Severe early morning thunderstorms and shifting winds disrupted the opening day of America’s Cup racing on the Bay of Naples, forcing the race committee to abandon two initial attempts before a late-day gradient wind enabled high-speed AC40 competition. More than 20,000 spectators gathered along the lungomare at the America’s Cup Race Village on Naples’ waterfront, while additional fans watched from the hills of Chiaia, Vomero, and Posillipo as racing finally commenced at 4:40 pm local time.
Opening Day Challenges on the Bay of Naples
The race committee faced difficult conditions on the water, battling a residual chop, an initial northeasterly breeze, and a soft thermal southerly sea breeze. Emirates Team New Zealand’s senior boat, helmed by Nathan Outteridge, started on the right and engaged in a duel with ARC Team USA up the first beat. Outteridge rounded the top mark in second place, but tricky downwind transitions caused the team to slip through the middle of the fleet to finish fifth.
The Emirates Team New Zealand Women & Youth crew faced difficulties off the start line in soft air. Despite being parked initially, the crew fought back through the fleet to secure a seventh-place finish on the demanding opening run.
Race Two Drama and Fleet Comebacks
Drama unfolded immediately at the start of Race 2 when the French team La Roche-Posay Racing Team capsized right off the start line. A tight mid-fleet dogfight followed, featuring another contest between Outteridge and ARC Team USA.
Further back, the Emirates Team New Zealand Women & Youth squad defended their third-place position against a pursuing Italian Women & Youth crew. As the breeze freshened, Outteridge and his crew passed three boats on the second bottom mark rounding to climb to fourth place. They subsequently overtook the Emirates Team New Zealand Women & Youth team in the final stage of the race, resulting in third- and fourth-place finishes respectively for the two Kiwi entries.
Sailor Perspectives on Unpredictable Conditions
Reflecting on the unpredictable weather, Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Nathan Outteridge noted the difficulty of managing the late-arriving land breeze.
“It was a tricky first day here in Naples,” Outteridge said. “We probably lost quite a few places over the two races by not capitalising on the gusts downwind which were really difficult to spot. Really, really tight battles amongst the group and we got a little bit bounced around in most of our races but the guys did a great job.”
Jake Pye, skipper of the Emirates Team New Zealand Women & Youth team, described the challenge of adapting to the shifting wind ranges.
“The hardest part was to switch from marginal foiling conditions to then straight into top-end, fresh conditions,” Pye said. “Changing jibs and getting into the new mindset with doing 20 knots more of boat speeds than we had been doing all day. In the final race, we hung in there towards the front, but had one poor manoeuvre, and Nath and the crew just got around us.”
Standings and Outlook for the Weekend
At the conclusion of the opening day, the Emirates Team New Zealand senior team sits in second position overall behind Luna Rossa. The Women & Youth team stands three points behind in a tie for sixth place. Both crews aim to carry their late-afternoon momentum into the next 48 hours of racing as they target a spot in Sunday’s Match Race Final.
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