Artikel-Schlagworte: „James Spithill“

The race course was pushed up close to The Hoe, and once again, the crowds on the hill were rewarded with thrilling racing just meters from shore.

The blustery conditions pushed the crews and the boats to their limits, and in some cases beyond. Three teams capsized; the French Aleph, Team Korea and just meters from the finish, Spain’s Green Comm Racing. In each case, the crews escaped unscathed, the boats, with minor damage to their wings.

During the race, the ORACLE Racing Spithill crew had many near misses and was lucky not to capsize as they passed the first mark with the lead. Other boats challenged them for their early advantage, with first Artemis Racing, then Emirates Team New Zealand taking their turn at the head of the fleet. But it was a game of least mistakes, a war of attrition that eventually went back in favor of James Spithill and his slick ORACLE team.

France’s Energy Team sailed a strong race to finish fourth, after battling around the course with Russell Coutts for a podium spot. China Team too, sailed well in the conditions to finish in fifth place. Artemis Racing, meanwhile, was forced to retire, moments after relinquishing the lead on the second lap of the course, with equipment problems.

Aleph was the first to capsize, nose-diving right in front of the crowds gathered along Plymouth seafront, early in the race. Then, at the top of the course Team Korea speared their bows into the waves and flipped over. And tantalizingly close to the finish, Green Comm Racing was toppled by a gust on the final leg of the race. Luca Devoti, sports director from Green Comm commented later, “Nobody has been hurt and the wing has been damaged; we’ll need two days to fix it.”

All day, the sailors and the boats were racing at their very limits, unless a nonchalant James Spithill was to be believed after the race. “It was great racing for sure, not even at the limit of the boats; still a way to go.” Brave words after a race that had spectators gasping with disbelief.

While Spithill won the race, his rival Dean Barker’s second place was sufficient to give victory to the Kiwis in the Plymouth AC Preliminaries.

In Sunday’s AC500 Speed Trials, it looked like the Kiwis had it in the bag with two great runs while others were spinning off the race track. James Spithill’s words nearly came back to haunt him as the ORACLE AC45 flipped right on to its edge – there were a few moments of doubt as to whether it would capsize – before it slapped back down on its floats.

With Spithill out of contention in the speed trials, it was up to the remaining teams – and ORACLE Racing Coutts in particular – to take the fight to the Kiwis. Once again Russell Coutts had the bit between his teeth and turned in a scorching final run to post a winning time of 37:48 seconds.

Monday and Tuesday are off days at the America’s Cup World Series – Plymouth allowing the teams a chance to rest and repair both man and machine. Racing resumes on Wednesday with qualifying races for the Plymouth AC Match Race Championship.

Article source: http://www.sailing.org/36616.php

Nine America’s Cup crews at the ready in Cascais

Posted on 04 August 2011

Nine of the best sailing teams in the world are making their final preparations in Cascais, Portugal ahead of the opening weekend of the 34th America’s Cup.

The Cascais AC World Series Preliminaries consist of two events over the course of this weekend – the Cascais AC Open and the AC 500 Speed Trial. Saturday will see the first three fleet races of the AC Open as well as the exciting speed test – a timed, sprint over a 500-meter course. On Sunday is the fourth fleet race of the AC Open.

All racing will be streamed live on www.americascup.com, beginning at 1400 local time (GMT+1) on Saturday afternoon.

The forecast for Saturday is for northwesterly winds building to 15 knots, with a possibility of stronger winds late in the afternoon. Over the next two days, the teams and race committee will continue their training ahead of Saturday’s opening races.

Some highlights from Thursday’s press conference, which took place in the media center in the presence of the America’s Cup trophy, which was making its first appearance in Portugal:

Bertrand Pacé, skipper, Aleph: On board, I am the wing trimmer and the tactician. I am getting to grips on board more and more each time we sail. The challenge is exciting, and I am trying to do my best. The wing is really interesting because this is completely new and different than a soft sail, because of its raw power. I am learning more every day about how to control the power.

Terry Hutchinson, skipper, Artemis Racing: We have a new team and we are learning a lot of things about ourselves and catamarans and multihulls in general. So we’ll use the scorecard here as one measure of success, but I think as long as we see performance increases each day that’s another measure, regardless of results.

Mitch Booth, skipper, China Team: It’s really enjoyable. The first time we try to join east and west. The experience is really rewarding. Sometimes it’s a little challenging but when you get it right it’s very rewarding when the team gels. We’re learning how to communicate very quickly on the boat and we’re enjoying every day.

Dean Barker, skipper, Emirates Team New Zealand: Our team has been very focused on monohull sailing over the last few years and had some good results so the transition to multihulls is very interesting. It’s a new game to a lot of us, and there are a lot of lessons to be learned. It’s a challenge.

Loïck Peyron, skipper, Energy Team: You always prefer the turbo engine of the wingsail compared to a traditional sail. These boats are very interesting and a good tool for the game we want to play. But we need to learn. I love learning at least one thing every day and these past weeks I’m learning many things each day.

Vasilij Zbogar, skipper, Green Comm Racing: (Asked about having a crew full of ‘skippers’) When they look at the rudder (to steer) I just punch them! I think our first day we realized that everyone on the boat needs to be a skipper. It’s a full team required to sail.

Chris Draper, skipper, Team Korea: We’re excited. The boats provide a great, level playing field. The wing is a big leveling platform. We’re really excited but we’re under no false illusions. We just want to get started and get racing.

James Spithill, skipper, ORACLE Racing Spithill: I think ‘favorite’ is an interesting term. When you look at the group of sailors here and how quickly everyone has got up to speed, that highlights how tough it’s going to be out on the water.

Russell Coutts, skipper, ORACLE Racing Coutts: We’ve practiced as much as we can and I think we’re ready to get out there and race. I’m looking forward to it. I think we have a chance of winning and that’s as good as you can get at this point.

Iain Murray, Regatta Director and CEO, ACRM: We’ve been working on this for the past 10 months, the creation of the boats, trials and tests in New Zealand and San Francisco and bringing a lot innovation to the sport as well as the way we’ll bring it to spectators around the world. We think it’s going to be spectacular.

Craig Thompson, CEO, America’s Cup Event Authority: I don’t think there could be a more perfect venue for the start of the AC World Series. Cascais is gorgeous as a city, beautiful waters, beautiful beaches and for the first time we’ll be racing along the shore where people on the beaches can watch and be part of this great event. We have the best sailors on the fastest boats, and it’s going to be fantastic.

Patrick M de Barros, Chairman of the local organizing committee: I think this even marks a dramatic change to the history and format of the Cup and I think we owe this to the vision of Larry Ellison, Russell Coutts and James Spithill… I wish all of you a great regatta and great winds.

Article source: http://www.americascup.com/en/Latest/News/2011/8/Nine-Americas-Cup-crews-at-the-ready-in-Cascais/

America’s Cup skipper James Spithill named Male Sailor of the Year in Australian Yachting Awards

Friday, October 15, 2010

America’s Cup-winning skipper James Spithill has been named the Australian Male Sailor of the Year for 2009-2010. Spithill won the award for guiding BMW ORACLE Racing’s trimaran USA to victory in the 33rd America’s Cup Match last February. Additionally, BMW ORACLE Racing sailing team coach Glenn Ashby received the President’s Award from Australian Yachting..

Sailing team coach Glenn Ashby also honored

America’s Cup-winning skipper James Spithill has been named the Australian Male Sailor of the Year for 2009-2010.

Spithill (31, Sydney, Australia) won the award for guiding BMW ORACLE Racing’s trimaran USA to victory in the 33rd America’s Cup Match last February.

“It’s an honor to have won the award. I’d like to congratulate all the other competitors and nominees, and especially thank my family, my father (Arthur) and brother (Tom),”

Spithill said in his acceptance speech. Spithill’s father and brother represented him at the ceremony hosted by the sport’s national authority, Australian Yachting, at The Deckhouse, Sydney Harbor.

“I’d love to be there, but I’m in the Canary Islands competing at the RC 44 World Championship,” Spithill said in a video message broadcast at the ceremony.

“We just wrapped up the RC 44 world match racing part of the series. That’s what the award is all about, going out and winning races,” said Spithill.

Spithill previously won the Australian Sailor of the Year award in 2005-06 for winning the ISAF World Match Racing Championship and the Melges 24 World Championship.

Spithill is just the second Australian to skipper a winning America’s Cup yacht. He follows John Bertrand who, in 1983, steered the first challenger to win the America’s Cup and broke the New York Yacht Club’s 132-year winning streak.

“It’s been a fantastic year,” Spithill said. “The America’s Cup has been a dream of mine. Ever since I was a kid in 1983 and John Bertrand won in Australia II.

“To Larry Ellison (team founder) and Russell Coutts (CEO), it was a fantastic effort to build up the team they did. I thought it was quite courageous to make a decision on the wingsail, which is the largest wing ever built.

“This award is an individual award, but I’m not standing here as an individual. There’s no way I could have achieved what I have without the help of the team and my family.

“BMW ORACLE Racing was a team of more than 150 people. To get that sort of coordination, communication and teamwork working together, it was incredible feeling when it all comes together at the end and you pull off the result.”

Additionally, BMW ORACLE Racing sailing team coach Glenn Ashby (33, Melbourne, Australia) received the President’s Award from Australian Yachting.

Ashby played a critical role in expanding the sailing team’s confidence aboard the 90- foot trimaran at the beginning of the year. Later in the year, he and Spithill teamed up to capture second place at the International C Class Catamaran Championship.

“Quite simply, there’s no way I could have been ready to sail USA 17 in the America’s Cup without Glenn’s help,” said Spithill. “I speak on behalf of the sailing team when I say that. We had a very limited amount of time to sail the boat, and myself and most of the team didn’t come from multihull backgrounds. “

It was those long days on the water when Glenn pushed us and the boat to go beyond our own limits. I have to put that down to Glenn and his drive and determination.”

Ashby clinched his seventh A Class Catamaran World Championship in Italy last July. It was his 14th world title.

Article source: http://www.americascup.com/news/americas-cup-skipper-james-spithill-named-male-sailor-of-the-year-in-australian-yachting-awards_37