Latitude 38 Latitude VOLUME 425 Nove r 2012 WE GO WHERE THE WIND BLOWS NOVEMBER 2012 VOLUME 425 AC WORLD SERIES, ROUND II — SPREAD GILLES MARTIN-RAGET INSET GUILAIN GRENIER SPREAD GILLES MARTIN-RAGET With the Bay's John Kostecki calling tactics, Spithill's Oracle Team USA was unstoppable. WET, WILD & WONDERFUL ACEA / GILLES MARTIN-RAGET L ast month's edition of the Amer- But none of that deterred diehard rac- ica’s Cup World Series in San Francisco ing fans from turning out to soak in the was truly spectacular, despite the fact thrills of the AC45 traveling road show that a wide range of music and sports October 3-7. events threatened to upstage it. With a On-the-water action began on massive three-day music fest in Golden Wednesday, October 3 with match race Gate Park, Giants playoff games at the qualifi ers in typical fall conditions: AT&T Park, a Niners game at Candle- Wind climbed into the low 20s, fog lin- stick and several cultural celebrations gered overhead, and the Bay's notori- downtown, it was said to have been the ous ebb fl owed swiftly. Together this busiest weekend in the City's history. provided challenging racing for the 11- With AC45s on the water and F-18s overhead, the ACWS weekend was sensational. AC WORLD SERIES, ROUND II — boat international fl eet. Notably, 21-year-old Peter Burling of fi ve minutes before our start and put in p.m. Wind was tickling the mid-teens at New Zealand, who had taken the helm a gybe, and the carbon structure in the its max velocity in the afternoon, and for Team Korea a mere two weeks prior, wing fell apart on us. It almost snapped the ebb didn’t fi re up until late in the won his qualifi er over Chris Draper and in half up the middle." day. For us photographers, shooting in crew aboard Luna Rossa Piranha. The In what was probably a fi rst in inter- the late afternoon light of the “golden other youngster and relative newbie in national yacht racing, the race sched- hour” was a real treat. the fl eet, 25-year-old Kiwi Phil Robert- ule on the remaining days of the ACWS In the fi rst fl eet race Ben Ainslie, son aboard the Team China cat, won his was sandwiched around the aerial ac- skipper of JP Morgan BAR, was sailing fi rst ACWS victory against Luna Rossa robatics of the Fleet Week Air Show his own race, way out ahead. A cham- Piranha. China Team sustained damage right overhead (practice Thursday and pion dinghy sailor with fi ve Olympic to their wing during a gybe, however, Friday, with the real deal Saturday and medals in two classes, he'd fi nally fi g- and could not make their third race. Sunday). Thursday's quarterfi nals be- ured out how to make the big cat go fast Robertson recalled, “We were about gan at noon, with fl eet racing after 5 after a lackluster showing in the August PITCHPOLES JEREMY LEONARD / SURFCITYRACING.ORG SANDER VAN DER BORCH SANDER VAN ACEA / GILLES MARTIN-RAGET Page 80 • Latitude 38 • November, 2012 WET, WILD & WONDERFUL a second and a fi rst. Aboard Artemis ACWS races. BAR fi nished 17 seconds Artemis Racing Red, beat the old mas- Racing Red, Outteridge and crew took — a big margin in this fi eld — ahead ter, Russell Coutts aboard the second the third position overall with a pair of of the second place contender, Oracle Oracle boat. Another Olympic medal- fourth place fi nishes. Team USA’s Spithill. ist, Outteridge joined the Artemis Team During one of their best races ever, Friday October 5 saw a huge increase barely a month prior to this ACWS, hav- China Team unfortunately lost their in spectators. The jetty out to the Wave ing previously raced for Team Korea. jib halyard mid-race. But they fl aked Organ east of the Golden Gate YC was Despite a penalty against him at the the sail on the bowsprit and continued packed. Again there were quarterfi nal start of his face-off with Coutts, he won sailing, staying mid-pack for the dura- match races in the morning and fl eet after Coutts rounded the wrong mark. tion of the race despite having just their races in the afternoon. In the two-boat In Friday's fl eet racing Ben Ainslie main. matchups, Oracle Team USA Spithill Racing cleaned up with a fi rst and a Saturday, October 6, was a big day beat BAR, while another young skipper, second place, while Terry Hutchinson, for crowd numbers. The breeze was in Aussie Nathan Outteridge, 26, helming aboard Artemis Racing White, took the upper teens, the sun was out, the ELLEN HOKE Watching this sort of action up close, it's per- fectly clear why these sailors wear crash hel- mets. Spithill's now-famous pitchpole (above) was the ultimate OMG moment. ACEA / GILLES MARTIN-RAGET ACEA / GILLES MARTIN-RAGET CHRIS CAMERON SANDER VAN DER BORCH SANDER VAN ACEA / GILLES MARTIN-RAGET November, 2012 • Latitude 38 • Page 81 AC WORLD SERIES, ROUND II scene was festive, and San Francisco Spithill went on to win the match by al- showed its epic autumn beauty. The most 20 seconds. He'd come back from entire shoreline was packed in every di- his capsize with a vengeance, and his rection. The spectator fl eet was thicker, team took the match racing title. and more aggressive; it was game on! Sunday October 7 was another mix And the schedule was packed: match of Fleet Week activities followed the Su- race quarterfi nals after the air show, per Sunday Fleet Racing Finals, where then two fl eet races followed by the scoring was heavily weighted compared match racing fi nals. to previous races. The wind was in the From my position off the yacht club upper teens and the ebb was fl owing. I spit, I was in the perfect position to would have had a hard time believing snag some good bow spray shots as the it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, AC45s bore away around mark 1. As I but Spithill climbed the ladder from ab- fi red the shutter, I focused on Spithill, ELLEN HOKE solute last place to win that race by 17 who seemed to be pitching a little more For many race fans, the chance to meet super- seconds. It was unbelievable to watch radically on this rounding. I kept fi r- stars like Jimmy Spithill, Loïck Peyron and Ben Oracle Team USA Spithill pick off one Ainslie was an unforgettable highlight. ing and his bows kept diving down the competitor at a time. Their incredible mineshaft! As Spithill was pitch-poling, extremely well with a fi rst in Race 7. comeback left Spithill tied for fi rst in the I saw Terry Hutchinson expertly ma- Amazingly enough, after hoisting a series with Ainslie, each with 79 points. neuver around the whole disaster. For crewmember to the masthead to assess Spithill was awarded top honors, how- a few seconds, the fl eet was stacked in several broken ribs in the wing, Spithill ever, having won the fi nal race. tightly doing 20 knots, and I thought came back to win a second place in Fleet This edition of the ACWS was so there would surely be a collision. But in Race 2. Even more amazingly, later in brilliantly orchestrated and thrilling to a testament to the high degree of skill the day during the start of his match watch that it will be a hard act to follow on the course that day, everyone made race with Emirates Team New Zealand’s — even by the main event, America's it out relatively unscathed. Emirates Dean Barker, he luffed ETNZ up so bad- Cup 34 in July. We can hardly wait to Team New Zealand fi nished with a fi rst ly during the prestart maneuvers that see that! in Race 6. Ben Ainslie continued sailing ETNZ had to tack to avoid a penalty. — jeremy leonard ONE STOP Design Installation Support! Easom Racing allows you a complete performance upgrade with one call! Congratulations DUKER BRACK SC70 Holua • Deck layout and design Winner • Hardware choices Campbell Cup Reefed • Installation Congratulations • Sail purchase DAN MORRIS We can design, Easom Rigger supply and Winner CALL FOR A COST-EFFECTIVE Argo Gold Cup support any ESTIMATE ON YOUR PROJECT. system needed. Better Results at Better Prices! 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