America’s Cup defender won’t give in to powerless England

With a two-point lead on day one, Defenders Emirates Team New Zealand weren’t about to let any opportunity slip away and with both boats spun in the early stages of the pre-start, New Zealand helmsmen Peter Burling and Nathan Outeridge took the lead via penalties.

INEOS Britannia entered the port tack box before performing a signature maneuver: rising up after crossing the bow of an approaching Kiwi boat and flipping the starting line to try to reach the stern of her rival. However, as the British dropped below the port line, they encountered the Emirates New Zealand team, which was coming straight towards them from starboard and had the advantage.

As the distance between the boats closed, INEOS Britannia had to stay away, but did so slowly, and the boats came so close that their wings overlapped. Both yachts protested and moments later chief umpire Richard Slater fined the British team 75 metres.

Despite quickly serving their penalty for not following the start, INEOS Britannia coxswains Sir Ben Ainslie and Dylan Fletcher knew, even at this early stage, that the challenge would not be easy to overcome.

No matter how hard they tried, the British ran into the steely determination of the Emirates Team New Zealand crew, who did not give their opponents the opportunity to escape while they tenaciously covered themselves throughout the three laps of the 27-minute test.

The Kiwis secured their position in each section, making excellent use of the wind pressure on a challenging east-facing race course where gusts came and went indefinitely. As the race progressed and the wind dropped to seven knots, Emirates Team New Zealand’s delicate flight control and superior speed through turns and corners allowed them to extend their lead to 52 seconds. INEOS Britannia may be content with the same straight line speed between both boats, but the Kiwis has good speed in her maneuvers and impeccable style throughout.

Emirates Team New Zealand went 3-0 in the series with all the confidence of a champion team at the pinnacle of sailing. As the defenders of the 37th Louis Vuitton America’s Cup, they have been virtually infallible in the Louis Vuitton Cup so far. For INEOS Britannia, the scale of the mission before them is clear, so they will have to quickly regroup and perhaps wait. change throughout the week.

Unfortunately for the thousands of spectators from Barcelona who filled the Race Village and the nearby free-access fan zones in Plaza del Mar and Bogatell Beach, as well as regatta fans from around the world who followed the global broadcast, the Fourth test of the series had to be postponed until tomorrow , Monday, October 14, after the winds died down as forecast.