AUDI Medcup - Cartagena Trophy - Day 3: Emirates Team NZ score two bullets amid carnage in the fleet

After two days of playing hide and seek, the wind came with a vengeance in Cartagena on Thursday. The breeze blew hard, peaking 30 knots at times, and the huge waves tore spinnakers, broke gear and threw sailors overboard. Still, the Kiwis sailed flawlessly in an exceptional exhibition of crew work, aided of course by their bullet TP52 yacht that seems to be in a league of her own, especially under such strong conditions. At times it appeared that like Alinghi's catamaran, the New Zealand yacht had some kind of hidden engine that propelled her, surfing the waves off Cartagena's coast.

The big disappointment of the day was without any doubt Matador. It seemed that as the breeze got stronger their performance got weaker. The Argentineans started the day 2nd overall in the circuit but after a series of accidents, breakages and calamities finished 4th.

Video highlights from the third day of the Cartagena Trophy. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Video copyright AUDI Medcup

Similarly, Quantum Racing tore 3 spinnakers and lost precious minutes in the leeward gate at the 2nd race when Bigamist's spinnaker got tangled in their keel. Still, they hold on to 3rd overall.

On the other hand, Artemis, helmed by Vasco Vascotto and with Paul Cayard calling tactics, had a definitely good day. Despite their slow start in the first race, 7th, they held a tough fight with Team New Zealand in the second race and crossed the finish line 2nd, after leading throughout the first half.

Today's two victories not only demonstrate Team New Zealand's absolute dominance of the TP52 fleet under almost any conditions, they further increase their overall leadership in the season. They now have a 62-point cushion separating them from second-placed Artemis and unless they suffer some extraordinary failure they practically have the Medcup title in their pocket.

The forecast for Friday is quite similar so one should expect more of the same.

Our apologies for the reduced photo coverage of the 2nd race but with 3-meter waves and 25 knots of breeze it was impossible to follow these rocketships

Race 1
The Kiwi sailing war machine had no problems crossing the finish line ahead of the fleet in the first race. Right from the start, they got the left side of the course and led with ease, actually extending their advantage in every mark. The much-expected tough battle for the second place overall in the circuit didn't take place as both Matador and Quantum fell victims of gear failure. The Argentinean boat was plagued by a series of breakages and was forced to withdraw while the Americans tore a spinnaker. Riccardo Simoneschi's AUDI Q8

Start of the 1st race. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Vasco Vascotto helms Artemis in the 1st beat. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Bigamist sailing in the 1st beat. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Quantum sailing in the 1st beat. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Emirates Team NZ leading the fleet towards the 1st weather mark. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Emirates Team NZ leading the fleet in the 1st run. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Quantum and Artemis are neck and neck in the first run. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Disaster strike and Quantum break their spinnaker. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Emirates Team New Zealand easily lead the fleet in the 2nd beat. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

AUDI Q8 had a great race and climbed to second position in the 2nd beat. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Emirates Team New Zealand fly to victory in the 1st race. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Great performance by AUDI Q8 and Bribón that finish 2nd and 3rd respectively. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Cristabella and Bigamist finished 5th and 6th. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Meanwhile, the GP42 race was Spanish. Puerto Calero, Endesa and Iberdrola got the 3 first positions. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Race 2
The breeze got stronger when the race committee fired the starting gun and Grant Dalton and his crew were again ready to show who the boss is in the TP52 class. Their start was again perfect, albeit slightly behind Artemis. Vasco Vascotto was defending his position fiercely and the two yachts were neck and neck until the leeward gate where Dean Barker got the upper hand. From that point, NZL-380 stayed in the lead until the finish line. Artemis crossed behind them and AUDI Q8 finished 3rd, marking yet another strong performance by Riccardo Simoneschi's boat. Yet again, Quantum Racing and Matador suffered from failures and blew their chances for 2nd place overall.

Start of the 2nd race. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Matador and Bribón in the 1s beat. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Emirates Team NZ, AUDI Q8 and Quantum sail behind Artemis in the 1st beat. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Emirates Team NZ take the lead in the 2nd beat. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

After a series of mishaps Quantum and Matador were the laggards in the 2nd beat. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Boat speed is obviously important, but flawless crew work was also of paramount importance. Not one single gybe went wrong onboard NZL-380. Here Emirates Team NZ fly to victory in the last run. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Our count of torn spinnakers is about a dozen. Here Bigamist lose theirs in the final stretch to the finish line. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Difficult times call for drastic measures. Quantum use their spinnaker and cross ahead of spinnaker-less Synergy. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Matador and Valars, two more spinnaker-less boats, cross the finish line. Cartagena, 17 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing