America’s Cup 2021: American Magic capsize – how the dramatic day played out at the Prada Cup

Follow all the action live from Day 3 of the Prada Cup with AUT Sailing Teacher Mark Orams and follow the commentary live with PJ Montgomery below:

Course A will be used today with an expected north / northwest wind.

Course A allows the race management group more freedom to move the course should the wind change as it should. But because of that, the initial spectator limit has been set at some distance from the field.

Race director Iain Murray said he would likely join once conditions became clearer.

As expected, the wind changed dramatically during the opening race of the day, causing it to be abandoned and reprogrammed as the direction of the race changed the set course.

The opening race between Ineos Team UK and Luna Rossa will still take place before the Luna Rossa v American Magic showdown later today.

Ineos Team UK remained undefeated in the Prada Cup yesterday, beating American Magic in their only race on day two.

But for the Americans, led by kiwifruit Dean Barker, it was a terrifying second day on the water, as they suffered a third loss and fell from pre-race favorites to now considered the weakest challenger on display.

The frustration apparently reached Barker who, after the first race of the day – defeat to Jimmy Spithill’s Luna Rossa in a very light breeze – expressed his disgust at the decision to go ahead with the sailing despite the low winds.

“[You could] call that a lottery, yeah … pretty marginal. You wonder why you want to do that as part of the event. But it is what it is. Swings and roundabouts and obviously we didn’t do so well, “Barker told officials in what was apparently a veiled dig.

When asked why American Magic didn’t go for bigger headsails, Barker said: “Before departure, we didn’t expect to be sailing in that light and breeze. It was a bit surprising that it was so light.

“It’s just connecting the dots. Everyone is fighting.”

In what had previously been an area of ​​concern for Ineos Team UK, the British entry showed great improvement in light winds to claim their third win in a row.

As they did on the opening day, Sir Ben Ainslie’s crew made the best of the start, putting them in a position to control the course.

The British team handled the rough conditions better and led by more than 1,600 meters after the third stage.

In the end, it turned into a time trial for Ineos Team UK, who had just under seven minutes to finish the final stage and exceed the 45-minute time limit on the race.

They did so with about two minutes remaining, at which point the team’s skipper Sir Ben Ainslie said “good sailing.”

The Americans also suffered from a nightmare start to race one: After unsuccessfully appealing a penalty on the Italian after a tight junction in pre-start, both teams dropped their foils and already had to work hard to get back on the road.

The Italians did it in no time, while the Americans were stranded for much of the remaining two minutes before kickoff.

As Luna Rossa flew through the first stage, American Magic fell back from the foils mid-stage and ran in displacement until just before the mark, which they rounded off more than seven minutes after Luna Rossa.

But while American Magic had its problems in the first stage, Luna Rossa had hers in the second. The Americans quickly ate the lead as Luna Rossa failed to frustrate and found themselves in the lead halfway.

Both teams’ struggles to stay on their feet saw the race shortened from six stages to four at the start of the second stage.

Soon after, Luna Rossa flew back to the lead as they were able to get up on their foils before their counterparts to lead by a minute in the second marker.

From there, they never gave up the lead, managing to chase the breeze to the end of the last stretch to stay on their foils all the way down and close out a strange race.

SCHEDULE

There will be two races per day with the race window between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., with the exception of the final where the race window will be between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Luna Rossa will compete twice on the third day against Ineos Team UK and American Magic, with the first race between Luna Rossa and Ineos scheduled tenatively for 3.15.

WEATHER

The winds will return for the third day of racing in the Prada Cup, but bad weather is forecast for spectators along Auckland’s waterfront.

“It should be pretty good at navigating,” MetService forecaster Aidan Pyselman said.

He said the winds in the morning will be light, but a northwest will develop later in the morning and will reach 15 knots by lunchtime and will be quite good for races in the afternoon.

The 10-25 knot northwest winds will be similar in strength to yesterday’s southwest winds which saw the UK team fly off the blocks and score back-to-back victories against American Magic and Luna Rossa.

As for the weather, it will not be good in the City of Sails with clouds in the morning and a front that crosses the city in the late afternoon with showers and possible thunderstorms until the night.

POSSIBILITIES

Race one:

Ineos Team UK – $ 1.50
Luna Rossa – $ 2.40

TAB Odds After Day Two – Prada Cup Winner:

Ineos Team UK – $ 1.75
Luna Rossa – $ 3
American Magic – $ 5

HOW TO SEE AND STREAM

The Herald will have live updates at nzherald.co.nz/sport, while you can hear live commentary on Gold AM and iHeartRadio.

America’s Cup coverage is free on TVNZ. You can also stream the action live or on demand on TVNZ.co.nz or on the Copa América YouTube channel.

If you’re in Auckland, you can also head over to the America’s Cup Race Village at Viaduct Marina, where there will be a stage and giant screens to watch the action. The town works from 10 a.m. M. At 8 p. M. On race days and can be accessed through the main entrance at the start of Hobson Wharf.

There are also plenty of options to see the live action around Auckland’s waterfront. These are the best places to see the action.

Race officials will determine which course will be used on each race day.

Professor Mark Orams is a former New Zealand and World Champion, New Zealand team member, author, environmentalist, and professor of sport and recreation at Auckland University of Technology.

Are you going to compete in the Cup?

• Give yourself plenty of time and consider taking a ferry, train or bus to see the Cup.

• Make sure your AT HOP card is in your pocket. It is the best way to ride.

• Don’t forget to scan QR codes with the NZ COVID Tracer app when you are on public transportation and enter America’s Cup Village.

• For more ways to enjoy race day, visit at.govt.nz/americascup.