America’s Cup Rialto: November 9 – Luna Rossa dodges storm

Italian Challenger Luna Rossa was the only team to venture on the water today. They were out on Saturday along with American Magic. The British team INEOS Team UK sailed alone yesterday, Sunday – and mostly out of sight.

Today was a mixed bag of breeze with a NW blowing up to 15kts around midday, before dropping away to almost nothing. In the first phase of the breeze, the Italians made a fast foiling run up the Rangitoto Channel and return, before the breeze dropped for the first time (see video below). They dropped their main and waited on the end of a towline off the stern of their tender before the breeze returned in sufficient strength to enable the black hulled AC75 to make a short run down the Rangitoto Channel and across to Motuihe and return, before the breeze crumped out for a second time, and for the day.

Looming over the City and west Auckland was a massive slowly advancing rain and thunderstorm, which sucked the wind out of the America’s Cup courses – a very unusual set of conditions for Auckland.

Rather than have the breeze come in at 4.00pm ready for racing as planned for the America’s Cup and Prada Cup, the breeze vanished .

Luna Rossa made the right decision to tow in, hauling out around 4.00pm – with thunderstorm hitting less than an hour later.

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World NZ