Day 1, Group A, Race 2 – BONDS Flying Roos led from the second manoeuvre of Group A's second race and were never seriously threatened again, holding off Emirates GBR to make it a second podium finish of the day and the group's first outright win of the weekend. It was also Tom Slingsby's 42nd birthday, and his crew made sure it stayed a good one all the way to the finish.
A gap in a crowded box
The start box was tight, seven boats jammed up against the breakwater with barely room to manoeuvre. Slingsby found the answer late, pushing hard toward the wall to buy space even at the cost of clean breeze, then rolling the dice on a hole that opened in the middle of the line in the closing seconds. It came off. BONDS Flying Roos crossed with room to accelerate while Emirates GBR, tucked in close on the inside, had the right of way at Mark 1 but not the pace to use it.
The mark rounding turned into a duel between three of the fleet's best flight controllers, Jason Waterhouse on the Australian boat, Luke Parkinson for Britain, and Andy Maloney bringing Artemis through in the mix. Waterhouse got the better of it. Australia rolled in front with the faster angle and never gave it back.
Artemis, back from Race 1's DNS, chooses discipline over risk
Nathan Outteridge was racing again after missing Race 1 entirely, his boat sidelined by a broken jib halyard that his shore crew worked through the break to repair. He'd also spent the previous day in a walking boot with an ankle injury that kept him out of practice altogether. None of it showed early. Strategist Julia Gross had Artemis well placed through the second gate, close enough behind Emirates GBR to have a look at the overtake.
They didn't take it. Wing trimmer Chris Draper called it off the water, and Outteridge settled in behind Fletcher's boat rather than force a passing lane that wasn't really there. It was the right read. Fletcher had no interest in giving up clean air, and with Australia already gone up the track, there was more to lose than gain in a fight for second that neither boat was going to win outright.
Slingsby shuts the door
In marginal, pulsing breeze, Slingsby sailed Australia's second leg wide and deliberately slow rather than racing hard for the boundary, a call that cost him distance but built a wall of disturbed air directly behind the boat. Emirates GBR, sitting in it, never had the pressure to attempt a pass. It looked passive from the shore. It wasn't. Slingsby was controlling exactly how much clean wind the chasing pack got to use.
Australia wasn't perfect. One manoeuvre later in the race went wrong, the stern dropping as boat speed bled off and the small transom rudders unable to hold the hull up, a reminder that even the leaders were fighting the conditions. It cost time, not the race. Slingsby pushed wide again to make the next mark, and BONDS Flying Roos sailed home well clear, timing the finish to give the birthday boy a lap past the grandstand.
Group A after two races
Emirates GBR's second gives Dylan Fletcher's crew a four-and-two scoreline through two races, a marked improvement on a Race 1 that got away from them at the final gate. Artemis complete the podium in third, a result Nathan Outteridge's crew will happily bank given where their day started. Black Foils follow in fourth, still working back into rhythm in conditions the New Zealand boat hasn't properly raced in since last year's grand final.
Behind them it was scrappier. Italy, winners of Race 1, came away from Race 2 with nothing, a start that put them at the back of the fleet and kept them there. Switzerland and Brazil filled out fifth and sixth. With BONDS Flying Roos now sitting on a two-and-one scoreline and looking the class of the group, the second qualifying spot is still wide open, with Emirates GBR, Artemis and Black Foils all in the running heading into the day's final race.
Result
Race 2 result (Group A): 1. BONDS Flying Roos (Tom Slingsby), 2. Emirates Great Britain (Dylan Fletcher), 3. Artemis (Nathan Outteridge), 4. Black Foils (Peter Burling), 5. Switzerland (Sébastien Schneiter), 6. Mubadala Brazil (Martine Grael), 7. Red Bull Italy (Phil Robertson)
