the America’s Cup one step away from kiwi-Corriere.it

still the light wind to decide the only regatta of the America’s Cup that will be contested in that mined racecourse that the Hauraki Gulf: on the field of play, which he knows by heart and handles with skill, defender Team New Zealand beat challenger Luna Rossa by 30 ”in the ninth race of the 36 America’s Cup, ensuring an advantage that leads the Kiwis to the first match point: 6-3. The moment of perfect balance in which the two teams were at 3-3 seems light years away. Now Te Rehutai and his crew of black sailors are one step away from final victory: Everything will be decided on Wednesday morning (at 4 am, Italian time). The second The race of the day, race 10, was canceled: the wind dropped even more, dropping below the 6.5 knots needed to start the seaplanes. It’s not finished, but now Luna Rossa needs a miracle, four in fact, to overturn the prediction and bring the old silver jug ​​to Italy for the first time in 170 years of history.

Bitter morsel

The wind, the only thing along with the weather that cannot be bought in the America’s Cup, rises to 15 knots and then collapses: little, it jumps like a cricket, but enough to run. Race track C, positioned with some difficulty to read the direction of the breeze, there is a postponement and then we go. And the usual excellent start to Luna Rossa’s double attack, Bruni-Spithill: the Italian Ac75 hooks Te Rehutai entered the area from the left, takes a high and windward position. The New Zealand team seems happy with the left, the even start, perfectly on time on the line. From there, the closest regatta of the entire series begins: a grueling melee, at very close range, a challenge for those who catch the right gust not to lose meters of water, a duel of turns and gybes with the excellence of world sailing committed to playing a tipping game of chess.

Upwind and downwind are exciting, with Luna Rossa sailing high to control the opponent and New Zealand confirming a speed of a few more knots and without losing ground, staying glued to the blues tooth and nail. The turns around the buoys are also decided by a gluing: 1 “lead for the Moon at the first gate, 8” at the second, 9 “at the third, 3” at the fourth. Not sailing, fighting.
The fifth decisive side. Luna Rossa seems to prefer that the left side of the field surrender to cover New Zealand – fatal error -, that instead to the right fishes the needle in the haystack: a substantial change of wind of 15 degrees that takes it to the head. Skill and luck, it takes a mix of ingredients to win this America’s Cup. Once in the lead, Te Rehutai unleashes all the horsepower in the engine, explodes its speed as Luna Rossa falls into the anguished wind. The situation is now reversed: the kiwis at the gate have an 18 “lead that becomes 30” at the end.