Cup Spy - Day 21 : Louis Vuitton Cup - Finals Day 7 - Comeback or 'Arrivederci'?
by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World NZ 4 Oct 2024 08:48 BST
2 October 2024
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and INEOS Britannia - Louis Vuitton Cup - Final - Race Day 6 - October 2, 2024 © Ian Roman / America's Cup
Sail-World's Preview of Day 21 of the Louis Vuitton Cup - Finals Race Day 7 - October 4, 2024. We will switch to a new story once racing starts, which will feature all the days coverage, reports, commentary and images.
Live race coverage - Louis Vuitton Cup Finals - Day 7 or Day 21 of the Challenger Selection Series for the Louis Vuitton Cup.
While you're waiting we have podcast at the bottom of the page from North Sails Ken Read, a former America's Cup skipper and America's Cup competitor, asking some deep questions of Emirates Team NZ co-helmsman Nathan Outteridge, Tom Whidden reveals more of his endless supply of stories on Cups past; and Bruno Dubois of the Orient Express Racing team explains why the team opted for a design package from Emirates Team NZ, and the challenges of a start-up team, including have a key funder/backer withdraw.
Course Location:
Weather Prognosis:
America's Cup Weather Partner PredictWind has provided a dedicated Race Weather Center offering fans access to detailed daily weather breakdowns, live webcams and historical weather data to daily weather breakdowns written by meteorologists.
Current Forecast Race Day 21:
Friday Oct 4, 2024
In the morning, the offshore wind will blow from the North-West. By mid-day the wind will die out and will struggle to build from the South as usual. In the afternoon, we expect light and variable winds around 5 knots.
It will be a sunny day but with colder temperatures up to 21°C; which is no favourable for thermal wind development.
Saturday 5th
In the afternoon, winds from the South-West around 6 to 8 knots are expected a bit stronger than the previous day. Clear sky with temperatures on the rise.
By Arnaud Monges, Former America’s Cup Team Meteorologist
Friday October 4, 2024: Race Schedule - Finals Matches 11 and 12:
- Final - Match 11 : INEOS Britannia (GBR) (Port Startbox entry) vs Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (ITA) (Starboard Startbox Entry) Start: 1215hrs UTC
- Final - Match 12: Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (ITA) (Port Startbox Entry) vs INEOS Britannia (GBR) (Starboard Startbox entry) Start: 1315hrs UTC
While you're waiting...
While you're waiting for the coverage to start you can update with the following:
When INEOS Britannia's Dock Walk comes available from Barcelona, we'll post it here hosted by Georgie Ainslie chatting with various members of INEOS Britannia team. You can get the Brits' impressions of the current weather conditions on the course and how they see it shaking out.
Inside Tack
The best team produced show of the 2024 America's Cup - the INEOS Britannia inner sanctum of Freddie Carr, Giles Scott and Iain Jensen discuss issues of the day, including the racing, how the races and day unfolded, what was seen on and off the water, there's always plenty of banter - when things start getting too serious - and other key issues confronting the British team.
North Sails Loft 57 Podcast
North Sails Ken Read talks with Emirates Team NZ co-helm Nathan Outteridge, Tom Whidden, veteran Cup sailor - and tactician to Dennis Conner, Tom Whidden and Orient Express Racing Team's super-manager Bruno Dubois
Virtual Eye
After the racing you can replay the key points, or the whole race using Virtual Eye from ARL This is the tool that Inside Tack are using to demonstrate various points - using the actual tracks of the AC75s.
You can go directly to the Virtual Eye America's Cup coverage by clicking here and click on "Watch Previous" then select the race you wish to view. Virtual Eye is a 3D viewer so you can zoom in, out, around and up and down just like you could in a helicopter.
Crew Lists
These have just become available.
Format and Points:
The Finals are modelled on the America's Cup - 13 races are scheduled, and the winner will be the first to score 7pts. Generally that will be the first to win seven races, however the International Jury may impose points penalties for infringements, on and off the water, that are not covered by the Racing Rules which are adjudicated by the Umpiring team.
Two races are planned each day. The same wind limits will apply as for the earlier rounds of the Louis Vuitton Cup - a lower limit of 6.5kts and an upper limit of 21kts, measured at the top and bottom of the course (start line) using recording devices on each gate. There are a total of four devices, with the readings averaged over 30 second intervals over a five minute period between the 9th down to the 4th minute before the start. If the wind is within the allowed limits the Course Director will make a radio call (heard on the TV commentary) telling the crews that the racing is going to proceed.
If the go-ahead is given then the race proceeds regardless of what the breeze does regardless of the wind limits. Once the go-ahead is given, the only constraint on the race is that teams must make a first leg time limit of 12 minutes, and then a race time limit of 45 minutes. The length of legs, compass direction of the next leg and number of legs can all be altered by the race committee during the race.
The course can be six or eight legs long.
The race director has the power to not start racing (even if the breeze is within the prescribed limits) if he considers the sea state is unsafe. He also has the ability to call off a race for safety reasons - a power which he came close to using during the lightning strikes on Day 5 of the Louis Vuitton Cup. However Emirates Team NZ's decision to drop out of their race and sail beyond the 100metre boundary line, triggering their disqualification, and the immediate awarding of the race to Luna Rossa, meant that the Chief Umpire's actions forestalled any action on safety grounds by the Race Director