Strong Finish, But Early Penalty Costs American Magic in Opening Race

The opening day of the Louis Vuitton Cup—the Challenger Series for the 37th edition of the America’s Cup—saw NYYC American Magic face the British Challenger of Record, INEOS Britannia, in their first match. With His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain in attendance on the water, anticipation was high for an exciting day of racing to open the competition.

The first match of the day, between the French and the Swiss, was delayed significantly due to the wind dropping below the 6.5-knot wind limit, pushing the start of American Magic’s race back. By the time they were set to race, the breeze remained at the lower end of the scale, putting a premium on staying on the foils as they prepared to enter the start box. Unfortunately, the team fell victim to some super light air as they began their setup to enter the start box from the starboard end, with the agonizing result that Patriot fell off her foils outside the starboard end of the start line. This left the British unchallenged to make a clean start, while the team managed to coax Patriot back airborne. After gybing around, the team dipped the line and turned up to start correctly before setting their sights on clawing back INEOS’s advantage over the rest of the six-leg race.

Despite making significant inroads over the next three legs, a slow tack onto the layline for the second windward mark cost them precious seconds, dropping them back 600 meters. Undeterred, the American crew—helmsmen Tom Slingsby and Paul Goodison, with trimmers Michael Menninger and Andrew Campbell—kept fighting, and over the second half of the race, they managed to claw their way back to almost within striking distance. On the final run, just one mistake from the INEOS Britannia crew would have allowed American Magic to surge past. However, in the end, it wasn’t meant to be, as the British sailors held on long enough to take the win—albeit by a much-reduced margin of 14 seconds at the finish.

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