Coastal Victory Shores Up Emirates Team NZ Lead

Coastal Victory Shores Up Emirates Team New Zealand’s Lead

Emirates Team New Zealand has stretched out their lead in the Portugal Trophy after winning the coastal race for the first time in their Audi MedCup history.

Dean Barker and his crew on board NZL380 dominated the 38-mile race running between Cascais and Lisbon, relishing the strong northerly winds which gusted over 25 knots.

Today’s victory – Emirates Team New Zealand’s first in a coastal race in six Audi MedCup regattas – has given the defending champions a 14-point lead going into tomorrow’s final two races.

“We’ve got a nice little buffer now,” said Barker.

“It was a perfect course for us today, and we were determined to come out of the blocks firing.”

Emirates Team New Zealand was second off the startline behind closest rivals TeamOrigin, but took the lead around the first mark off Cabo Raso, the western tip of Cascais. But as they rounded, their gennaker exploded, allowing TeamOrigin back into the battle.

“We blew out the chute on the hoist, but the guys did a fantastic job to recover, and we passed TeamOrigin again,” Barker said.

NZL380 then established a sizeable lead at the end of the run, continuing to build on that, gib-reaching to the eastern end of the course at the historic Belem Tower on Lisbon’s River Tajo.

At the finish directly off the Marina of Cascais breakwater, Emirates Team New Zealand crossed line one and a half minutes ahead of the next boat, Matador, of Argentina, which had Italian Francesco Bruni calling tactics.

TeamOrigin slipped back to ninth in the fleet, and fell to fourth place overall - but with just a point separating them from the Franco-German Audi A1 powered by All4ONE and Swedish Artemis in second and third spots.

Barker said today’s win further bolstered the team’s confidence after a rocky start to the regatta.

“The most satisfying thing is the way we have bounced back from that disappointing first day - the guys have ground their way back into this regatta,” he said.

“We’ve still got to have a good day tomorrow, and we have to look long term – it’s not just about your placing here, it’s crucial for the whole Audi MedCup circuit. A nice 20-25 point cushion would be a good way to start the season.”

Emirates Team New Zealand managing director Grant Dalton, who arrived in Cascais to see the coastal race, was happy with what he witnessed.

“It’s the first offshore race – if we can call it offshore – that we’ve won; in the five regattas last year we had never been better than second,” he said. “We sailed quite well, and I think we’re going reasonably quick.”

Audio file: Dean Barker discusses Day 4

ENDS

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