Women's America's Cup: Smiles, delight and brilliant racing define day two of the Puig Women's America's Cup

This has to be one of the toughest series to win with Group B split by just six points from first to fourth place, and in a fleet where literally every team is in with a shout of taking race wins, the fight for a spot in the Semi-Finals is going to be intense throughout this eight-race series.

After a short delay for the wind to arrive, racing got underway in marginal conditions. The first race was decided on the last downwind, with Team Andoo Australia starting the leg in the lead, closely followed by Sail Team BCN and Swedish Challenge powered by Artemis Technologies. As the bottom of the course approached, the wind shut down and final gybes to the finish line off the boundary laylines were nervous affairs with the Australians and Spanish both agonisingly falling off the foils.

Sweden were the ultimate beneficiaries after managing to stay foiling for longer than the others and following some clever positional work and precise sailing they dramatically crash-gybed off the foils as they crossed the line to score first blood.

With the wind filling and starting to oscillate the second race saw Team Andoo Australia really show their class. Having secured the lead at the first windward gate, after reading the shifts on the right side of the course up the first beat accurately, they extended quickly and never really looked back over the rest of the race.

Leading at one point by over 1,000 metres, Olivia Price and Laura Harding brought the Australian boat home supremely to win at a canter. Behind them, Sail Team BCN scored vital points in second, with JAJO Team DutchSail following up in third.

What we then saw over the next two races was a masterclass of starting, fleet-racing, and AC40 technique from the Dutch team – helmed by Odile van Aanholt and Willemijn Offerman. Despite limited time in the boat, they proved their outstanding sailing talent by winning third race after a hard-fought battle with Sail Team BCN and then stretched away in the fourth and final race to build a commanding lead good enough for them – despite a late charge from Andoo Team Australia – to take their second win of the day.

The back-to-back race wins by JAJO Team DutchSail puts them at the top of the standings on 27 points, closely followed by Sail Team BCN helmed by Silvia Mas and Neus Ballester in second on 24 points. Team Andoo Australia sit in third place on 23 points, but these three podium teams will all be aware of the threat of the fourth placed Swedish Challenge powered by Artemis Technologies crew who are breathing down their necks with 21 points.

All to play for in Group B of the Puig America’s Cup and with the potential for strong wind and big wave conditions later in the week, the Race Committee have announced a change in the schedule, bringing forward Group B’s scheduled races on Wednesday October 9 to tomorrow, Monday October 7.

The on-the-water action re-commences tomorrow with four more races scheduled starting at 14:10 CET and with the standings so close, we can expect a monumental battle for those all-important podium positions and a coveted place in the Semi-Finals of this historic, inaugural Puig Women’s America’s Cup.

Text and images courtesy of the America’s Cup. Read the full release at americascup.com.