American Magic helmsman Lucas Calabrese made his America’s Cup debut in his team’s finalrace of the round-robins – a convincing loss to Team NZ – due to an injury to usual port helmsman Paul Goodison.
The US team have not revealed the extent or nature of Goodison’s injury, believed to be sustained after racing on the penultimate day of round-robins, however, British publication the Rotherham Advertiser has reported he slipped and fell when taking sails down after racing and broke five ribs.
American Magic did not answer questions from the Herald about the nature of the injury or a timeline for when Goodison might be back on deck, but posted the following statement before the final day of the round-robins:
“After securing a place in the Louis Vuitton Challenger Selection Series semifinals with a victory over Orient Express Racing on Saturday, American Magic confirms that helmsman Paul Goodison sustained an injury and is currently undergoing treatment. Paul’s recovery is being monitored daily, and we look forward to his swift return to the port helm of Patriot.
“In the interim, Olympic medallist and multiple world champion Lucas Calabrese will helm Patriot. Lucas has been an integral part of our helmsman rotation for over two years, training extensively alongside the crew, and is fully prepared to take on this role as we continue our campaign.
“As a team, American Magic supports Paul in his recovery, and we are confident in the Patriot sailing team, which now includes Lucas on the port helm, to lead Patriot through the upcoming races as we focus on the America’s Cup.”
The question remains as to whether their incumbent port helm will be available for the semifinal series.
There are plenty of questions around American Magic heading into the semifinals. Photo / Ricardo Pinto, America's Cup
The answer could make a big difference. The Americans came into the regatta billed alongside Italians Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli as the favourites to progress to the Cup match. They looked fast in training and that carried over to racing – making a statement with a win over Team NZ in the preliminary regatta.
With the way the AC75s have been designed – a helmsman, trimmer/flight controller, and two cyclors on each side of the boat to eliminate the need for switching sides in manoeuvres – communication is key as the sails block the view of the opposite side of the course. The sort of trust and communication needed to navigate these vessels around the racetrack successfully isn’t something that comes overnight.
They will have had a few days to hone their operation before the semifinals begin, but will that show when they’re racing proper and have to try to outwork their opposition – likely Luna Rossa – in a best-of-nine series? Add to that the questions posed over their decision to run with recumbent cyclors when the team appeared to struggle for power on a day of light conditions during the round-robins, there’s a lot to keep an eye on when the Americans hit the water again.
Have the British timed their run?
The British are doing it again. For the 36th edition of the Cup in Auckland, they were well off the pace in the lone preliminary regatta leading into the challenger series; the “lame duck” of the fleet, as the Herald’s Michael Burgess referred to them at the time.
Come the challenger series round-robin they were unbeatable and earned direct entry into the final. Unfortunately for Sir Ben Ainslie’s team, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli found more pace in their boat in time for the knockout match and went on to challenge Team NZ in the Cup match.
It was similar in Barcelona. They certainly weren’t the challenger the furthest off the pace, but they looked a step behind Luna Rossa and American Magic in the preliminary regatta and the first round of the races that counted. A few days off and they returned to action faster and more polished to come out as the surprise top seed and get to pick their opponents in the semifinals.
Ineos Britannia helmsman Sir Ben Ainslie (left) is congratulated by Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe during the challenger series round-robins. Photo / Ricardo Pinto, America's Cup
The question now is how much more do they have to find? There was a lot of intrigue in what the British package would be capable of this time around after they linked up with the minds from the Mercedes F1 team when designing their AC75. As Mark Orams wrote this week, it can be a matter of small tweaks on these highly technological vessels that puts the team in the sweet spot.
It is always said that the fastest boat will win the America’s Cup, and every team remaining in the challenger series will get better and faster as the pressure builds to win races. Can the British stay a step ahead to earn the right to challenge Team NZ for the Auld Mug in October?
Time will tell. For now, they’ll get to choose their opponent for the semifinal. It’s widely expected they’ll choose Alinghi Red Bull Racing, who were the lowest qualifying team to make it into the semifinals but showed improvements in the latter stages of the round-robins, but they should also be monitoring American Magic’s current situation closely.
What now for Team NZ?
Since launching their AC75 Taihoro in April, Team NZ have always said we are not likely to see it in its final form until October. They will have improvements and tweaks to rollout over the coming weeks and will be taking stock of their performance in the round-robin series.
Their races so far have been meaningless on paper, given neither team involved scored points in a contest with the defender involved. However, getting 10 extra races under their belt before the Cup goes on the line was crucial for their sailing performance – an area they were critical of after defending the Auld Mug in Auckland in 2021, despite beating Luna Rossa 7-3.
Those races will have also given the team more firsthand knowledge of the conditions in Barcelona; both in terms of wind – direction and strength – and sea state.
Emirates Team New Zealand will spend the rest of the challenger series watching from the sidelines with interest. Photo / Ricardo Pinto, America's Cup
While the challengers are also expected to improve as the regatta goes on, Team NZ will be buoyed by their 8-2 record through the round-robins, with one of those losses coming as a result of them not being able to sail due to damage to their boat.
They’ll now watch the action unfold with a keen eye from the sidelines and do their work alone for the next month to get themselves in the best possible shape for racing come October 13 (NZ time), when their campaign boils down to a best-of-13 series against the worthy challenger.
