American Cup: Team New Zealand (Defender) – Luna Rossa (Challenger)
And this is one of the reasons for the fascination exerted by this venerable competition, delayed by four days due to the orderly re-containment in New Zealand’s largest city after the discovery of new cases of Covid-19. Its first edition may well have been contested under the eyes of Queen Victoria 170 years ago, in 1851, in the English breeze of the Isle of Wight, the event has never seemed so dashing, with these rockets. packed with technology that navigate without almost wetting their hulls.
It is the current defending champion, Team New Zealand, who pioneered the use of foils on the America’s Cup, during the preparation of the 34th edition in 2013. The concept then seemed so absurd that some claimed in 2012 that the photos of the kiwi catamaran had been retouched.
“Like facing the All Blacks”
Always at the forefront of technological development, the New Zealanders will be favorites to win the 36th edition in the best of thirteen rounds. Long the preserve of the Americans (28 victories out of 29 possible between 1851 and 1992), the America’s Cup has only truly globalized in the last three decades. Since then, the Kiwis have been in the final six times out of seven, lifting the silver ewer three times (1995, 2000 and 2017). Team New Zealand again dominated the preparatory regattas at the end of December, its sailboat “Te Rehutai” showing itself superior in all wind conditions.
According to one of Luna Rossa’s two coxswains, Australian Jimmy Spithill, the Kiwis are quite simply the best team in the world. “Going to compete against Team New Zealand on their waterway is the same as for a rugby player to face the All Blacks in the World Cup final at Eden Park,” says the Australian. “It’s an incredible privilege. “
Light winds, strong winds …
Luna Rossa advanced without being noticed, having been dominated in the first races, without stakes, by Ineos Team UK and American Magic. But the Italian challenge continued to grow to sink the Americans 4-0 in the semi-finals of the Prada Cup, before torpedoing the British 7-1 in the final of this competition intended to determine the challenger of Team New Zealand. .
For two months now, Luna Rossa has been living under the threat of being sent back to her Mediterranean pontoon in the event of a misstep. And for Spithill, this pressure is worth all the preparations, while Team New Zealand has known for four years and its triumph in Bermuda that it will compete in the America’s Cup. “We had real races, that’s the difference. There was the risk of going by the wayside, ”observes the Australian. “They had to train alone”. We say Luna Rossa stronger in light winds, but Team New Zealand more consistent.
The truth of a day …
But nothing is set in stone with these AC75s, to which sailors and technicians are constantly improving, including between rounds. This means that the truth of one day is not that of the next day, especially since the crews are also constantly progressing in mastering their delicate machine at its different gaits. Volvo Ocean Race veteran and boss of the Navico company, which manufactures navigation systems used by certain crews, Norwegian Knut Frostad believes the Kiwis have an advantage. “But nothing is certain. With the AC75s, the potential gains in the event of a technological breakthrough are such that any team can still move the lines, even after the first round ”.
In 170 years, the Cup has only been won once by a European team, the Swiss union Alinghi in 2003. For the Italians, the challenge is immense.
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