34th America's Cup - Race 18
by Mark Jardine 24 Sep 2013 23:39 BST
24 September 2013
What was unthinkable a week ago is now a reality. ORACLE TEAM USA have turned an 8-1 deficit, with Emirates Team New Zealand on match point, into 8-all.
For the first time in a while, Dean Barker got the better of Jimmy Spithill on the start line and rounded mark 1 in the lead. The first run proved very even with the Kiwis holding their lead, but a split at the leeward mark left Ray Davies on Emirates Team New Zealand with the tricky decision of calling starboard on ORACLE TEAM USA and continuing across from under Alcatraz to the San Francisco city front or putting a lee-bow tack in and squeezing the Americans out. They chose the latter.
Jimmy Spithill immediately put the hammer down, got up on the foils upwind and gunned over the top of Emirates Team New Zealand. The pair tacked in unison as the Kiwis approached the boundary and ended up in ORACLE TEAM USA's wing wash.
The Americans never looked back and pulled steadily away from the Kiwis. The scores are even going into the winner-takes-all final race on Big Wednesday, but the momentum is firmly with Jimmy Spithill and Sir Ben Ainslie on ORACLE TEAM USA.
Watch the racing live on the YachtsandYachting.com homepage at 9pm BST on Wednesday.