All Eyes on Artemis
Artemis Racing team members have been on an emotional roller coaster this week. Monday night, they undoubtedly felt tremendous anxiety about the next day’s Louis Vuitton Cup Semi-Final, having had fewer than 10 days of practice on their new warhorse, Big Blue. Tuesday, they felt the elation of having won the start, completed the race without incident, and held their opponent, Luna Rossa Challenge, to only a two-minute victory. (Luna Rossa lost to Emirates Team New Zealand in a previous LVC Round Robin race by seven minutes.)
Wednesday, in race two of the Semis, the team — headed by skipper Iain Percy and helmsman Nathan Outtridge — put in another fine effort worth crowing about. Although they lost by two minutes, six seconds, they won the start again and showed impressive speed while beating upwind and reaching.
During yesterday’s day off — and, indeed, this morning — the Artemis crew probably has been dealing with a different set of emotions, as the cold reality hits them that if they don’t pull off a win in today’s Semi (1:15 p.m.), they’ll be down by three in this best-of-seven series, meaning they would have to sweep the last four potential races — a very difficult scenario to imagine.
That said, any number of wild cards could be thrown into the mix, not the least of which is a serious gear failure or structural breakdown. Already this week, a portion of Luna Rosa’s wing failed, causing a crewman to go aloft shortly before Tuesday’s race. That said, we’re certain that the Italian-backed Luna Rossa team is more pumped up than ever today, intent on protecting their lead in the Semis. And while they didn’t look so impressive in early races against the Kiwis, they are obviously steadily improving, as their time around the course Wednesday was the fastest of all race efforts thus far: 43m, 20s — 32 seconds faster than the Kiwis on a slightly shorter course.
Bottom line: AC 34 excitement is definitely building. Because today’s race will air this afternoon on NBC Sports Network (4-6 p.m. PT), it will not be available to view live on the AC YouTube channel. Live action in real time can be viewed on huge screens in both the AC Village (Marina Green) and AC Park (Piers 27&29), with live commentary. Blow-by-blow reporting can also be heard on VHF 20. You can also follow the action in animation on the America’s Cup app or via Virtual Eye. See the AC 34 website for more.