America's Cup- Close call for Oracle Racing on San Francisco Bay

by Richard Gladwell on 11 Jun 2011
Oracle Racing had a first taste of San Francisco Bay's reputation for strong winds and choppy waters that makes yacht racing in these conditions a real challenge.

The pair had a close call today, and one came close to a first capsize in the bay.

'It was a typical San Francisco day,' said Oracle Racing CEO Russell Coutts.

'We came close to capsizing a couple of times. You hit the wrong wave or get a puff, you have to react quickly. It’s gonna be a handful.'

Coutts and crew Simon Daubney, Murray Jones, Matthew Mason and Simeon Tienpont buried both bows up to the front cross beam and pirouetted onto the leeward hull before the windward hull came crashing down.

The crew came close to making a one long night for the shore crew.

'Mate, it was unreal,' said team skipper James Spithill, who had a front row seat as the action happened just to leeward of his AC45 catamaran..

'Our teammates next door put it in hard and it looked awesome. It was a picture perfect day. This is exactly why we came here, it was just awesome.'