January and February are the height of Auckland’s summer and with temperatures hitting 24oC (about 75oF) just about every one heads to the beaches for sporting activities and relaxation.
Tourists arrive in droves on long haul flights originating from North America, Asia, and Europe. Visitors range from the student cross country back packer on a US$30 per day budget to business tycoons who settle their mega-yacht catering and refuelling bills with the Black American Express charge card.
With a captive audience of ‘Kiwis’ (nickname for New Zealanders) and holidaymakers, Louis Vuitton (the French luxury fashion house), with its passion for sailing, led the sponsorship of this new, one-off sailing event. The Louis Vuitton Pacific Series (LVPS) took place from January 30 to February 14, 2009 in the sparkling waters of Auckland's Waitema Harbour.
The finest ‘match race’ sailors made up the 10 teams selected from 23 entrants representing 9 countries, competing for a newly created trophy for this friendly event. The LVPS used existing sail boats standardized (some borrowed between teams with extra boats) for the race, and has put many teams back on the water as they have been facing major setbacks. Firstly, the world economic slowdown cut their sponsorship, so the US$250,000 price tag, on average, each team had to meet upfront for the LVPS was low when compared to other major Regattas. Secondly, the America’s Cup - the world’ most prestigious sailing Regatta with a US $1/2 billion budget is on hold indefinitely. This due to legal challenges between Swiss sailing team ‘Alinghi’ and American sailing team ‘BMW Oracle.’ The case is now being settled in the New York Supreme court which is interpreting an 1887 ‘deed of gift’ containing original ground rules for the America’s Cup. So, with no date for the America’s Cup in sight and tight budgets, the LVPS was welcomed by all.
The Regatta started by having 10 sailing teams grouped into two pools - A and B. For Round Robin One, each team took part in one or two head-to-head races per day. Based on performance in Round Robin One, all the teams were re-grouped for Robin Two with the top 3 teams from Round Robin One and Two making up the Gold Fleet (6 teams in all) and the other 4 teams placed in the Silver Fleet.
The battle for the LVPS trophy between ‘Emirates Team New Zealand’ and Switzerland’s ‘Alinghi’ took place over 2 days - Friday February 13 and Saturday February 14. The two teams had not raced since July 2007 in Valencia, Spain where ‘Alinghi’ trounced ‘Emirates Team New Zealand’ 5-2 in the 32nd America’s Cup.
The final day of racing Saturday February 14 started with a light rain. ‘Alinghi’ was the winner of Race 1 the previous day and now needed to win 2 more races to take home the LVPS trophy. ‘Emirates Team New Zealand’ needed to win 3 of the 4 races (races 2 - 5) scheduled for the day, if they hoped to capture the LVPS trophy.
The city’s harbour erupted with sirens and boat horns, drowning out the cheering as the ‘Emirates Team New Zealand’ pulled onto shore with a flotilla of spectator boats behind them and the Royal New Zealand Artillery Band playing victory songs.
As the sails were lowered for the last time in the LVPS and the celebrations continued on this warm Southern summer night in Auckland, Emirates Team New Zealand’s crew were already focused on the launch of their new TP 52 yacht. Built by Cookson Boats, the yacht will compete in the Audi Med Circuit to be held from May through to September. The Circuit takes place in five of the most beautiful Mediterranean destinations - Alicante (Spain), Marseille (France), Cagliari, Sardinia (Italy), Portimão (Portugal), and Carthagena (Spain). Until a date has been determined for the next America’s Cup, the sailing community’s thirst for action will be met by Regattas such as the LVPS and the Audi Med Circuit, giving yachtsmen ample opportunity to do what they enjoy most - Sailing!
