2024 is delivering the goods, from Maxi Yachts, to Stars, to J/70s, to the ongoing Louis Vuitton Cup
by David Schmidt 10 Sep 23:00 HKT
September 10, 2024
Star World Championship at San Diego Day 1 © Matias Capizzano
Way back in January, Sail-World advised that 2024 would be a year marked by an embarrassment of sailing riches, and so far the year has been living up to these words. While the shiniest object in the sailing world right now is, of course, the ongoing Louis Vuitton Cup (LVC; August 29 to October 7), which will determine the team that will meet the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ), on the starting line for the 37th America's Cup (October 12-27), there's plenty more afoot than "just" Cup-related racing.
For starters, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup (September 8-14) is unfurling this week on the waters off of Porto Cervo, which is located on the Italian island of Sardinia. This event features many of the world's biggest and fastest maxi yachts, and involves many of the best sailors.
The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup famously offers both windward-leeward racing and longer coastal races, which unfurl in the Maddalena Archipelago to the island's northeast. The region's also-famous Mistral winds can howl through Bomb Alley, and while these winds often deliver spectacular racing, they can also pose hazards when racing some of the world's biggest - and most expensive - yachts.
True to form, the Mistrals have been blowing this year, and race officials made the call to cancel the first day of racing.
"All the forecast models today were aligned on the wind situation," said Stuart Childerley, the event's principal race officer, in an official report. "So, it was easy to make the decision to cancel from early morning. This means that the lay day scheduled for Thursday will be used for racing. The Race Committee will continue to monitor the situation over the next few days in order to take advantage of the time windows and complete the racing program to the fullest extent possible."
Fortunately, the wind speeds are forecasted to ease a bit in coming days, which will hopefully deliver great racing conditions for these skippers and crews.
Closer to home, the Star Worlds (September 4-13) are currently unfurling on the waters off San Diego, California. As of this writing (Monday morning, September 9), longtime Star class skipper Paul Cayard and his crew, Frithjof Kleen, who are flying the Stars and Stripes, are sitting in first place after a single race, while the Argentinian team of Leandro Altolaguirre and Lucas Altolaguirre are in second place, followed by Americans John Kostecki and Austin Sperry.
"It was a great race; we just kept it super simple," said Cayard in a regatta communication. "Although we didn't have a great start because I had to bail out at the pin end and gybe around, that end was so favored that eventually we got through and had a decent lane. But I think mainly we were fast, and we sailed pretty smart. We were able to work our way through, so it feels good to have the speed. We've been training for quite a while for this race, so I think we're in a good position for the rest of the week."
But, with five more races planned, this world-championship regatta is still wide open for business.
On the East Coast, the J/70 Corinthian US National Championship (September 6-8) just concluded, with skipper Edward Gary and his Ayacucho team taking top honors. "Feels great! I've sailed J/70s for a long time, but this is actually only my third regatta driving one," said Gary in a regatta communication. "Many of the top teams here usually sail with professionals, so you knew the game was on. We had no race wins. Consistency was the key for us."
Cate Muller-Terhune and her Casting Coach team took second place, while Jim Golden and his Derecho squad finished in third place.
Circling back to the 800-pound gorilla in the room, racing has been intense in the round robin stage of LVC, and the first blood has already hit the saline, as the French-flagged Orient Express Racing Team has been eliminated from the competition. While this wasn't a surprise, given that the team was new and had limited funding compared to the other teams, it marks a changing season for LVC racing.
"The whole team has been getting stronger and stronger, and our ambition is to come back," said Quentin Delapierre, the team's skipper and one of their drivers, in an official communication. "When we do, we will have to be better; we were missing a bit of an edge this time. Overall, though what we have achieved has been pretty significant, but unfortunately, we were not able to get into the Semi Final."
The biggest surprise of this first round of racing is evident in the scoreboard, which shows the British-flagged INEOS Britannia (the Challenger of Record for AC37) sitting in first place with seven wins and two losses, followed by the Italian-flagged Luna Rossa, who have six wins and three losses, and the American-flagged NYYC American Magic, with four wins and four loses, who are sitting in third place.
(Alinghi Red Bull Racing has won three and lost seven; ETNZ, who as Defender automatically commands at spot on AC37's starting line has posted eight wins and two losses, one against INEOS Britannia, the other against Luna Rossa.)
While this is great news for INEOS Britannia fans, a closer read reveals that Luna Rossa suffered mechanical issues in their race against the Swiss-flagged Alinghi and were disqualified after crossing a boundary by about 100 meters. The Italians then met the Brits for a race that saw INEOS Britannia take the start and effectively stitch-up their win by the weather mark.
Expect the Brits and the Italians to see a lot more of each other in coming weeks.
Cup racing is set to resume on Saturday with the LVC Semi-Finals (September 14-23), which will winnow the remaining four challengers down to a duo that will meet up in the LVC Final (September 26 to October 7), with the winner of this high-stakes series progressing on to the 37th America's Cup against ETNZ (October 12-27).
Given that the Olympics just wrapped up, and given that we haven't even talked about the upcoming Vendée Globe, which is set to begin on November 10, it's fair to say that 2024 is delivering dividends and long- and short-term capital gains rarely seen in the sailing world.
May the four winds blow you safely home.
David Schmidt
Sail-World.com North American Editor