The winner of the Semi-Finals will be the first boat to score four wins in the best of seven race series, and will progress through to the Prada Cup Final against the first qualifier, INEOS Team UK. The second placed boat in the Semi-Finals will be eliminated and will not participate in further racing in the 36th America’s Cup Live Stream here.
The official competition to select the Challenger to face Team New Zealand in the America’s Cup match has reached its knockout stage as Luna Rossa take on American Magic in the Prada Cup semifinal.
This weekend’s sailing action is available via some major TV packages like NBC Sports Gold Pass as well as YouTube and Facebook. All eyes will be on the American Magic team as their Patriot returns to action following emergency repairs.
With the round robins done and dusted, the two remaining challengers face off in a best of seven (first to four wins) race to determine who will take on Ineos Team UK, who booked their place in the Prada Cup final by being the top team in the round robins.
The main story coming into the semis will be the state of American Magic’s AC75, which underwent severe repairs after its dramatic capsize in the first week of Prada Cup racing.
The Americans will be a relatively unknown prospect, having only a few days of practice time after re-launching Patriot 2.0 on Wednesday.
Terry Hutchinson’s crew were the top challenger in the World Series event in December and were the only team to beat the defenders Team NZ.
However, it was a different story in the Prada Cup round robins where American Magic were winless, including two losses to Luna Rossa – suffering a capsize in the second race to put them out of the water for nine days.
There are two races scheduled each day on Friday, Saturday and Saturday. The first team to claim four wins will move on to the final. If the score is tied at 3-3 after the weekend, then the teams will have a break on Monday and return on Tuesday for the seventh and final race of the semifinal. The first race each day will kickoff around 3.15pm. Live stream: NBC Sports Live
Day 7 | Jan. 28 | 9:00 p.m.
Day 8 | Jan. 29 | 9:00 p.m.
Day 9 | Jan. 30 | 9:00 p.m.
Day 10 | Feb. 1 | 9 p.m.
Day 11 | Feb. 12 | 10 p.m.
Day 12 | Feb. 13 | 10 p.m.
Day 13 | Feb. 16 | 10 p.m.
Day 14 | Feb. 18 | 10 p.m.
Day 15 | Feb. 19 | 10 p.m.
Day 16 | Feb. 20 | 10 p.m.
Day 17 | Feb. 21 | 10 p.m.
Only 11 days ago American Magic’s racing yacht Patriot was holed and came close to sinking after capsizing during a round-robin race against Luna Rossa. The U.S. team’s shore crew has worked feverishly since the accident to restore Patriot to racing trim; repairing the damaged hull, stripping out and replacing its electronic systems and restoring the hydraulics.
In what many observers see as a phenomenal feat of restorative boat building, Patriot was sailing again on Wednesday, had passed scrutiny of the measurement committee and was cleared to line up at the start on Friday.
The winner of the best-of-seven race series between the U.S. and Italian teams will face Britain’s INEOS Team UK in the challenger series final for the Prada Cup. The loser goes home.
The evidence of the round-robin series is that the American Magic and Luna Rossa yachts are closely matched, perhaps with an advantage to the U.S. boat in the higher wind range. The question that may be answered in the first semifinal race on Friday is whether Patriot is in the same racing condition as it was before the capsize.
The America’s Cup has hardly been noted in its 170-year history as the last, best hope for sportsmanship. The event which attracted and often ensnared some of the richest people on the planet has been famous for the rancorous nature of competition on the water and in the courtroom.
But when American Magic was in danger of being prematurely lost to the regatta, its rivals rushed to its assistance and have been unstinting in their support.
“A massive thank you to all the guys who helped,” American Magic mainsail trimmer Paul Goodison told the New Zealand Herald. “We were out there on the water and were within inches of the boat going down. To see … other teams come and jump on board to try and help us to save the yacht, it felt really special.