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Team New Zealand - Source: Photosport -
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Cartagena, Spain
Crashing thunder and flashing lightning with rain hammering the plastic roof of the media centre is the reason there's been no racing on the opening day of the grand finale of the MedCup series.
After being held ashore the fleet finally headed out mid-afternoon. Threatening fronts hovered on the line between sea and shore and after a couple of hours the wind was up to 20 knots and the boats were heading for the start line.
Then with seconds to go the red and white postponement flag was hoisted as the wind swung 50 degrees. Such a shame for Emirates Team New Zealand who'd picked the left hand side of the course and were looking really sharp. With a decent start they'd have had a good jump on the other boats and were set up to tack on the shift and sail right back across the front of the fleet.
Instead we all stooged around a while getting soaked as the storms marched through. It was spectacular weather - amazing cloud formations with huge sheets of rain. Often the front will move through and leave a nice breeze behind and on my camera boat we were looking forward to being in the thick of it. Once again I'm working as a "spotter" for "Pole Cam" or "Mad Cam" as I call it.
We're in a particularly lively RIB with Olympic silver medalist star boat sailor and Volvo veteran Mark Covell at the controls, riding on the transoms of the yachts with his cameraman getting amazing shots with a mini camera at the end of a long carbon-fibre pole. It's the most privileged position to watch the action and we itching to go until the radio crackled with the race committee advising that the top mark boat had a wobbly five knots of breezed and dropping. Time to go home.
It won't have bothered ETNZ as it merely reduced the remote chance of a dent being put in their series lead. Mathematically they could still be caught but it's a colossal ask. More worrying for the paranoid is the risk of serious gear failure.
In my first interview here with Grant Dalton I asked him what could go wrong:
"Pretty much everything," was the reply as he reeled off the list of potential disasters from the rig falling down to a collision at the start line. And indeed if the Kiwis lost a whole day's racing the maths make it clear they are suddenly vulnerable.
It is of course a worst case scenario, a stance they have to adopt to play down their chances. The fact is they look in great shape. I was on board NZL 380 before the practice race and the difference in atmosphere on board between the first regatta in Alicante back in May and this finale in Cartagena was tangible.
Three straight wins in four regattas have built what appears to be a bullet-proof confidence in the crew and the boat. The moves and co-ordinated and slick, their knowledge of the boat's form and foibles highly developed. NZL 380 is very sensitive to the weight and bodies are moved around constantly to extract that extra boat speed the sailors can really feel.
Winners are grinners they say, and it's never been so obvious, the sailors clearly enjoying themselves and a fun group to be around.
They'd love nothing more to make it four straight wins so they can sweep up the trophies at the weekend.
It's a great carrot to be dangling in front of them.
