Cup Experience Monday News | BAR Wins in Portsmouth and Takes Series Lead | Puzzling Penalty? | No General Recall?

Cup Experience News

Issue 26 | Monday 25 July 2016

In this issue:

Royals Cheer Ainslie's Win and Award Prizes in Portsmouth
AC World Series Standings
Confusing Penalty Situation Explained
Three 100% National Crews in Portsmouth
Ask Jack: Why was there no general recall in Race 2?

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Cheer Ainslie's Win

On board Land Rover BAR's tender. The Duke and Duchess were on hand to watch the racing and present the trophy at the prize giving ceremony.

Land Rover BAR Wins in Portsmouth and Takes Series Lead

America's Cup World Series Leaderboard After 7 Events

America's Cup competition format and scoring explained here.

Ben Ainslie and his all British crew had three firsts, two seconds and a fifth place to win the Portsmouth America's Cup World Series. Again. They also won the event here in 2015. The win puts them at the top of the overall series leaderboard. Oracle Team USA got back on the podium, one point behind the Brits for the Portsmouth event.

Oracle takes over second place overall, pushing the Kiwis into third. New Zealand had big gaps on board in the two most important positions: Ray Davies handled wing trim for the first time since wing trimmer Glenn Ashby was on the helm replacing Peter Burling, off in Rio to prepare for the Olympics. Like Team New Zealand, Artemis was without their regular helmsman. Nathan Outteridge is also in Rio, hoping to defend his 2012 gold medal against silver medalist Burling. Francesco Bruni stepped in as helmsman - his first time ever to sail an AC45F. The rules prevent sailing the AC45F's between events. The conditions were different each day, so there was no chance for Bruni to learn the boat. Artemis finished last in Portsmouth - a frustrating result after their win in Chicago last month.

Dean Barker and his men on SoftBank Team Japan confirmed their performance in Chicago with their second podium finish. Groupama Team France shared the lead after the first day of racing but fared less well in the stronger conditions on Sunday.

Portsmouth 2016 Results

Confusion Reigned at Last Rounding in Race 1

Blue light means Artemis has a penalty. How did that happen? Green light means they are in the three boat length zone at the gate. (Explanation of lights here.)

As they approach the three boat length zone at the mark, you can see Artemis's bow, just about to enter the zone. Team Japan is overlapped with New Zealand, who are overlapped with Artemis. Rule 18 gives both NZL and JPN rights to round the mark inside Artemis.

JPN has gybed and gone behind NZL, and they still have rights to round inside SWE.

NZL escaped the mess at the mark. SWE has been penalized for not giving JPN room. Meanwhile Land Rover BAR has stayed out of the fray and now has enough speed to round outside. Artemis was in third place as they approached the mark but finished the race last. Ouch!

Nationality - Always an Interesting Topic

In Portsmouth three of the six teams were 100% nationals: Groupama Team France - 100% French, Land Rover BAR, 100% British and Oracle Team USA, 100% Australian. What's your suggestion for a nationality rule? Join the conversation in the Cup Experience Facebook group.

Join the Conversation on the Cup Experience Facebook Group.

Reader Questions to "Ask Jack"

from SPECTATOR
ask jack!

In Race 2 in Portsmouth, five of the six boats were over the starting line early. Why was there no "general recall?"

A general recall happens when several boats are "OCS" (On Course Side of the starting line) and the Race Committee cannot identify all of them. This effectively penalizes anyone who started properly. The LiveLine system shows the umpires exactly which boats are over early, so there is no need for a general recall. Here is what the umpires saw:

Team France is the only boat not to have crossed the line early. A few seconds later, here's what LiveLine showed us on the TV image:

America's Cup Guide