The cleanest record of any of the ten international teams competing in matched America’s Cup boats is the Swedish team Artemis with two wins and no losses.

Sardinia today offered up warm, sunny and windy conditions. The problem was not a lack of wind but a lack of consistent wind direction. Crews waited all day until the first of six match races started at 4:00 pm, local time.  

Flight Seven, Race One: TEAMORIGIN def BMW Oracle Racing, 01:03 – Ben Ainslie steering TEAMORIGIN herded Oracle’s James Spithill in to the pin corner of the start box with time running out before the start.  The America’s Cup winner struggled to escape but earned a penalty in the process.  They split with Ainslie starting at the gun on port and eking out an early lead in a 6-8 knot breeze. At the first cross the British boat led by two boat lengths. Spithill kept it close for the first two legs but Ainslie stretched out to finish 160 metres in front.

Flight Seven, Race Two: Synergy Russian Sailing Team def All4One, 00:35 – Karol Jablonski sailed the Russian boat to victory in a race that saw multiple lead changes. Sebastien Col won the split start and the right. Jablonski initially prevailed on a long lead out to the port tack layline but the French/German boat led by 10 seconds at the top mark in shifty conditions. Synergy controlled into the bottom mark, forcing All4One to the unfavoured gate. With both boats on starboard Synergy was ahead by 60 metres and never relinquished the lead. All4One was requesting redress on Monday night.

Flight Eight, Race One: Azzurra def Luna Rossa, 00:29 – Baird controlled the start until Bruni got clear and pushed the 2007 America’s Cup winning skipper into coffin corner. Baird gauged his escape perfectly and started on port at the pin with Bruni below him on port. Luna Rossa enjoyed a 35 to 45-metre lead and rounded the top mark with a seven second margin only to surrender the lead early after a tack-gybe-set that cost time and speed.

Azurra vs Luna Rossa - photo credit Bob Grieser

Flight Eight, Race Two: Artemis def ALEPH Sailing Team, 01:12 – After an initial dialup, Terry Hutchinson on the wheel of Artemis chose the left and took it. Bertrand Pace split away to the right. Artemis tacked and followed out to the right into an early four boat-length lead.  Pace fought back but never really threatened the Swedish boat around the next four legs.

Louis Vuitton Trophy, La Maddalena, Italy - photo credit Bob Grieser

Flight Nine, Race One: All4One def Mascalzone Latino,  00:43 – Gavin Brady went for the left side and won it but All4One split away on port. Both boats level-paced on port but All4One enjoyed the starboard tack advantage in two close tacks approaching the mark. Mascalzone made two lee-bow tacks but there was contact the second time with the safety wand from Brady’s boat hooked into the bow of All4One.

All4One coming into the weather mark drops its spinnaker pole. Mascalzone fails to give them room and gets red flagged - photo credit Bob Grieser

Flight Nine, Race Two:  Emirates Team New Zealand def TEAMORIGIN, 00:15 – Ben Ainslie seized the left and an early advantage in a split tack start that saw an 850 metre split before the British boat tacked to follow the Kiwis on port.  Dean Barker bided his time to take over the lead approaching the weather mark. Ainslie closed on the run but the Kiwis led as they rounded opposite gates at the bottom mark.

TeamOrigin vs Emirates Team New Zealand - photo credit Bob Grieser

Provisional win-loss leaderboard after Flight Nine (redress hearings are pending):

=1.  Artemis, 2-0, 2 point

=1.  ALEPH Sailing Team, 2-1, 2  points

=1.  All4One, 2-1, 2 points

=1.  Mascalzone Latino Audi Team, 2-1, 2 points

=5.  Emirates Team New Zealand, 1-0, 1 point

=5.  Synergy Russian Sailing Team, 1-0, 1 point

=5.  Azzurra, 1-2, 1 point

=5.  TEAMORIGIN, 1-3, 1 point

=9.  BMW Oracle Racing Team, 0-2, 0 points

=9.  Luna Rossa, 0-2, 0 points.

Teams at the Porto Arsenale gather for the opening ceremony of the Louis Vuitton Trophy

May 21, 2010

Porto Arsenale in La Maddalena, Italy will see a gathering this evening of ten international sailing teams, including three from the host nation Italy,  for the opening ceremony of the Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena.

Louis Vuitton Trophy Opening Ceremony

The official opening of the Louis Vuitton Trophy will be signalled by a cannon shot and the raising of the Italian national flag by an honour guard comprised of Italian navy sailors accompanied by representatives of all ten teams.

The famous Mediterranean mistral has eased and the ceremony will take place in soft, warm evening breezes after a hot, sunny, cloudless day.  The now-traditional press conference will follow on the adjacent stage that is set below the outdoor jumbo television for public viewing.

The teams will race on four equalised America’s Cup Class boats supplied by the event – ITA 90, ITA 99, USA 87 and USA 98.  Two of the boats, flying event flags and banners, were moored at docks flanking the flag-raising ceremony.

Eight countries are represented amongst the ten competing teams.

The teams are:

Aleph, FRA, skipper Bertrand Pace

All4One, FRA/GER, skipper Jochen Schümann

Artemis, SWE, skipper Paul Cayard

Azzurra, ITA, skipper Francesco Bruni

BMW ORACLE Racing, USA, skipper James Spithill

Emirates Team New Zealand, NZL, skipper Dean Barker

Luna Rossa, ITA, skipper Ed Baird

Mascalzone Latino Audi Team, ITA, skipper Gavin Brady

Synergy, RUS, skipper Karol Jablonski

TEAMORIGIN, GBR, skipper Ben Ainslie
Sailors and the sponsors will be welcomed by Mrs Liliana Lorettu on behalf of the region. Admiral Spagnuolo of the Italian navy will speak, together with the president of Louis Vuitton Yves Carcelle.
Vincenzo Onorato, Chairman of Mascalzone Latino Team, said with a smile before the ceremony: “To host the Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena was my idea and, standing here today, for once in my life I must say I was right. I’ve known this area well, since I was a kid and when I saw the new Arsenale I was pleasantly aware it is the best place possible to host a Louis Vuitton Trophy. We can expect light winds this weekend but after that, anything can happen.”

Paul Cayard, Chairman of the World Sailing Teams Association and skipper of the Swedish boat ARTEMIS, paid special tribute to the Italian teams. “Italy is passionate about sailing and the America’s Cup,” Cayard said. “As evidence of this interest, three Italian teams are racing here; Luna Rossa, AZZURRA and Mascalzone Latino Audi Team.  Sardinia is an iconic Italian venue for sailing and I am confident that the Louis Vuitton Trophy will be a spectacular event.”

Emirates Team New Zealand won the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland but skipper Dean Barker was cautious about his team’s chances, despite a victory last week at the Audi MedCup in Cascais, Portugal. “La Maddalena is an interesting venue,” Barker said. “Race courses will be laid inside a number of islands so we are expecting conditions to be tricky. We will be racing in two Mascalzone Latino and two BMW Oracle Racing boats. For the past two days we have spent some time learning how to sail them. Conditions have ranged from extremely light to heavy; bright sunshine to thunder, lightning and heavy rain.
The challenge for us is to discover in a short space of time just what makes these boats go . . . and what they don’t like.”

Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena

American Ed Baird, sailing for a new team as skipper of the Italian team Luna Rossa, said: “These boats are great.  They make for close racing and it’s going to be exciting competition. We have a real blend of people sailing on our team this week and it’s going to be fun to learn some new styles. We know there are a few teams that are on top of the heap right now. Emirates Team New Zealand is very strong.  The BMW Oracle guys are very good.  Mascalzone Latino had a good event in Auckland. Azzurra is sailing very well this year. We have a big hill to climb to catch up to those guys in a short amount of time.”

Francesco Bruni, skipper and helmsman of Azzurra, said: “We just completed three great days of training, with variable wind conditions, including some violent thunderstorms which caught us head on! We noticed that all the teams went into these training sessions with great determination, pushing to the limit and taking many risks, which confirms the great level of experience of all the crews. The scenery in La Maddalena, as expected, is absolutely stunning. The mood of Team Azzurra is high. We are confident that we did all we could to be prepared for this event and we are eager to start racing. The guys are excited, the group is strong and we have just the right amount of adrenalin to start.”

Please, contact CharterWorld if you are interested in yacht charter in Sardinia, Italy.

Louis Vuitton Trophy : Mascalzone Latino Audi plays host team in La Maddalena

May 20, 2010

The official inauguration ceremony of the Louis Vuitton Trophy  La_Maddalena will take place on the 21st of May at 7pm at the former Navy base, now headquarters of the event.

The event in La Maddalena will be officially opened tomorrow evening at 7pm with the flag-raising ceremony performed by the guard of honor of the Navy Petty Officers School, based in La Maddalena.

The ceremony will be public and the presentation conference will be attended by the skippers of the world’s 10 top teams that starting May 22nd will battle it out on the waters off La Maddalena.

The military and civil authorities and representatives from Louis Vuitton will be there as well as Vincenzo Onorato, owner of Mascalzone Latino  Audi, and the Mascalzone Latino Audi team who will welcome all sailors and spectators to the most important sailing event that Europe will host in 2010.

Mascalzone Latino Audi Team. Photo credit Giuliano Luzzatto

Louis Vuitton Trophy: TeamOrigin announce sailing team for La Maddalena.

May 20, 2010

TeamOrigin, BRITISH America’s Cup team has announced their sailing team for the Louis Vuitton Trophy held in La_Maddalena.

Team Origin Sailing

SKIPPER AND HELMSMAN :  BEN AINSLIE ;  GBR
TACTICIAN :   IAIN PERCY  ;  GBR
NAVIGATOR :     PETER ISLER  ;  USA
STRATEGIST :    ANDREW SIMPSON  ;  GBR
STRATEGIST/TRAVELLER :    SANTIAGO LANGE  ; ARG
RUNNERS/PIT ASSIST :   ANTHONY NOSSITER  ; AUS
RUNNERS/PIT ASSIST :    DAVID CARR  ;  GBR
MAINSHEET :    CHRIS SALTHOUSE   ; NZL
TRIMMER :   CHRISTIAN KAMP  ;  DEN
TRIMMER :   MIKE MOTTL ;  AUS
GRINDER :    MARK MC TEAGUE ; AUS
GRINDER :   PAWEL BIELECKI   ; POL
GRINDER :  CHRIS BRITTLE ;  GBR
PIT :  CRAIG SATTERTHWAITE  ; NZL
MAST :    JULIAN CRESSANT  ;  FRA
MID-BOW :  MATT CORNWELL ;  GBR
BOW :  MATTHEW MITCHELL  ; NZL

Team Origin

The news of the team sailing in La Maddalena comes after the announcement by TEAM ORIGIN in an official statement that Mike Sanderson has left the team following the decision by Sir Keith Mills, Team Principal, to restructure the organisation.

“This decision has been taken to ensure that the team functions as effectively and efficiently as possible, in order to improve the team’s performance and ultimately win the America’s Cup. Mike has been with the team since it was formed in 2007. He has made a huge contribution to establishing what has been a relatively new team and has worked hard to keep the team together over the last three years while the America’s Cup was in the courts. Sir Keith and the team wish Mike every success in the future.”

Team Origin from Above

Louis Vuitton Trophy: Training starts in La Maddalena

May 19, 2010

Official training sessions began in La Maddalena, Sardinia today for the ten teams participating in the Louis Vuitton Trophy from 22nd May to 6th June.

After several days of very strong winds due to mistral conditions in the area, the winds moderated for most of the morning and into the early afternoon allowing three of the four scheduled scheduled sessions to take place. But by mid-afternoon, with winds approaching 20 knots again, the final slot was cancelled to ensure the boats remain undamaged.

One of the teams to get in two training sessions today was the French Aleph team. Damien Iehl, in the strategist/traveller position described his day: “We started in lighter winds of 10 to 12 knots. Then, for the second session it went up to 22 knots. But for us, it was perfect. We are still adjusting to sailing with each other so it was great to get through several manoeuvres and practice starts. Our afterguard has changed a little bit since Auckland, and there have been some other changes amongst the grinders and the trimmers, but the basis of our team is the same, so our level is better now than it was before the event in Auckland.”

BMW ORACLE Racing was among the teams to sail in the morning session. The America’s Cup defender is returning to the Louis Vuitton Trophy after missing the Auckland regatta due to its Cup commitments. With new navigator Ian Moore on board, the team had a good training session with Azzurra.

“The sessions are quite short – 75 minutes – so you don’t want to waste time,” Moore explained. “You get the crew on board, trim on to make sure everything is ok, and then get straight into practice starts with your training partner.

“We try to do two practice starts and then on the third start we sail a very short race, windward-leeward, and try to repeat that cycle if there is time. We might have copped a penalty in one of the pre-starts, but that’s also good in a way, to learn what you can and can’t get away with while it doesn’t count against you!”

With Moore moving to BMW ORACLE Racing from TeamOrigin, the British team has called upon veteran navigator Peter Isler, who sailed with them in the Pacific Series in February 2009, to rejoin the team for the Louis Vuitton Trophy. And Isler says he’s very happy to be back.

“These regattas are the best,” Isler said after getting off the water this afternoon. “I can’t imagine anything better from a sailor’s perspective. There’s a lot of good racing, and I think we all have a lot of friends out there. In these events you spend time not just with your team, but also with your competitors, when you’re transferring boats or on shore. So you feel like you’re at a regatta and not just isolated with a single team. And above all, the racing is at a very high level. So I think everyone looks forward to it.”

Training resumes on Wednesday, with the opening press conference on Friday and the first races of the Round Robin on Saturday.

The Louis Vuitton Trophy will be based in the Porto Arsenale on the island of La Maddalena which will be home to the ten teams, journalists from across the globe, sponsors and all of the fans. 

La Maddalena Resort

The ten teams participating in the Louis Vuitton Trophy in La Maddalena

Aleph, FRA, skipper Bertrand Pacé
All4One, FRA/GER, skipper Jochen Schumann
Artemis, SWE, skipper Paul Cayard
Azzurra, ITA, skipper Francesco Bruni
BMW ORACLE Racing, USA, skipper James Spithill
Emirates Team New Zealand, NZL, skipper Dean Barker
Luna Rossa, ITA, skipper Ed Baird
Mascalzone Latino Audi Team, ITA, skipper Gavin Brady
Synergy, RUS, skipper Karol Jablonski
TEAMORIGIN, GBR, skipper Ben Ainslie

Contact the team at CharterWorld if you are interested in chartering a sailing yacht or motor yacht in La Maddalena, Sardinia to follow the training or racing.

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