Round robin 2, 5 September, 2024
The last time these two met, way back in race 3, RR1, American Magic sat down at the start in light airs and gave Ineos Britannia a huge advantage, but almost ran them down just before the finish. I’m picking USA to win this one.
Today it’s light, light airs and all about staying on the foils.
American Magic is late coming into the box and immediately vulnerable. They gybe around to the left with Ineos in pursuit into the bottom left hand corner.
My text buddy Rosco: ‘Heading to coffin corner, not a good place to be!’
Then: Ineos Britannia is off the foils. That’s a get out of jail card for American Magic and they get a good start with Ineos in pursuit.
Both boats tack out from the right hand boundary; American Magic is to leeward and sailing high, forcing Ineos to tack back so they’ll have to tack back almost immediately off the boundary. It works. UK has a boundary penalty.
American Magic is covering tack for tack. Ineos is flirting with 21 knots which is danger territory for falling off the foils. American Magic is around the gate first with a delta of 20 seconds.
Heading up leg 2, Ineos is trying to break cover. American Magic does a wobble that scares everyone as the traveller slides down but they recover. They judge the layline perfectly.
On leg 3, Ineos is 300m behind. American Magic makes a high-risk, low-speed tack, desperate to stay between their opponent and the mark.
Ineos: ‘We should come back while we’ve got the pace.’
Coming into gate 4, talk from both cockpits says that Ineos is gaining. American Magic has to cover, has to pick the shifts and has to set up for a nice layline into the mark. They’ve got a lot on.
Leg 5, the lead is 100m and shrinking.
American Magic tacks on top of Ineos but the Americans exit the tack at low speed. Ben puts the bow down early… both boats come into the gate with NO metres between them and Ineos emerges in front. American Magic cracks under pressure and does a big leeway skid and splashes down. I did hear ‘f**kin hell’ through gritted teeth. They get up again, but it’s expensive.
Ineos is well up the final leg when they execute a sloppy gybe. It’s enough to give American Magic the lead and they slip over the finish line by 13 seconds. Happy 40th birthday, Tom Slingsby.
Asked about that near splashdown, Tom Slingsby says, ‘I thought I was going to be like one of those four-year-old girls who throws a tantrum.’
‘Congratulations on keeping the wheel nuts on,’ says commentator Glenn Ashby. Love it.
© Rebecca Hayter
Photo: American Magic's Patriot with Barcelona's La Familia in the background. Ricardo Pinto, America's Cup
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