…while Team Origin loses it’s first race of Round Robin 1 in the Louis Vuitton Trophy
Rarely in Cup racing is the first race of the day as early as 9am, but here in Nice with the cold night air rushing back from the mountains to the north towards the relatively warm sea at dawn, conditions between 9am and 11am are often the best of the day, if a little shifty.
Team Origin and Artemis were the first teams to take advantage of the morning breeze in a match that saw the British drop their first race of Round Robin 1. The Swedish Artemis team, (not to be confused with the globe trotting Open 60 campaign), is owned by TP52 and RC44 sailor Torbjorn Tornqvist who has enlisted Terry Hutchinson, Morgan Larson and Paul Cayard among a long list of rock star sailors.
In the pre-start both boats found themselves bunched up pretty close to the start line and had to back pedal in the last few minutes. The Swedes made a better job of judging the time to the line and the distance required to get the heavy Cup boat up to speed and took an early advantage. It was all that was required in a race that only went one way, to Artemis.
Meanwhile Emirates Team New Zealand continued its winning streak and beat BMW Oracle Racing with Gavin Brady at the helm in a race that started off close before developing into a procession.
To see Cup boats racing, the impressive race village and the number of spectators who queue every morning for the free spectator boat you could be forgiven for a feeling of déjà vu. Yet perhaps one of the most impressive features of an event that looks and feels just like the real thing is the online coverage that has taken a big step forwards.
Free live video, commentary and virtual eye animations
are broadcast via the event’s web site. With no broadcast rights issues to satisfy, the service is available worldwide and allows you to have a window open into which the coverage will start as and when the racing gets under way.
You can also watch edited highlights of each match here on our home page thanks to the feed from Sail.tv Simply click on the match you’re interested in.
All you need in addition is an emergency screen in the background for when the boss turns up.