Athena Pathway, the British team supported by Cobham-Ultra competing in the UniCredit Youth America’s Cup, has secured a place in the Semi-Finals after an intense battle on the race course in Barcelona.
The Athena Pathway team qualified for the Semis after making it into the top three of the six America’s Cup teams, behind Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (ITA) and NYYC American Magic (USA). The Brits finished in second place in the last race of the qualifying series, to put them two points ahead of the French and clinch the last remaining spot in the Semi-Finals. It means the team is one step closer in its bid to retain the Youth America’s Cup, after Great Britain won the event the last time it was held in 2017.
Athena Pathway Co-Helm Nick Robins said: “We are so happy to be in the Semi-Finals. It was super tight racing and we had some trouble in our first race which put us on the back foot. The team did so well to keep our cool despite that and keep pushing hard. It’s so much fun racing these boats and I think we put on a good show today. We are really looking forward to the Semi-Finals and can’t wait to get back out there.”
On Monday, Group B, the invited teams, took to the racecourse first to complete the final two races of their eight-race series. The six teams were competing for three places in the Semi-Finals, and in the end Sweden, Australia and Spain took those spots. It was then time for Group A, the six America’s Cup teams, to fight it out on the course to see who would be joining SWE, AUS and ESP in the Semis.
In the first race of the day, it was extremely close at the start with all six teams getting across the line in good shape. On the first tack, GBR received a penalty for not giving room to the port tackers, France, coming off the boundary. The Brits then fell off their foils, as the rest of the fleet carried on ahead. Despite their best efforts, it was impossible for the crew to make up the distance and they ended the race in sixth place.
With the wind at 12-14 knots, the fleet got away for the second race as a tight bunch but Athena Pathway had a solid start to cross the line in second position. The team then managed to take first position after France received a penalty for being early across the line. After a close cross between the Brits and the Americans, GBR was handed a penalty. It was a battle round the course, with the AC40s hitting speeds of 40 knots while the sailors pushed hard to make it into the next round. Athena Pathway kept pushing right until the end, where there was a dramatic photo finish, with all six boats crossing the finish line within 19 seconds of each other and GBR coming away in fifth.
The third race got under way with a tense moment as the Italians almost capsized at the start. The French had a cracking start and managed to control the rest of the race. At the first gate, GBR and USA split at the mark before the Americans crashed down. Athena Pathway were the big gainers of USA’s travails but had their own headache as NZL were hot on their heels. The Kiwis managed to make gains on the final leg, as Athena Pathway suffered a splashdown in their final gybe. France secured the win, with NZL in second and GBR in third.
It was then all on for the fourth and final race of the day, with another tight start by the fleet. France had another strong start but then disaster struck when they crashed down, fell of their foils and had to retire from the race. This then left Athena Pathway and Emirates Team New Zealand competing for the all-important third and final spot in the Semi-Finals. The Brits managed to move up into second position in leg two, with the Kiwis following close behind in third. In the third leg, there was just 70m between the two boats, until Athena Pathway made great gains and extended their lead. The British crew also managed to overtake USA in the final leg to sit in first position, until a touch down in a maneuver led to the Americans taking back the lead, but only just with Athena Pathway crossing the finish line just three seconds behind them to take second place.
Athena Pathway Co-Helm James Grummett said: “We are super happy to make it through to the Semis. We definitely feel like we have left some points on the table and that we are capable of performing better than we have done, but that’s the beauty of this event, you learn so much with each race and hopefully tomorrow we can keep piecing it all together and hopefully you’ll see the best of us.”
Athena Pathway will now join Italy, USA, Sweden, Spain and Australia in the Semi-Final which kicks off on Tuesday 24 September from 13:00 BST (14:00 CEST).
