Day 5 of the America’s Cup looks set to be a tricky and tense day for both Emirates Team New Zealand and INEOS Britannia.

As the teams docked out ahead of Races 7 and 8 in the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup, regatta director Iain Murray gave a summary briefing on conditions expected for the day.

“It’s a sailor’s day of opportunity today,” Murray said.

The breeze is forecast to shift from the north-west and west to the south-west, and potentially ease over the course of the afternoon.

“We’re expecting sort of 9-10 knots. Some of the models, the Arome model, have that fading down to 8 or 6 knots as time goes on. And there’s also the possibility that none of this could be right and the breeze could stay in the NW, try to go to the NE and dissipate completely.”

He outlined three possible scenarios for today’s weather:

“If it stays cold and stays in the west I think we’ll be just fine. If it starts to move through the left into the south-west it’ll get lighter, and if it goes into the NE we’ll probably come home.”

The race course for Day 5 of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup in Barcelona

The race course will be laid a new axis direction for the AC75s, although some Women’s and Youth racing was held in a similar wind direction. 

“With the windward marks up by the shore that presents probably the lightest and trickiest part of the racecourse next to the land, and we’re expecting it to be both up and down and left and right in terms of wind,” said Murray. “So that’s why we say it’s a sailors’ day of opportunity, but we’ll see.”

Today could be a day for some old-fashioned wind-spotting. It’s worth remembering that Emirates Team New Zealand’s co-helm Nathan Outteridge has the nickname of the ‘Wind Whisperer’ – but INEOS Britannia demonstrated on Wednesday that they can use light wind ‘holes’ to their advantage. It’s going to be tense.

A packed dock-out for INEOS Britannia ahead of Day 5 of the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup. Photo: Ricardo Pinto / America’s Cup

First to seven wins

With some understatement, he added that “Saturday doesn’t look too good.” Currently all the weather models are forecasting 0-2 knots for tomorrow.

Although race organisers had made it clear that they were hoping to finish the regatta this weekend – and would not have raced today if ETNZ had won on Wednesday, rather than INEOS Britannia’s two victories – from hereon there will be no further laydays. Race organisers will race the AC75s every day they can until the first team has secured seven wins.