Louis Vuitton Trophy Brief

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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.

Team Mascalzone Latino triumph in America’s Cup boats in the Louis Vuitton La Maddalena Flight Five

May 23, 2010

Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena - team Origin v Artemis

Mascalzone Latino Audi Team beat Luna Rossa today by just five seconds in a heart-stopping charge for the finish line and chalked up a piece of Italian sailing history. For the first time in seven years of racing in America’s Cup boats, the Latin Rascals defeated their rival Luna Rossa.

The race in light north-easterly winds on the Golfo di Arzachena off La Maddalena was the closest of the four sailed today. Light and fluky winds forced a three-hour delay to the start of competition and curtailed it at day’s end despite an attempt to start further racing.

Luna Rossa was making their debut in Louis Vuitton Trophy racing with 2007 America’s Cup winner Ed Baird as their new helmsman. Baird won the start against Gavin Brady steering Mascalzone Latino and controlled the first three legs.

Closing the weather mark for the second time Brady got out of phase in a series of short tacks and pulled up right astern of Luna Rossa to round just seven seconds behind. The leaders made a conventional bear-away gennaker set while Mascalzone went for a delayed gybe set that led to over 500 metres of separation and an opportunity to grab the lead.

When Baird eventually gybed to cover, Brady was sailing slightly deeper in better pressure. The tables turned and Brady worked out to a 70-metre lead only to see most of it evaporate when he gybed for the finish and the spinnaker sheet came unclipped.

“The end of the spinnaker was flying out loose and Alan Smith, our bowman, clipped onto a spare halyard and swung out over the water to capture it and clip it on again,” Brady said. “We knew it was going to be close but by then we had overstood and came flying into the mark with plenty of speed.”

In other races:

Flight Four, Race One: All4One def Azzurra, 00:20 – At the first cross it was All4One on starboard with a healthy two-boat lead. Sebastien Col steered the French/German alliance to a 28-second delta at the top mark  and controlled the rest of the way.

Flight Four, Race Two: ALEPH Sailing Team def BMW Oracle Racing 00:28 – Bertrand Pacé steering ALEPH sailed a cool-headed tactical race to counter an aggressive attack by America’s Cup winner James Spithill. The French led by seven seconds at the top mark only to have Spithill execute a breathtakingly close inside overtaking move around the bottom mark. Pacé’s protest was green-flagged but Spithill had to tack away to clear his air. The windward mark delta was just six seconds before the French extended to win by six boat lengths.

Flight Five, Race Two: Artemis def TEAMORIGIN, 00:46 – All the drama in this race occurred 1:40 before the gun when the British boat hooked a crab pot or fish trap as they manoeuvered close to spectator boats. “It had two lines on it, one a pretty heavy anchorline,” said Peter Isler, navigator on TEAMORIGIN. “We went head to wind and Craig Satterthwaite jumped in and slashed both ropes with his knife and we were off again.  We were early for the line but not that early!”

Inside the basin of the Porto Arsenale, 14-year-old Silvia Acheri won the first of three days raced in O’Pen Bic singlehanded dinghies to qualify finalists for the Louis Vuitton Junior Trophy. Silvia races for the Lega Navale Italiana in Cagliari, Southern Sardina. She won every one of her races.

Provisional win-loss leaderboard after Flight Five:

  1.  ALEPH Sailing Team, 2-0, 2 pts
=1.  Mascalzone Latino Audi Team, 2-0, 2 pts
=3.  All4One, 1-0, 1 pt
=3.  Artemis, 1-0, 1 pt
=5.  Emirates Team New Zealand, 0-0, 0 pts
=5.  Synergy Russian Sailing Team, 0-0, 0 pts
=7.  BMW Oracle Racing Team, 0-1, 0 pts
=7.  Luna Rossa, 0-1, 0 pts
=9.  Azzurra, 0-2, 0 pts
=9.  TEAMORIGIN, 0-2, 0 pts

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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