After a near two-hour delay waiting for a southerly ‘Migjorn’ thermal breeze to eke its way above the wind-limit of 6.5 knots, finally racing got underway between INEOS Britannia and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli just after 1600 CET on the second day of their epic first-to-seven-points Louis Vuitton Cup Final series.
At the beginning of the day it was one-all, by the end of the day the score was the same, after a thrilling race was timed out with both boats in displacement mode when the wind cruelly shut down on the fifth leg of the six-leg course.
For the fans shoreside at the Race Village and the crowds at the Fanzones in Plaça del Mar and Bogatell plus the huge armada of spectator craft that took to the water on a stunning Barcelona Saturday, there were faces etched with both excitement and frustration. The fans, decked out in their team’s colours and flying flags of support were denied a race win but revelled in the atmosphere of this very special Louis Vuitton Cup Final.
Questions, though, were answered today with INEOS Britannia showing impressive light-air speed, coming off the line to windward and holding a mighty high-mode all the way to the left boundary, creating enough gauge to cross and cover Luna Rossa’s first tack.
