An America’s Cup yachting event already marred by tragedy was stung again in its first race Sunday when Emirates Team New Zealand won by forfeit Sunday over Italy’s Luna Rossa on San Francisco Bay.
Luna Rossa boycotted the challengers’ Louis Vuitton Cup round-robin opener in a rules protest, the Italians refusing to race until an international jury rules on its protest against a late change to a rudder design rule.
“We have been forced into this position,” Luna Rossa skipper Max Sirena said Sunday. “We did not come to San Francisco to watch races, but to race.”
But as a result, the Kiwi squad aboard Aotearoa sailed the seven-leg course alone, completing almost 16 nautical miles in 46 minutes, 27 seconds. The crew averaged 20 knots with a top speed of 35 knots.
A tweet from Team New Zealand during the race said, “Half way through race 1. No surprises to be leading in a race with ourselves.”
It was a lackluster start for an event set to last until late September, when holders Oracle will face one of three challengers in the America’s Cup proper.
“We had a discussion with Emirates Team New Zealand about sailing the shorter course, but it was their wish to sail the full course,” regatta director Iain Murray said.
Sirena says Murray exceeded his authority to impose some of the 37 safety rules created in the wake of British sailor Andrew Simpson’s death in May without approval from all of the competing teams.
Simpson died in a training accident in which the AC72 catamaran of Swedish syndicate Artemis Racing capsized, and Murray has held firm that rule changes aimed at preventing another such tragedy were within his authority.
Rivals have complained that Oracle was handed an advantage by the rudder design rule change because it has trained with the new design.
An international jury is expected to rule on the rules protest this week.
“By racing under these rules, enforced by the regatta director with race notices 185 and 189, we would somehow silently approve them. This is not the case,” Sirena said.
“Therefore we have no choice but to stay ashore until the international jury has reached a decision on the matter.”
A total of 15 round-robin races were scheduled through August 1 to decide one qualifier for next month’s challenger final, with the remaining two boats to stage another head-to-head series for the remaining challenger final spot.
With Artemis struggling to recover and not planning to race this month, the five races between Luna Rossa and Team New Zealand took on greater importance as the other 10 are also unlikely to feature more than one boat.
Luna Rossa’s forfeit means that for the Italians to move directly into the challenger final, they must win three of the four remaining races scheduled with New Zealand, which weather permitting will be on July 13, 21, 23 and 28.
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