La Maddalena, Sardinia
In what must have seemed like an endless wait for Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) the Emirates Airline sponsored Kiwi team claimed victory over Team Origin in their first match in the Louis Vuitton Trophy in La Maddalena. On the third day of the Trophy being hosted on the small island off the north east coast of Sardinia two race days passed with the team only being able to watch from the support boat in an unexpected twist to the regatta. Dying wind on the first day, then damage to one of the four Americas Cup Class yachts on the second day forced frustrating postponements for Emirates Team New Zealand. They should have raced three matches before their dual with TeamOrigin but the rules place any postponed matches to the end of the round if time permits. The situation has put the team at a disadvantage as they have had little time on the water, which is vital when in a new sailing area. ‘The conditions here are new and unpredictable,’ said Dean Barker, skipper of ETNZ. ‘There are a lot of islands surrounding the race areas and it will take some getting used to, we haven’t had much time to practice so we’re looking forward to getting out there.’
The match against the British team, who were basking in their earlier win against BMW Oracle saw Emirates Team New Zealand start behind their opponent who took the left hand side of the course after an early split tack, but Dean Barker skippering Emirates Team New Zealand grabbed the lead at the top mark and then dominated the rest of the race beating TeamOrigin by 15 seconds.
There are ten teams racing from eight countries and Emirates Team New Zealand were the winner of the Trophy in Auckland March and came second behind Azzurra in Nice in November last year. Aleph Sailing Team, (FRA) Mascalzone Latino Audi Team, (ITA), Aremis, (SWE) and All4one, (FRA & GER) are in top place on day three with two points each, ETNZ, (NZ), Synergy, (RUS), Azzurra, (ITA) and TeamOrigin, (ITA) all have one point and Luna Rossa and BMW Oracle have yet to score.
Win-loss record: Artemis 2-0, Aleph 2-1 
All4One 2-1, Mascalzone Latino 2-1 
Team New Zealand 1-0, Synergy 1-0 
Azzurra 1-2, Team Origin 1-3 
BMW Oracle Racing 0-2, Luna Rossa 0-2
The Louis Vuitton Trophy will be in Dubai from November 13th – 28th with ETNZ as the host team.
