There are even those who have brought their own little chairs. They are not many, but they occupy the front row in a good stretch of the recently renovated Dique de Abrigo of Port Olímpic, clearly, one of the best viewpoints from which to follow the America's Cup these days. Of course, don't forget hats, sunscreen, and plenty of water. There are those who wear a French team shirt, the Orient Express Racing Team, and those who have put on the Swiss team's cap, the Alinghi Red Bull Racing, the first to compete on the opening day of the 37th edition of the America's Cup in Barcelona.
After three years of preparation, the time has come. The third and final preliminary regatta begins, it doesn't add points, but they say that in the America's Cup they are very competitive and don't let anything slip by. Everything is thought out and neither the day the regatta starts, August 22, is a coincidence, considering that the first time this competition was held, in 1851, it was also August 22.
To not miss anything and to see those flying boats ---they really fly---, it's important to position oneself well on a seafront that Barcelonians visit very little, feeling almost like a tourist in a space that feels alien to them. The Port Olímpic, with its new restaurant area accelerating to open soon, is a good option, but so are the beaches, especially those of Sant Miquel, Barceloneta, and Somorrostro. For those who are not keen on going to Barcelona's beach in mid-August, there are screens at Moll de la Fusta, Plaça del Mar, and Bogatell beach.
It should also be noted that choosing a good spot strategically is of little use if one doesn't have a mobile phone with a lot of battery. Not only to be able to record good videos for Instagram, but because it is necessary to watch the live broadcast to catch when a team makes a bad move that penalizes them, very technical details that the common human eye does not see from the coast.
This Thursday there was good wind, according to experts, but the day was not too clear, with a dusty sky that made the America's Cup debut less spectacular in Barcelona waters that looked quite choppy. Luckily, the competition will last until the end of October and there will be more opportunities for these maritime race cars, which sound like airplanes up close, to shine more.
The day was not too clear this Thursday, with a dusty sky that made the America's Cup debut less spectacular in Barcelona waters that looked quite choppy.It's two in the afternoon, with a strong sun, and the Orient Express and Alinghi boats begin to sail as if they were two peacocks. Less than three minutes before the race starts, they move from side to side, cross each other, chase each other, show their best turns. All to position themselves well and, if possible, mislead the rival or directly harm them, always with the goal of being the one to cross the starting line first.In the first race, it's the Swiss, an advantage they maintain at all times, with the French, the last team to join this edition of the America's Cup and the one that has had it the hardest, always behind them. No surprises, Alinghi scores its first point.
Then come the hosts, Emirates Team New Zealand, winning against a Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli that suffers a breakdown shortly after the race began. "We have lost the boat," warn the members of the Italian team, who ended up withdrawing from their face-off with the New Zealanders, against whom they lost the final of the previous edition. This is how Emirates, known as kiwis after a bird native to New Zealand that, ironically, cannot fly, won their first point.
Not everything has been bitter for the Italians, who ended up scoring a point in the last race of this first day, achieving a wide margin against the French. The American team, New York Yacht Club American Magic, also registered its first point, defeating the British, Ineos Britannia. The face-offs will continue on Friday and Saturday, with a first final on Sunday featuring the two best teams from this preliminary race.
All of this is just a warm-up because the America's Cup will truly begin next Tuesday with the Double Round Robin. It will be then that the points accumulated by each team will matter for reaching the final and not being eliminated. Although not obliged, Emirates will show off its Taihoro boat in a phase of the competition where one of the six participating teams will bid farewell to the Barcelona sea.
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