Youth America’s Cup: Day 7 – Light Winds Expected for Semi-Finals
by America’s Cup/Sail-World 24 Sep 04:22 PDT
24 September 2024
Luna Rossa – AC40 – UniCredit Youth America’s Cup, Race Day 6 – September 23, 2024 © Ricardo Pinto / America’s Cup
The Semi-Finals of the Youth America’s Cup, featuring the top three finishers from Groups A and B of the qualification series, are set to take place today.
Italy, the USA, and Great Britain will compete in the Group A Semi-Final (the AC Challenger/Defender teams), while three teams from Group B, consisting of Invited Teams not associated with the America’s Cup teams, will also participate. The two top teams from today’s competition will move on to a single Match Race Final on Thursday, the opening day of the Louis Vuitton Cup Final series.
Initially postponed due to light winds, the fleet has now departed Port Olimpic, with racing anticipated to commence at 1430hrs CET (1230hrs UTC).
Live Racing Stream:
America’s Cup Weather Partner PredictWind is offering a comprehensive Race Weather Center that gives fans access to detailed daily weather analyses, live camera feeds, and historical weather info, alongside daily breakdowns crafted by meteorologists.
Tuesday’s forecast, provided by former America’s Cup team meteorologist Arnaud Monges:
In the afternoon, we expect light winds from the South between 4 to 8 knots, combined with a calm sea surface.
The sky will be overcast with minimal chance of rain and temperatures reaching up to 24°C.
Race Overview:
Race 1: ITA led a trio off the pin end of the starting line, including USA and SWE. ESP and GBR took port tack across the back of the fleet aimed at the starboard boundary. At the initial crossing, ITA (port tack, give way boat) was penalized for sailing too close to SWE (starboard, right of way). GBR was in third. ITA delayed serving their penalty too long, resulting in a second penalty. They completed their penalties after rounding the first mark.
Mark 1: SWE and ESP rounded in a tie for the lead.
Mark 2: SWE rounded at 6m 28sec after the start, with SWE 2secs behind and ITA in third. SWE lost the lead but regained it on Leg 3.
Mark 3: SWE rounded at 10m 39secs. ITA trailed by 11 secs and ESP by 13 secs.
Finish: SWE finished 13m 15sec after the start. ITA was 12sec behind, GBR (+18sec), ESP (+19sec), USA (+20sec), AUS (+37sec).
Race 2:
