Another Point Earned By Luna Rossa

Another Point Earned By Luna Rossa In A Day Of No Wind

After a week of strong winds, the Hauraki Gulf is finally calm today. The Race Committee is forced to delay all the starts due to the extremely light and shifty winds.

The all Italian match between Luna Rossa and Mascalzone Latino starts at 12:35. Rod Davis, at the helm of ITA 74, crosses the line at the pin end while Paolo Cian chooses the right next to the Committee Boat.

After a first upwind leg with frequent changes of lead due to the shifty wind, Mascalzone Latino rounds the first mark with a 32 seconds edge over Luna Rossa. The breeze dies to 8-9 knots.

The wind has shifted so much to the right that the first run downwind is sailed without gybing. Luna Rossa has no option other than trail behind her opponent. At the bottom mark Mascalzone Latino is still leading Luna Rossa by 58 seconds.

Luna Rossa accomplishes a steady come-back in the second windward leg and rounds the last mark only 6 seconds behind Mascalzone Latino.

In the last leg Luna Rossa is still trailing behind Mascalzone on the right side of the course.

Luna Rossa jibes and shortly after Mascalzone jibes too to control her.

Luna Rossa initialy is able to close the gap, then Paolo Cian strethes away again. At this point Francesco de Angelis comes back from behind with a series of close gybes. Mascalzone Latino is in trouble with the gennaker that gest all tangled up and Luna Rossa just literally sails past her, taking the lead. In the last portion of this run, Luna Rossa extends her lead and goes to win the race 1 minute and 42 seconds ahead of Mascalzone.

Patrizio Bertelli, CEO of team Prada, said at the end of today's race between Luna Rossa and Mascalzone Latino: "Once again the Hauraki Gulf has proved to be a racing area of great complexity. The wind shifts during the first beat forced us to chase our opponent, but the outcome of the race proved the determination and cohesion of the whole team in reaching their goal".

The Race Committee was able to complete only two of the eight matches scheduled today.

Only two races of flight 5 were sailed through to the end. The other two matches were abandoned as the teams were not able to complete the last leg within the 45 minutes time limit indicated in the Race Conditions.

The Committee decided not to start any of the matches of flight 6 of Round Robin Two, originally scheduled for this afternoon.

Today's Results

Flight 5 Of Round Robin Two - Off Le Defi Fra 69 Match 1 Luna Rossa ITA 74 wins against Mascalzone Latino ITA 72 (1' 42" lead) Match 2 Orm SWE 73 against Oracle BMW Racing USA 76 (match abandoned due to lack of wind) Match 3 OneWorld USA 67 against Stars & Stripes USA 66 (match abandoned due to lack of wind) Match 4 Alinghi SUI 64 wins against Wight Lightning GBR 70 (7' 45" lead)

Today's Crew On Luna Rossa 1. Bowman, Paolo Bassani 2. Mid bowman, Massimiliano Sirena 3. Mastman, Simone de Mari 4. Pitman, Albert Jacobsoone 5. Left grinder, Massimo Galli 6. Right grinder, Nicolas Texier 7. Upwind trimmer, Lorenzo Mazza 8. Downwind trimmer, Andrew Hemmings 9. Mainsail trimmer, Sean Clarkson 10. Center grinder, Massimo Gherarducci 11. Helmsman, Francesco de Angelis 12. Tactician, Torben Grael 13. Afterguard, Rod Davis 14. Downwind grinder, Piero Romeo 15. Strategist, Michele Ivaldi 16. Navigator, Matteo Plazzi

Race Course Windward leeward course of 12.5 miles, four legs total, two windward legs and two downwind legs; first and last legs are 3.25 miles, the remaining two are 3.00 miles.

Weather Conditions Today Wind from NW 10-15 knots. Mostly cloudy, frequent showers, squally at times.

Current Overall Standings At The End Of Today's Racing 1. Alinghi Swiss Challenge, 11 pts (11 wins out of 12 races) 1. OneWorld Challenge, 10 pts (10 wins out of 11 races) * 3. Prada Challenge, 8 pts (8 wins out of 12 races) 4. Oracle BMW Racing, 6 pts (6 wins out of 10 races) 5. Victory Challenge, 6 pts (6 wins out of 11 races) 6. GBR Challenge, 5 pts (5 wins out of 11 races) 7. Team Dennis Conner, 4 pts (4 wins out of 11 races) 8. Mascalzone Latino, 1 pt (1 win out of 13 races) 9. Le Defi Areva, 0 pts (0 wins out of 11 races) * OneWorld will be penalised one point at the end of Round Robin Two.

Calendar For Tomorrow - October 31

Flight 6 Of Round Robin Two - Off Alinghi SUI 64 Match 1 Mascalzone Latino ITA 72 against Wight Lightning GBR 70 Match 2 Luna Rossa ITA 74 against Orm SWE 73 Match 3 OneWorld USA 67 against Oracle BMW Racing USA 76 * Match 4 Stars & Stripes USA 66 against Le Defi FRA 69 * Match broadcasted live on TV.

Flight 7 Of Round Robin Two - Off Mascalzone Latino ITA 72 Match 1 Oracle BMW Racing USA 76 versus Le Defi FRA 69 Match 2 Stars & Stripes USA 66 versus Alinghi SUI 64 Match 3 Luna Rossa ITA 74 versus Wight Lightning GBR 70 * Match 4 Orm SWE 73 versus OneWorld USA 67 * Match broadcasted live on TV.

Weather Forecast For Tomorrow Wind from WSW 15 knots. Mainly sunny.

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