NZ’s Cup again

Yahoo!

Twenty two year’s after Peter Montgomery celebrated New Zealand’s first America’s Cup win with the words, The America’s Cup is now New Zealand’s Cup,  Emirates Team New Zealand has won the 35th America’s Cup.

The Kiwi team dominated the final stage of the 35th America’s Cup, winning eight races to ORACLE TEAM USA’s one race win, giving the New Zealanders a final winning scoreline of 7-1.

They won eight races but the score line of 7-1 reflects the defender’s rule change to make the challengers start with -1.

P.S.

Peter Burling is only 26 – the youngest helmsman to win the America’s Cup.

 

 

Match point

The America’s Cup website says Super Sunday belongs to Burling and Emirates Team New Zealand:

It is now Match point Emirates Team New Zealand.

Day four of the America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton, belonged firmly to Peter Burling and the New Zealand team who comfortably won the two scheduled races of the day, races seven and eight of the final stage of the 35th America’s Cup.

Burling and his crew have already won eight races but the rules, set by the defender, meant the challenger started at -1. This gives Team NZ a moral victory already. But rules are rules and they require one more win to take the cup.

Having won race six on Saturday, ORACLE TEAM USA went into the second Sunday of the America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton, looking to gain more ground on their Kiwi rivals, but the New Zealand juggernaut had found its pace again and was unbeatable in similar weather conditions to day three, . . 

We can’t forget what happened in San Francisco when Team NZ went from match point to loss, but we didn’t have the Bermulanders on our side then.

Whoever, wins the cup, I’m giving the advertising prize to Toyota for these social media slides:

 

Bermulanders backing Team NZ

My parents might not have met had my father not been a sailor.

He capsized his yacht one day and was picked up by a man whose wife was a nurse who arranged a blind date for the rescued yachtie and a nursing friend who became my mother.

My brothers inherited Dad’s love of sailing but my love of the sea is for swimming in rather than sailing on.

Not being a sailor hasn’t stopped me marvelling at the design and performance of the Americas Cup yachts and the skill of the crews.

Though my excitement over the strong start Team NZ made was tempered with the memory of the way an apparently unassailable lead turned into a loss in the last challenge.

Today’s results – one win to NZ, one to the USA, adds to the tension.

But last time we didn’t have the Bermulanders on our side.

Time for a whole new competition

Perhaps the America’s Cup was once a race on the water where crews and their yachts competed with a fair chance of winning.

In recent years there’s been a lot more action in board rooms and courts.

One reason for that is the defender’s ability to rig the rules and the latest rigging is the last straw.

Paul Lewis says it’s time for a replacement America’s Cup:

Let’s start a replacement America’s Cup.

A proper one, with one set of rules for everyone and genuine competition. Not some heavily-rigged pretence at sport which is actually a play for power and money. That’s what Oracle Team USA served up with their protocol for the 35th America’s Cup this week.

This is a jack-up so obvious it should be called the Jack Cup. This went beyond the usual America’s Cup defender giving themselves an advantage. This is the US Army, armed with nukes, drones and heat-seeking missiles versus Spongebob Squarepants waving a sharp teaspoon. This is ensuring retention of the Cup under the banner of taking sailing to the masses and making it more commercial. Translation: more of everything for Oracle. . . .

A new event would be cheaper, fairer and more accessible. It could be staged in Australia or New Zealand, or even both, and would eventually grow to be its own event, maybe even overshadowing the Cup which could stand proudly in the Golden Gate Yacht Club trophy cabinet – forgotten and uncontested. . . .

Let’s have a yacht race that has clear rules which gives everyone the same chance and is decided on the water by the skill of the crews.

Let’s keep positive

Oracle Team USA has won the America’s Cup.

The final score was 9-8 – though they won two more races before they got on the scoreboard.

But let’s not go into national mourning.

Emirates Team New Zealand sailed well, with a New Zealand crew, New Zealand boat design, New Zealand technology and New Zealand expertise.

Oracle Team New Zealand sailed better, with an international crew which included New Zealanders, New Zealand boat design, New Zealand expertise.

They also had a New Zealand manager – Russell Coutts – who hasn’t lost an America’s Cup.

They also had more money and the lack of challengers showed that was a significant factor.

This was an amazing spectacle and one of the great sporting comebacks.

But it was only sport.

So let’s keep positive, congratulate the victors, thank Dean Barker and the team for the effort they put in and the entertainment they provided us, get on with our lives and smile – it’s contagious.

Just one more race

It’s Emirates Team New Zealand 8 – Oracle Team USA 8.

Oracle has made an amazing come-back.

The pressure on both teams is immense – both need just one more race, both have only one more race.

Kia kaha Team New Zealand – we’re still leaning with you.

This time, please

It’s now Emirates team NZ 8 – Oracle team USA 6.

That is far too close for comfort.

We’ve been on match point for days.

The prolonging of the regatta is no doubt good for sponsors and people provisioning competitors and spectators.

But it’s not good for national productivity nor is it good for morale.

This time, please, could we win the race, within the permissible time?