Beautiful

Once again, we're spoiled by Gilles Martin-Raget who somehow makes a tough loss to the French Aleph team look beautiful. These are from the first race of the Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena.

And below is the sequence where Jimmy, JK and co. squeeze inside Aleph to make a short-lived pass at the leeward gate. Unfortunately, in getting inside, BOR was slower coming out of the rounding, and Aleph, holding the power of the right, was able to regain the lead.

A tough start

The French Aleph team is earning a reputation as giant killers and BMW ORACLE Racing became the latest to fall to the surging French team.

BMW ORACLE had a good start and led for the first couple of crosses, before switching from the right to the left side of the race track and that gave the French the opening they needed.

Aleph led by just seven seconds at the top mark and appeared as if they would lead through the leeward gate before Jimmy Spithill and JK found a tiny gap to stick their bow inside at the mark rounding. 

Aided by excellent crew work on the late gennaker drop, it appeared for a moment as if they had regained the lead, but Aleph remained in control on the right side of the race track and protected the rest of the way.

So BMW ORACLE is 0-1 while the surprising French team is on top of the leaderboard at 2-0. There are more postponements now (1430 local), which means it's extremely unlikely we'll get to the 'extra' fourth flight which would have seen BOR vs. ETNZ. That will almost certainly have to wait for another day.


Full event coverage, animation, commentary etc. is on the event website at www.louisvuittontrophy.com

Wolfgang on keeping it together in Sardinia

Shore crew manager Wolfgang Chamberlain speaks about what he and his crew of 14 have to do to keep the two BMW ORACLE Racing ACC boats afloat and ready to race at the Louis Vuitton Trophy.

According to Wolf, it's almost more difficult than during an America's Cup as the sheer number of race-hours is immense (when there's enough wind!).

And in the 'rental car' factor of the nine other teams using the boats, and Wolf and his gang have their work cut out for them.

Race day two in La Maddalena

A new day, and new optimism for racing. BMW ORACLE Racing is in the first Flight for racing against Aleph who beat TeamOrigin in one of only two matches sailed on Saturday.

Racing for BMW ORACLE is scheduled to start with a warning signal at 10:10 local time (GMT+2).

Forecast is for light conditions, with winds not expected to exceed 10 knots.

Done for the day

Unfortunately, everything co-operated but the wind in La Maddalena today. Just one flight of racing was completed with the BMW ORACLE Racing / ETNZ match postponed to another day. Light winds were the culprit on what was a stunningly bright day in Sardinia. The teams were able to transfer to the race boats in anticipation of a start, but got no further as the wind rarely exceeded three knots following the first flight of racing.

The schedule rolls on, however, with Flights 4, 5, and 6 on the card for Sunday. The missed match against Emirates Team New Zealand will be made up whenever the schedule allows. That could be as early as tomorrow, if race officer Peter Reggio can squeeze in a fourth flight of racing.

So that means BMW ORACLE Racing is up against the French Aleph team in Flight 4, Match 2. That's the first flight on the schedule, so the warning signal will be at 10:10 local time in Sardinia (GMT+2).

If you're a fan of the team, you'll recognise the skipper of Aleph as Bertrand Pace, who was a training helmsman for BMW ORACLE Racing in the not too distant past. Pace and his team are gaining a bit of a reputation for the upset. Although Aleph was at the bottom of the table in Nice and second to last in the Louis Vuitton Trophy in Auckland, they stunned the Kiwis with a well-deserved win over ETNZ on home waters and they opened with a win over TeamOrigin and their Olympic medal laden crew in one of two matches sailed today. So Jimmy and co. won't be counting their chickens on this one.

More on the event website at www.LouisVuittonTrophy.com.

Taking on the Kiwis

A big match to start the event in Sardinia, against Emirates Team New Zealand. It's in Flight 2, but with the first flight under postponement, the start time is drifting back into the early afternoon now. Updates are on the event website, www.louisvuittontrophy.com

Here's what the guys had to say as they left the dock on the transfer RIB this morning.

Rosco: "It’s good to get into it with what is basically the top team... they’re a really consistent group and always perform well so we’ll be looking forward to a good race. It should be fun – nothing like getting into it straight away!"

 

Cheese: "I'm looking forward to it – it’s going to be a good race."

 

JK: "We’re ready to race. It looks pretty light today so it’s one of those unpredictable days – it’s going to be a tricky one."

 

The 18th man for the race against the Kiwis is Massimo Mele, the General Manager of BMW Sardinia.  

First up - Emirates Team New Zealand

BMW ORACLE Racing will start the Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena with a highlight match against Emirates Team New Zealand.

Kiwi skipper Dean Barker spoke to the media about the match following the opening press conference on Friday evening here.

Racing in La Maddalena starts with a warning signal at 10:00 local time (GMT+2). The BOR - ETNZ match is in Flight 2, so look for a start time after 11:00. Check the event website, www.louisvuittontrophy.com for updates.

The LVT website also has a live player, with animation and live, expert commentary, so you can stay up to date with all the racing.


And of course, we'll have as much from the guys as possible here on the blog too.

Spithill at the opening press conference

A fantastic opening ceremony for the Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena this evening. The navy was on hand to open the race village by raising the colours and then the opening press conference with all 10 skippers.

Here's what James had to say:

On the team rejoining the Louis Vuitton Trophy circuit after missing the Auckland event: "I was down in Auckland to watch the racing and was very, very impressed with the level of the racing. Any team can win the regatta so we have our work cut out for us. We've been sailing a trimaran for the last few years, but we're excited. We have a fantastic team here and we're looking forward to it."

On returning to ACC monohulls after racing the trimaran in the America's Cup: "It's a little slower, I won't lie to you, and it's certainly a lot more crowded on the boat! But the style of racing is much more exciting and the physical aspect and the athletic side, having the grinders is an important part of the America's Cup and it's great to be with the teams and out on the water again."

The draw for round robin pairings followed and BMW ORACLE Racing has a corker of a first match scheduled - the guys will meet the defending Louis Vuitton Cup and Louis Vuitton Trophy champions - Emirates Team New Zealand. 

Racing is scheduled to start with a warning signal at 1000 local time (GMT+2) but the BOR vs ETNZ match isn't until the second flight, so likely not before 1100. If time permits a fourth flight of races, BMW ORACLE will face Luna Rossa, so the regatta is starting with a bang!

(James with Yves Carcelle, CEO and Chairman of Louis Vuitton)

Sardinia

The waters off Sardinia offer a stunning backdrop for the racing in the Louis Vuitton Trophy.

With racing scheduled to begin tomorrow, it's a quiet day in La Maddalena on Friday. No sailing, as the shore crews take the opportunity to give the four ACC boats a final tune up.

The opening ceremony and opening press conference will take place this evening, as well as the draw, where the pairings for the round robin will be determined.

Here are some of the best images from GMR over the past few days.

Rosco on preparations for racing in Sardinia

The team had its final training session on the waters off La Maddalena today, ahead of the first day of racing on Saturday. 

There were perfect conditions for sailing today, with winds in the 15-18 knot range this afternoon. Bright sunshine and warmth also made a welcome return.

Ross Halcrow, trimmer, tells about the training and the mixed feelings about the return to monohull racing - the close racing is great, but it's a little bit less exciting than sailing USA in the America's Cup.

The opening ceremony for the Louis Vuitton Trophy is late tomorrow afternoon, as is the opening press conference for the event.