Wonderful Match Racing Between Leader Boats... In Flights 6 and 7

LR & Orm fought things out tooth and nail. LR played the winds to the right of the course, then tactically shoved Orm off the lay line to earn the lead at the first marker. LR's only tactical mistake was not being purist match racers, forgetting to cover on the first downwind leg letting Orm exploit slightly stronger wind to port. LR had to wait until the second downwind leg to exploit superior execution on a gybe, blocking Orm's wind and storming ahead to the now-near finish line.

Oracle and oneWorld had a fierce battle. During the circling Oracle drew a penalty, then managed to shut oneWorld off the committee boat (effectively inflicting a penalty maneuver on their opponent). Unfortunately, Ellison's crew crossed the start line too early and had to tack back in, losing any tactical advantage or speed. Nonetheless, leeward, Oracle exploited the winds and its own boat speed to distance oneWorld, conduct its penalty and round the marker with a good lead. The lead was never in question after that. oneWorld starts to lose its veneer of invincibility.

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In flight 7, Luna Rossa used its tactical advantage at the start to put its adversary in a nasty start position with lower initial boat speed. LR's advantage held until late on the windward leg when GBR used strong match racing tactics to leverage a slight shift to their advantage. Rounding the mark was exemplary on the part of both teams, both tactically and execution-wise. DeAngelis then took the inside of Wight Lightning to surf its wake, take wind or place a penalty in his adversary. Slightly better gybe execution gave LR the lead anew.

One their end, Orm put much pressure on oneWorld, reducing the latter team's veneer and leaving Alinghi, barely bothered by S&S, as the undisputed leader of the LV Cup.

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LR has only 2 matches left in Round Robin 2. But these are the real telling challenges: oneWorld tomorrow and Alinghi (apparently scheduled for Saturday).

(Our comment on the Paolo Cian incident with ML will be kept under wraps for an off day)