34th America's Cup - Day 12
by ORACLE TEAM USA & Emirates Team New Zealand 23 Sep 2013 09:17 BST
22 September 2013
Super Sunday for ORACLE TEAM USA (from ORACLE TEAM USA)
ORACLE TEAM USA skipper Jimmy Spithill, along with tactician Ben Ainslie and strategist Tom Slingsby, guided the team to two more wins on Sunday in the 34th America's Cup in San Francisco. The crew defeated Emirates Team New Zealand to record their sixth and seventh wins of the match.
"What a fantastic day – really good racing under a lot of pressure," said Spithill. "Tom and Ben did a fantastic job when we had some key decisions to make. A day like today it really is all about the tactics. They were really under a lot of pressure a few times, but they kept their cool. Everyone stayed calm and sailed two great races."
A clean start to Race 14 saw ORACLE TEAM USA leading around the first mark. The teams split the course as they rounded Mark 2 with only 24 seconds separating them. As the third gate approached, the crew made an extra tack to take advantage of the wind on the offshore side of the race course. ORACLE TEAM USA was able to stay between New Zealand and the mark and hold on to win by 23 seconds.
Race 15 began in similar fashion as ORACLE TEAM USA lead early and was first by 1 minute around the second mark. With the breeze shifting, New Zealand gained ground on the third leg. But, ORACLE TEAM USA maintained the lead to cross the line 37 seconds ahead.
"It's been a whole team effort, it hasn't been about any individuals," Ainslie said. "It's been about everyone come together, improving the boat, working well as a team, and working out how we can get ahead of the opposition. Whether through making the boat faster or sailing better, I think we're doing that. Having the momentum now makes the guys believe that they can go out there and win, and that we can defend the America's Cup. That's a fantastic place to be."
Racing continues on Monday with race 16 scheduled for 1:15 pm PT. Emirates Team New Zealand maintains the overall lead at 8-5 in points and 8-7 in wins. The winner of the 34th America's Cup is the first team to win nine points.
"We sailed a clean day," said off side trimmer Rome Kirby. "It was two tough races, and now we're back at it tomorrow."
Big gains and big losses (from Emirates Team New Zealand)
That was the story of Day 12 of the America's Cup match at San Francisco.
It was not New Zealand's day, losing both races sailed. NZL5 came so close to overtaking Oracle on at least four occasions but Oracle managed to slip away.
Both starts were even but Oracle was able to luff NZ wide at the first mark forcing Dean Barker and crew to play catch-up.
They threw attack after attack in both races; harried and put on the pressure twice closing the gap from 300m to almost zero and once from 700m.
The deltas were 23s in race 14, 37s in race 15.
Barker said it was always going to be a difficult day with big variations in wind at the top and bottom of the course. It was patchy and there were a lot of shifts. Two starboard start-box entries didn't help."
Barker said Oracle sailed really well, managing the first downwind legs well, establishing good leads. "We gave them opportunities we should not have done. We fought back, got close at times, but it was Oracle's day."
Emirates Team New Zealand sits on match point, needing one win to take the America's Cup. Oracle needs to win four more.
Standings: (first to 9 points wins)
- Emirates Team New Zealand – 8
- ORACLE TEAM USA – 5
Race 15 performance data:
- Course: 5 Legs/10.22 nautical miles
- Elapsed Time: OTUSA – 27:34, ETNZ – 28:11
- Delta: OTUSA +:37
- Total distance sailed: OTUSA – 12.0 NM, ETNZ – 11.9 NM
- Average speed: OTUSA – 26.23 knots (30 mph), ETNZ – 25.40 knots (29 mph)
- Top speed: OTUSA – 41.80 knots (48 mph), ETNZ – 40.35 knots (46 mph)
- Windspeed: Average – 12.9 knots, Peak – 18.0 knots
- Number of tacks/gybes: OTUSA – 7/7, ETNZ – 7/9
Race 14 performance data:
- Course: 5 Legs/10.22 nautical miles
- Elapsed time: OTUSA – 33:47, ETNZ – 34:10
- Delta: OTUSA +:23
- Total distance sailed: OTUSA – 12.8 NM, ETNZ – 13.1 NM
- Average speed: OTUSA – 23.31 knots (27 mph), ETNZ – 22.58 knots (26 mph)
- Top speed: OTUSA – 36.60 knots (42 mph), ETNZ – 35.41 knots (41 mph)
- Windspeed: Average – 11.4 knots, Peak – 14.9 knots
- Number of tacks/gybes: OTUSA – 8/12, ETNZ – 8/12
www.americascup.com