Women's America's Cup 2024: Jajo Team Dutchsail end first day with two wins to lead Group B qualifiers

Jajo Team Dutchsail lead Group B of the first Women's America's Cup after winning the final two races in Barcelona on Sunday (6 October).

With Paris 2024 Olympic skiff gold medallists Odile van Aanholt and Annette Duetz on either side of the boat, the Dutch ended the day in front of home entry Sail Team BCN who started their campaign with three second-place finishes. Team Australia were in a close third place after one race win.

Light winds meant a delay of 40 minutes to the start of racing. In tricky conditions for sailing, Sail Team BCN, Artemis Swedish Challenge and Team Australia came down the final leg almost together with all three boats zig-zagging across the course to try and build speed in light winds.

In a dramatic few minutes, Australia went off the foils to lose their chance of victory. That handed Spain the advantage but they had a touchdown on their last gybe. The Swedes managed to stay above water to coast across the line in front of Spain. They were the only two teams to finish with Team Australia awarded third having reached the third gate in front of Canada's Concord Racing.

After that triumph, Artemis Swedish Challenge were instructed not to start the second due to a technical issue affecting communications on the boat.

In their absence, Team Australia achieved a comfortable win with Sail Team BCN picking up another second place ahead of Jajo Team Dutchsail.

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Jajo Team Dutchsail outpace the rest

The Swedes returned for Race Three, but the race turned into a match between Jajo Team Dutchsail and Sail Team BCN. The vessels came close after the halfway stage, but a perfectly-timed last gybe from the Dutch saw them cross the line in front with Sail Team BCN second yet again.

Concord Pacific Racing won a desperately close finish for third ahead of Team Germany who had endured disappointment until that point. Having failed to get going in the first race, the Germans were disqualified for exceeding the course boundary by more than 85 metres in Race Two.

Jajo Team Dutchsail made another strong start to the final race of the day with Concord Pacific Racing keeping them company. The Canadians carried too much speed into the first mark, touching down but managing to keep going although they slipped to fourth behind Sail Team BCN and Team Australia before ending up in sixth place.

At the second mark, Team Australia slipped down the inside of the Spaniards who had a touchdown to end their hopes of another podium place. But the Dutch had the speed and came clear with Artemis Swedish Challenge back in third.

The Netherlands boat led by three points from Sail Team BCN with Team Australia just one point further back. Artemis Swedish Challenge are two points adrift with four more races on Monday deciding the top three who will go through to the semi-final.

Group A concludes on Tuesday with Italy's Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli on top after three race wins on Saturday.

Results from Women's America's Cup Group B Qualifiers, Sunday 6 October 2024:

Race 1

1. Artemis Swedish Challenge (SWE) 19:51 - 10 points
2. Sail Team BCN (ESP) +45" - 7pts
3. Andoo Team Australia (AUS) Gate 3 - 5pts
4. Concord Pacific Racing (CAN) Gate 3 - 3pts
5. Jajo Team Dutchsail (NED) Gate 2 - 2pts
6. Team Germany (GER) Gate 2 - 1pt

Race 2

1. Andoo Team Australia (AUS) 16:29 - 10pts
2. Sail Team BCN (ESP) +1'47" - 7pts
3. Jajo Team Dutchsail (NED) +2'21" - 5pts
4. Concord Pacific Racing (CAN) Gate 3 - 3pts
5. Team Germany (GER) DSQ - 0pts
6. Artemis Swedish Challenge (SWE) INR - 4pts

Race 3

1. Jajo Team Dutchsail (NED) +14:15" - 10pts
2. Sail Team BCN (ESP) +15" - 7pts
3. Concord Pacific Racing (CAN) +52" - 5pts
4. Team Germany (GER) +52" - 3pts
5. Artemis Swedish Challenge (SWE) +1'00" - 2pts
6. Andoo Team Australia (AUS) +1'33" - 1pt

Race 4

1. Jajo Team Dutchsail (NED) +14'15" - 10pts
2. Andoo Team Australia (AUS) +6" - 7pts
3. Artemis Swedish Challenge (SWE) +20" - 5pts
4. Sail Team BCN (ESP) +1'13" - 3pts
5. Team Germany (GER) +1'28" - 2pts
6. Concord Pacific Racing (CAN) +2'11" - 1pt

Group B standings after Fleet Race 4 of 8 (top three qualify for semi-final):

1. Jajo Team Dutchsail (NED) 27pts
2. Sail Team BCN (ESP) 24
3. Andoo Team Australia (AUS) 23
4. Artemis Swedish Challenge (SWE) 21
5. Concord Pacific Racing (CAN) 12
6. Team Germany (GER) 6