Dean Barker’s Emirates Team New Zealand clinches lead on Day 1 of 2011 America’s Cup World Series
Sailing on the first day of 2011 America’s Cup World Series at San Diego started under torrential rains in the afternoon. The event participants witnessed extremely fluky conditions on Day 1 but the fleet managed to produce two complete races with Emirates
Team New Zealand finishing on top of the podium places with 17 points after two races.
Despite winning none of the scheduled races on the first day, the Kiwi team was able to hit top spot with a second and a third place in both races of the day under a tricky forecast.
Artemis Racing won the first race of the event in a snakes and ladders manner. The Swedish team finished fourth in the second race to occupy second place overall at the end with 17 points. However, Race 2 was taken by China Team led by Charlie Ogletree,
who grabbed third place in the overall leader board.
Overall standings at the conclusion of Day 1 are given below:
1. Emirates Team New Zealand, Dean Barker 2, 3 - 17 points
2. Artemis Racing, Terry Hutchinson 1, 4 - 17 points
3. China Team, Charlie Ogletree 5, 1 - 16 points
4. ORACLE Racing Coutts, Darren Bundock 4, 2 - 16 points
5. ORACLE Racing Spithill, James Spithill 3, 8 - 11 points
6. Energy Team, Yann Guichard 7, 5 - 10 points
7. Green Comm Racing, Vasilij Žbogar 9, 6 - 8 points
8. Team Korea, Chris Draper 6, 9 - 8 points
9. ALEPH, Pierre Pennec 8, 7 - 7 points
Artemis Racing skipper, Terry Hutchinson, commented after the racing, “Days like today are very good practice and training. That is what it is all about. We also continue to be mindful of how good the people are around us.”
The skipper added, “We have two new guys on the boat here as part of our ongoing crew rotation plan, so it is as much about racing the AC45 as it is about preparing for the Americas Cup in San Francisco. It was about being in the right place at the right
time today. It was a bit cold and wet. They say it is never like this here so it is good to get this out of the way this weekend!”
The rainy first day featured extremely light and shifty breeze around San Diego’s Bay, which prevented the nine-boat AC World Series fleet to have only two races. Despite such low and unfavourable weather conditions, both races produced plenty of drama,
as the inconsistent winds provided many chances for passing lanes.
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