34th America's Cup - Day 13
by 34th America's Cup media 24 Sep 2013 08:07 BST
23 September 2013
ORACLE TEAM USA takes another step towards defending the America's Cup
ORACLE TEAM USA's improbable comeback is alive and well in the 34th America's Cup. Skipper Jimmy Spithill led the defender to another wire-to-wire victory in Race 16 and now needs just three more victories to successfully defend the America's Cup.
Challenger Emirates Team New Zealand finished 33 seconds in arrears, but still leads on
the scoreboard 8-6 (the series is tied 8-8 in victories, but the defender was penalized its first two victories by the International Jury). The Kiwis need one victory to win the America's Cup.
A maximum of three races remains in the series, scheduled tomorrow and Wednesday.
"We've got a huge wave of momentum. The boat's just going fantastic," said Spithill. "That
was a tough start, we had starboard entry and it was a tough time."
If ORACLE TEAM USA has a wave of momentum, Emirates Team New Zealand still believes it can win the series. The crew sailed a solid race today, but skipper Dean Barker chocked up the loss to a flawless performance from the defender.
"We're very upbeat here, we know we can win," said Barker. "The Oracle guys sailed a
pretty flawless race. There were no opportunities to get back in it. We did a better job on the downwind legs staying close, but not enough today."
The wind blew soft at the start, around 10 knots, and made for docile action in the prestart.
When the start signal fired ORACLE TEAM USA and Emirates Team New Zealand traded positions from the past few days, with the defender to windward of the challenger.
"The plan was to start to leeward of Oracle and they did a nice job of getting us compressed
to the leeward end," said Ray Davies, Emirates Team New Zealand tactician. "They jumped
us pretty quickly, it was evident about 15 seconds after the start they were very strong. The
outcome wasn't ideal, but we were happy to have been to leeward of them, just needed it to
be a little bit better shape than it ended up being."
In an impressive display of boatspeed, ORACLE TEAM USA quickly jumped onto its
hydrofoils and sped over the top of the Kiwis to lead at the first mark by 5 seconds.
"Philippe (Presti, coach) and I have been working hard at night trying to figure a couple of
plays, and that was Philippe's idea, it worked nicely," said Spithill.
Emirates Team New Zealand remained aggressive through the race, tacking and jibing a
total of 20 times in the hopes of a foul-up by the defender, but it never happened as
ORACLE TEAM USA matched every move and gained time on all five legs of the racecourse.
"The AC72 is completely unique," said Ben Ainslie, ORACLE TEAM USA tactician. "On the
downwind legs the boat ahead a lot of times has the advantage in terms of controlling the
opposition and the bad air, and tacking with these boats is a lot harder to keep a cover if
they do a good job splitting tacks. It's very exciting."
ORACLE TEAM USA has now won seven of the past nine races, including five consecutive
victories to tie the longest consecutive unbeaten streak in the modern era. Team New
Zealand won the 1995 and 2000 matches each by scores of 5-0, and Alinghi won the 2003
match by a score of 5-0. In the history of the Cup, the New York Yacht Club won 25
consecutive races over a string of 10 matches between 1876 and 1903.
Races 17 and 18 are slated for tomorrow, scheduled to start at 1:15 and 2:15 p.m. PT. In the
U.S., the America's Cup Finals will be broadcast live on the NBC Sports Network.
Internationally, the America's Cup Final can be viewed in more than 170 territories. All racing is also live on America's Cup YouTube channel (subject to territorial restrictions). You can view this on the YachtsandYachting.com homepage from 9pm BST.
You can also follow racing with America's Cup App for android and iOS devices.
34th America's Cup Standings: (first to 9 points wins)
- Emirates Team New Zealand – 8
- ORACLE TEAM USA – 6
Race 16 Performance Data:
- Course: 5 Legs/10.21 nautical miles
- Elapsed Time: OTUSA – 30:43, ETNZ – 31:16
- Delta: OTUSA +:33
- Total distance sailed: OTUSA – 11.8 NM, ETNZ – 11.7 NM
- Average Speed: OTUSA – 23.21 knots (27 mph), ETNZ – 22.46 knots (26 mph)
- Top Speed: OTUSA – 38.05 knots (44 mph), ETNZ – 36.61 knots (42 mph)
- Windspeed: Average – 12.0 knots, Peak – 14.1 knots
- Number of Tacks/Jibes: OTUSA – 10/10, ETNZ – 10/10
Upcoming America's Cup Schedule:
- Tuesday, Sept 24: Race 17 (1:15 pm PT), Race 18* (2:15 pm PT)
- Wednesday, Sept. 25: Race 19* (1:15 pm PT)
*If necessary
ORACLE TEAM USA records fifth consecutive win (from ORACLE TEAM USA)
ORACLE TEAM USA won its fifth race in a row and eighth overall on Monday in San Francisco at the 34th America's Cup. The day was limited to one race due to light winds, and ORACLE TEAM USA and Emirates Team New Zealand now return to the race course on Tuesday.
"We know we can win this Cup if we go out and win the next few races," said skipper Jimmy Spithill. "We control our own destiny. The boys are incredibly fired up – I've never seen them like this before.
"We feel like we've made great progress with the performance of the boat, and I think that was evident today in the lighter air. As per usual, we're going to go back tonight, work hard and come back swinging," Spithill continued.
In Race 16 of the series – the lone race of the day – the start was delayed to allow the breeze to fill in. When racing got underway, the two boats were off the line clean and ORACLE TEAM USA on starboard got the early jump to lead around Mark 1. As Spithill and crew stayed in front, the teams split the course around the second mark. Sailing a consistent race, they held on to win the race and finish 33 seconds ahead of New Zealand.
The teams are currently tied with eight wins apiece, while Emirates Team New Zealand maintains an 8-6 overall lead in points. The winner of the 34th America's Cup is the first team to win nine points.
"We're working hard and just keep fighting, and I think everyone is having the race of his life," said grinder Simeon Tienpont. "We're coming together really good and we just have to keep doing what we're doing."
That elusive point (from Emirates Team New Zealand)
The elusive match point for Emirtates Team New Zealand was again out of reach in San Francisco today.
And as Oracle crossed the finish line ahead, the longest America's Cup in history was set to continue for another day.
Only one race was sailed after the start was delayed for 30 minutes and it produced another win for Oracle.
Skipper Dean Barker said the team was ready for another race this afternoon but again the weather called the shots. The delay meant the race committee ran out of time to run a second race.
NZL5 has sat on match point for five days as a vastly improved Oracle has chipped away, winning five races on the trot.
Baker was upbeat after racing: "We don't want to trade positions. We would still rather be on match point," a reference to the points table, led by Emirates Team New Zealand by eight point to six. Nine points are needed to win the America's Cup.
"It's a battle and Oracle has stepped it up a lot. We are racing against a boat that is much better than when it first started.
"It has been a rough road the last couple of days. It is very, very close. We have to sail well, get ahead and win. We are motivated to work even harder to make sure we do finish this thing off."
Tomorrow's forecast is for winds at the upper end of the range.
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