Alinghi take the most amazing race in America's Cup history

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World NZL on 3 Jul 2007
America's Cup, Race 7 Commentary updated live

Emirates Team New Zealand entered from the starboard, or Committee Boat end, with Alinghi coming in from the port end. Conditions are stronger than forecast with a breeze of 15 knots from 136 degrees (SE) on the course.

Alinghi luffs, NZL-92 dives deep and then comes up underneath Alinghi who can't gybe in front of NZL-92 who has control of the start. Boats are below the startline heading past the Committee boat, both on port.

Alinghi luffs and starts a circle deep in the start box. NZL-92 gets control again and goes for the hook, forcing Alinghi to tack onto port. Both tack back again with NZL-92 to leeward with one minute to go, right up on the layline for the Committee Boat. NZL-92 ahead and in control with 20 seconds to go.

NZL-92 to leeward and ahead at the start. Boats are bow to bow off the start, with Alinghi 40 metres to windward.

A small right hand shift favours Alinghi who creeps to windward by a few metres, then comes back .

Alinghi has dropped into NZL-92 by 10 metres since the start for almost no gain forward. Boats sailing at over 10kts and are high on the port layline. Alinghi is forced to tack away when the separation drops to 30 metres. Small amount of water inside Alinghi, but not causing a problem

The boats separated to 490 metres before NZL-92 tacked back to cover and was 20 metres ahead as the boats moved over into the middle of the course. Wind headed a little then appeared to come back with NZL-92's lead coming back up to 28 metres, separation dropping to 450 metres. Boats now crossing the centre axis in the course and are about two thirds up the beat , when Alinghi tacks, NZL-92 ahead at the first cross by 30 metres and bounced Alinghi out to the right hand layline, with three minutes to run to the right hand layline and four minutes to the left.

Alinghi come back, margins are the same and Alinghi is bounced out once again. A 10 metre gain to Alinghi as they close again with two minutes left to the right hand layline. NZL-92 holds for a little and does not go back into the starboard side, Alinghi tacks back and is to windward by 200 metres and 40 metres back.

NZL-92 tacks and the gap is 20 metres as NZL-92 lee bow tacks and Alinghi tries to live on their windward side as the y both head across to the port layline. Alinghi seem to be able to survive, but NZL-92 only 10 metres in front which is not sufficient. to lead when they tack for the top mark, above the layline. Alinghi will round first, but then luffs Emirates Team New Zealand and tries to get a penalty off NZL-92 and both boats slow, before SUI-100 breaks off to lead by 7 seconds around the first mark.

Leg 2

Both head off on port gybe with Alinghi 50 metres in front. Both headed down the starboard layline, with NZL-92 trying to work into a leeward position of Alinghi so they have a very powerful position when they gybe. margin is steady at 48-50 metres with both attempting to surf in the 15kts breeze which is from 40 degrees.

Boats now equidistant to the laylines at five minutes to go to each, however the yachts are able to run much deeper angles in this fresh seabreeze. Small gain to NZL-92 with the distance now at 45 metres and NZL-92 in a good position to attack on the next gybe. Alinghi gybe first as NZL-92 holds on and runs across their stern and builds out to 220 metres separation before gybing too and now comes in with the starboard hand advantage.

They gybe back onto starboard with Alinghi to leeward as NZL-92 attempts to power over the top, scenes reminiscent of the Australian Challenger Gretel driving over the top of weatherly in the second race of the 1962 America's Cup.

NZL-92 takes Alinghi's wind and SUI-100's spinnaker is consistently collapsing. NZL092 surges into the lead as they gybe and leads by 15 metres after they gybe back onto starboard.

NZL-92 extended their lead to 40 metres and led around the right hand gate by 14 seconds, with Alinghi taking the left hand gate and heading to the right.

Leg 3

Emirates Team New Zealand came back and led by 43 metres

NZL-92's lead extends to 45 metres with the boats now over 450 metres separation and both on port tack heading for the starboard tack layline. Alinghi has not tacked since the start of the leg. Wind now 137 degrees and is reasonably steady at just over 14 kts.

A left hand shift takes NZL-92 out to over 60 metres ahead of Alinghi.

SUI-100 pick up a bit of a right handed shift and come back onto NZL-92 and the margin compresses to 35 metres as NZL-92 lee bow tacks and forces Alinghi out to the right again. Simon Daubney calls 'good pressure right here' on Alinghi as they head right wile NZL-92 is stacked up on their hip, or port quarter, once again.

NZL-92's margin is reducing as both boats head right, and Alinghi comes back again trying to repeat their move of the previous beat.. NZL-92 makes sure of tacking close and forces Alinghi right again. Alinghi hits two large seas as they close into another intersection with two minutes left to run to the right hand layline.

Alinghi makes a gain of 10metres but can't get forward enough on NZL-92 and is bounced out to the right hand side again.

NZL-92 breaks off the tacking duel and both head back to the top mark, with Alinghi to windward by 210 metres and NZL-92 ahead by a boatlength. The wind looks steady all the way into the top mark at 143 degrees and 14.5 kts. The margin has squeezed out to 30 metres for NZL-92 with the lateral separation dropping to 180 metres.

Alinghi close to port layline on starboard tack. the margin is down to a boatlength, and separation at 200 metres, with Alinghi to windward.

Emirates Team New Zealand tack first and Alinghi bore off on starboard and held her course, NZL-92 bore away to avoid, but Alinghi claimed they had to luff to avoid. NZL-92 was a long way high of the port tack layline, took the wrong option, and had to dive much deeper than expected. The umpires penalised NZL-92 and Alinghi led by 12 seconds or 90 metres around the top mark.

Leg 4

Alinghi stretched out to a lead of 100 metres as the breeze softened to 10kts at the top, with just 7 knots showing at the bottom of the course, and below the course we can see the wind has shifted to by around 90 degrees, and dropped to 4kts.

NZL-92's only option now is to close on Alinghi and force a penalty, however Alinghi's lead stretched in the lightening breeze.

The lead for SUI-100 extended to 130 metres and the race, and at this stage, the America's Cup, looked safe for Alinghi.

NZL-92 tries to start an attack and Alinghi's lead drops to 100 metres, as the two split tacks with around 10 minutes left in the race.

The separation expanded to 435 metres with Alinghi 100 metres in front and running down the starboard tack layline and with the starboard hand advantage.

The wind dropped to less than 5 kts at the finish mark as both boats set up genoas to go upwind on the downwind leg, with 500 metres left to the finish.

Alinghi trawled their spinnaker as Emirates Team New Zealand wiped out SUI-100's lead and moved to 30 metres in front, requiring 120 metres to square the penalty.

NZL-92 did the penalty just short of the line, but while she came out of the turn ahead of Alinghi, NZL-92 could not accelerate fast enough. Alinghi held her apparent wind and slipped through to leeward to take the race by just 1 second, the narrowest margin in the history of the event, and successfully defended the America's Cup by 5 - 2.

As soon as the boats had crossed the finish line, Desafio Espanol lodged a challenge for the America's Cup and the Protocol which had previously been agreed with the Defender was signed.

The boats then proceeded to Port America's Cup where the trophy was presented to Ernesto Bertarelli, who held it aloft before passing it to skipper Brad Butterworth, who then passed it around a jubilant Alinghi crew.

Soon after the finish, Emirates Team New Zealand's Grant Dalton, was clearly disappointed to have gone so close in a critical race and spoke briefly on Television New Zealand, thanking the New Zealand fans for their support and emphasising how vital their support was in sustaining the Team to their outstanding performance in the 32nd America's Cup.