By Alexander Smith
BARCELONA (Reuters) – A dying Mediterranean wind kept the scores level in the America’s Cup challenger series on Saturday, with Britain running out of time to convert what had looked like a winning position in their third head-to-head against Italy.
Britain were leading on the last leg of six when officials abandoned the race because it had exceeded the time limit, meaning the teams remain with one point apiece in the first-to-seven wins Louis Vuitton final in Barcelona.
Whoever comes out on top in the series will get to challenge defenders New Zealand for the America’s Cup itself next month.
With no sign of the fickle breeze off the Spanish city’s beaches filling in, officials decided to abandon racing for the day, with the schedule set to resume on Sunday.
Although Britain had got the better start and built on an early lead, Italy clawed themselves back into what became a tight contest before Ben Ainslie’s British crew were able to get their bow ahead again and establish a dominant position.
But as the wind dropped, first Italy’s and then Britain’s foiling AC75 monohull came off their hydrofoils. This left both in the agonisingly slow ‘displacement’ mode, where the boat’s hull is in the water rather than ‘flying’ above it.
As the boats wallowed around the course, the minutes and seconds ticked away until eventually the race was ended.
(Reporting by Alexander Smith; Editing by Toby Davis)
