FABULOUS FLEET RACING — T
ALL PHOTOS RED BULL / BALAZS GARDI EXCEPT AS NOTED
he folks at Red Bull know a winning concept when they see it. Whether it’s mountain biking exhibitions, surf contests in exotic locations or Formula 1 World Championships, Red Bull is one of the best in the world at making sponsorship and marketing of extreme sports work. The latest example was the hugely
In the final race, youth athletes from tiny landlocked Switzerland showed what lake sailors can do — with a wire-to-wire victory.
successful Red Bull Youth America’s Cup (September 1-4), which produced some of the most exciting racing staged on San Francisco Bay in recent memory. Ten youth teams (aged 19-24) from eight nations competed in a four-day, eight-race series aboard wing-sailed AC 45 catamarans to determine a champion. One thing that made the event especially thrilling was that no team In contrast to the AC72s used in the America's Cup, these AC45s are virtually identical other than their colorful graphics.
dominated. In fact, after five races, five different teams had scored bullets. Incredibly, at the beginning of the final day of competition, there was a mathematical possibility that any of nine teams could claim overall victory because the final race was to carry double points. Ultimately, though, nobody could top the New Zealanders. Young sailors from that tiny island nation not only won the regatta, but took the top two spots in what was an incredible display of young sailing talent. If these kids are the future, then the rest of the world better watch out; New Zealand will be hell-bent on defending the Youth America's Cup (if the event is repeated). NZL Sailing Team, supported by ETNZ, won the regatta in commanding fashion. With two-time Olympian Peter Burling at the helm and fellow Olympic silver medallist Blair Tuke calling the shots, NZL turned it up a notch on days three and four, and were simply untouchable, winning by an impressive 12 points. Tied after day two with the San Francisco-based American Youth Sailing Force (who won the first race), Burling and crew took two perfect starts on day three and converted them into two victories, while their nearest rivals, AYSF and New Zealand’s Full Metal Jacket Racing, both suffered. Going into day four, podium positions were far from being assured due to the eighth race's double-points wild card. The outlook for each team differed wildly: For NZL Sailing, the boys merely needed to get the boat around the course cleanly to claim overall victory. Meanwhile, the
AYSF crew were desperately trying to get back in touch with the leaders and preserve their podium position, while their fellow countrymen on USA 45 Racing — who'd been consistently near the back of the pack — just wanted a good result to save face. At the beginning of day four, Objective Australia was back on pace after boat problems, protests and redress, and the crew hoped to continue their meteoric rise up the leader board. Coming in last twice during the first two days, and scoring of 2-2-3 in races five through seven, Objective Australia desperately needed the valuable double points that race eight could provide, and looked likely to leapfrog to a podium position, or at least into the top five. In race seven (the first on day four), the Swiss entry Team Tilt shot out to an early lead after a perfect start and held on for a wire-to-wire win, while Portuguese Olympian Bernardo Freitas steered ROFF/ Cascais to a hard-fought second, allowing his team to move into a podium position for the regatta. Burling and cr ew sailed smartly and conservatively to finish fourth, while the AYSF got buried early. Rounding the first mark in last place, AYSF could only manage an eighth-place finish, which knocked them off the podium. The breeze built before Race 8 began, necessitating a wind hold. After a half-hour postponement, the race committee made the call; There would be no Race 8. With winds exceeding the imposed 18-knot limit by a mere half-knot, but building, the final double-points race was cancelled. It was a crushing blow to several teams who'd hoped to mount an 11th-hour comeback. Many fans
