Shifts

Wind Shifts, Organisation Shifts, Shifts in Standings

The organisors changed things around yesterday. Rather than run Flights 8 & 9, they ran Flight 8 and tried to recuperate postponed matches from Flight 4. Winds surpassing 23 knots impeded completion of the Flight 4 re-takes, including the matchup between LR and Alinghi on their last leg.

Alinghi was leading LR due to a faster start. The data is incontravertible, LR still needs to pick up speed windward.

Otherwise it was not a good day for the leaders. Alinghi lost to Oracle, the latter showing faster speed windward with strong winds and losing most of it leeward, to the point of finishing only 4 seconds ahead at the finish line.

oneWorld also, unexpectedly, lost its match against LeDéfi. The French team almost caused a double surprise in its second match against Wight Lightning, but a match racing mistake of not covering the adversary when leading (a latin mistake it seems) cost them a precious point. The Brits also has a 50-50 day, having first lost to Orm in another tight race.

Finally, Oracle has buoyed its image by earning a second point against S&S in the afternoon.

Group A is now sealed in terms of who is in (Alinghi, oneWorld, LR & Oracle), the positions need determining. Le Défi and ML will now fight it out in a loser-goes-home match of Flight 9.

And LR, with its make-up matches meets oneWorld & Alinghi on the same day! Stuff out of a Hollywood script...