LV ACT 8 - Day 2 : Tough conditions

Unlike the first day, the conditions that prevailed during Friday were extremely difficult, causing many technical problems, delaying half of the midday races for almost three hours and finally forcing the organizers to postpone all afternoon races. Winds of up to 25 knots and waves of up to two meters put much stress on boats and sailors, even when they were just waiting in the northern race course for an improvement in the weather.

Despite heavy winds and high waves, five out of the six races turned out as expected, with the stronger teams beating the weaker ones. The exception and upset was Shosholoza's victory over K-Challenge. It was quite an irony for the French team that easily beat the New Zealanders on Thursday, to be beaten by one of the weakest teams on Friday. It was a broken genoa that caused the French to retire from the race, handing the victory to Shosholoza.

Luna Rossa, BMW Oracle and Alinghi keep being undefeated, with the latter piling up straight victories in match racing. They must be very close to 30 so far in 2005, but we've lost count.

Saturday will undoubtedly be the first of the "big" days, weather permitting, as Alinghi will face Luna Rossa and Emirates Team New Zealand will race against BMW Oracle.