Team Origin make amends to shaky start

As British America’s Cup challenger Team Origin boss Sir Keith Mills prepared the second stage of his reorganisation plan, following the sacking of team director Mike Sanderson, his sailors were making amends to their shaky start to the Louis Vuitton Trophy series in La Maddalena, Sardinia.

The team seems certain to make the cut into the knockout stage after a solid win by Ben Ainslie over Italy’s Prada-backed Luna Rossa team, with Ed Baird on the helm aided by both Torben Grael and Robert Scheidt in the tactical division.

That gave them a 4-3 win record. Sliding out of the back door look to be two from America’s Cup holder BMW Oracle, France’s Aleph, and Luna Rossa. Top three slots are held by the Russian team, Synergy, Sweden’s Artemis, and Emirates Team New Zealand.

In Sete, the young French skipper Yann Guichard held his lead in the Extreme Sailing series, steering his 40-foot catamaran Groupe Edmonde de Rothschild to an eight point lead after 14 races.

Chasing him was the even younger British skipper Paul Campbell-James, the former youth world match racing champion, who has been recruited by the Oman Sail organisation to take over the second of their two boats.

He also overtook Loick Peyron, pushing him into third place in what is meant to be the lead Omani boat.

An up and down day saw Mike Golding’s Ecover going into the clubhouse in fifth, one place behind Franck Cammas in Groupama.