Luna Rossa takes Youth and Women's Cup lead after ETNZ crashes out of certain win

Luna Rossa's Women and Youth crew sailed to their second victory of the day to take an early grip on the overall standings, though Race 3 at the Youth and Women's America's Cup will be remembered for a final-moment collapse from Emirates Team New Zealand, a team that had the race firmly in hand until it all came undone two jibes from the line.

ETNZ held the lead through every gate on that final lap. They had clean breeze, a comfortable buffer over the chasing pack, and just two jibes standing between them and the finish. Then the bow buried, the foils fell out of their groove, and a hull travelling at over 40 knots was reduced to a dead stop in seconds. The entire fleet streamed past. ETNZ crossed the line in eighth.

The race had started in disarray well before any of that. Several boats were over the line before the gun, with Athena Pathway drawing the sharpest end of the chaos, forced to sail all the way back and re-cross the start from scratch after leaving well before the gun. La Roche-Posay and GB1 were also over early. Luna Rossa's principal boat made their situation considerably worse by collecting a boat-on-boat penalty on top of their premature start, meaning Burling and Tita were carrying two punishments to work through before the race had properly settled.

ETNZ got away cleanly. Nathan Outteridge, Seb Menzies, Andy Maloney and Iain Jensen found clear air down the right side from the gun and began building from there.

GB1 recovered well from their start line difficulties. Fletcher had called the line early, kept his composure, cleared three boats, and by the top gate the British team had hauled themselves to the front of the fleet. After two race retirements, this was a different competition entirely for them.

As the race moved into its closing stages, ETNZ worked through GB1 and pushed clear at the front, opening a margin that looked solid. The race committee had shortened the course in response to building chop on the right side, though the New Zealand boat appeared to have the conditions well managed. Erica Dawson, Jake Pye, Serena Woodall and Josh Armit on the ETNZ Women and Youth entry were sitting in fourth, their best result of the day taking shape.

Then came the crash. Two jibes from the finish line on the final downwind run, ETNZ's gybe went wrong at precisely the worst possible moment. The porpoising that had been catching boats all day got them when it mattered most. The bow went down hard, the foils unloaded, the hull buried itself, and speed fell from over 40 knots to nothing. The bury was so deep that for a moment it looked as though something catastrophic had occurred. The boat re-emerged, sitting stopped and very wet, as the rest of the fleet came through.

ETNZ had sailed a clean, controlled race and had the win within seconds in front of them. The right side of the course had been rough all afternoon and had caught other boats earlier in the day. On this occasion it caught ETNZ at the worst possible moment.

Luna Rossa Youth crew member Marco Gradoni was gracious after his team crossed the line, saying, "New Zealand deserved to win this race." But as Outteridge and the rest of the crew watched the fleet pass them by, they would know that they made a mistake, and that mistake cost them the win and potentially the lead going into tomorrow's racing.

Don't let the ETNZ near win distract from what Luna Rossa's Women and Youth team are producing. They are on fire. Fast when they need to be, clean when others aren't, and consistent in collecting points whenever the fleet hands them opportunities. They are the team to watch in this round in Sardinia.

After three races, Luna Rossa Women and Youth lead the regatta on two wins and a second place. Luna Rossa's principal, ETNZ Women and Youth, Tudor Team Alinghi and ETNZ principal are all nine points further back on 20 points each, with La Roche-Posay just one point behind that group. This is turning into a heck of a watchable competition.

Four more fleet races are scheduled tomorrow on the Bay of Angels, with racing beginning from early morning New Zealand time.