Countdown to victory: 32nd America’s Cup Match Race 7

A look back: a year ago yesterday, Alinghi won its third consecutive race by 28 seconds in what was a superb come-from-behind victory. The race was close with Alinghi getting a good start, Emirates Team New Zealand leading around the first topmark, Alinghi clawing them back in around the leeward gate and passing them upwind to lead around the 2nd topmark by 16 seconds. Mainsail trimmer for SUI100, Warwick Fleury, commented post-race on a great day: “We wanted that one. It didn’t all go our way in the first half of the race but we got there in the end which is what matters. It feels good, it makes up for one or two of the others that we feel we should have won. It’s great for the confidence to be able to win a Cup race when you are trailing!”

Alinghi is going into today’s race 4-2 up in the first to five series. The Challenger is very strong and anything could happen. Warwick takes a look forward to this afternoon’s race: “It’s match point so we will try to finish it off today and if not, we have still got another two shots at it. The racing is very, very close. None of them have been easy and we are expecting more of the same today. It will be business as usual but we will certainly be trying for it.”

32nd America’s Cup Match Race 7: Morning News
Sea breeze conditions east-south easterly 8-10 knots possibly up to 12, decreasing early afternoon. Partly cloudy from 15:00 T. max 29°.

Alinghi crew list SUI100
Bowman Pieter van Nieuwenhuyzen
Midbowman Curtis Blewett
Mastman Francesco Rapetti
Pitman Josh Belsky
Grinder Mark McTeigue
Grinder Matt Welling
Trimmer Simon Daubney
Trimmer Lorenzo Mazza
Grinder Will McCarthy
Mainsail trimmer Warwick Fleury
Strategist / traveller Murray Jones
Runner / pitman Dean Phipps
Runner / grinder Rodney Ardern
Navigator Juan Vila
Afterguard – Runner Ernesto Bertarelli
Tactician Brad Butterworth
Helmsman Ed Baird

Alinghi (SUI100) Vs Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL92)
Alinghi, the Defender of the America’s Cup, has the blue flag, port entry in to the starting box.
Emirates Team New Zealand, Challenger, has the yellow flag, which means starboard entry in to the starting box.

Trivia of the day
Did you know? …The mast is made up of 80 layers of paper thin carbon fibre all squashed together with 5 atmospheres of pressure.

There is no history recorded for the 1 July, but did you know? ... The first time a Challenger won a race in a match for the America’s Cup was during the second challenge in 1871. It would be 49 years and 11 challenges later in 1920 that a challenger won another race in a Match. There have been only seven matches out of 32 where the competitors have each won races in the Match (two matches consisted only of one race - 1851 and 1870).

32nd America’s Cup Match Race 7: Evening News
WEATHER STOPS PLAY IN AMERICA'S CUP

Light wind conditions on the Mediterranean Sea today forced the postponement of Match 7 of the 32nd America’s Cup after a 75minute delay. Alinghi, the Swiss Defender from the Société Nautique de Genève, leads the series against Challenger Emirates Team New Zealand, 4-2.

Match 7 will now be raced on Tuesday, 3 July, as Monday is a layday, with the start scheduled for 15:00 hours. If Alinghi can win that race it will cap a successful defence of the America’s Cup and keep the Auld Mug in Europe. The long range forecast predicts favorable conditions for racing on Tuesday.

Alinghi yesterday won its third consecutive race, a second straight come-from-behind victory, to move to match point in the series. Alinghi scored a 28-second win after trailing by 14 seconds at the first mark rounding.

JACK KATZFEY, METEOROLOGIST FOR THE ALINGHI WEATHER TEAM COMMENTS ON A TRICKY DAY:
What were the conditions out there?
“It was a very light and very tricky day. Fortunately we didn’t get a race off in these conditions. Peter Reggio, the principal race officer, made a good call today.”

Why was the race abandoned – for what reasons?
“You really want a race that is fair and not just a roll of the dice, this is a sail boat race where the crews and the boats are pitted against one another and when the winds are that shifty, it becomes more about luck than skill and good team work, so it wouldn’t have been a fair race.

How bad were the shifts out there?
“The shifts were 20degrees or more out there and although the wind did creep up a little bit, there were still big variations across the course. There is a front coming through and the gradient breeze had shifted more easterly and the sea breeze just couldn’t get going.”

What is the outlook for Tuesday?
“It is looking a lot better. It should be a nice south easterly sea breeze – more typical than today, so it looks like they’ll get racing off then.”