America's Cup - When a Wing becomes a Wall - Video of near capsize

by Rob Kothe & the Sail-World Team on 15 Sep 2013 America's Cup 2013 - It was almost the end of the New Zealand America´s Cup challenge today.

With Oracle Team USA pressing them at the top of the third race leg in race 8, a standard tack became almost a nightmare, when the giant solid wind did not tack, when Dean Barker swung the wheel over on the Emirates Team New Zealand AC72.

The wing became a wall and the boat went very very close to a capsize.

Here is the video sequence, which will be the most watched of this 34th America's Cup to date.



Oracle Team USA won its second race of the 34th America’s Cup, Race 8 of the series, when Emirates Team New Zealand nearly capsized on the upwind leg. The two crews had met four times on the upwind leg with the Kiwis holding the advantage. At the fifth meeting Emirates Team New Zealand went to tack to starboard but the wing didn’t pop through and the 72-foot long catamaran was on the edge of capsizing. Oracle Team USA grabbed the lead and extended to win by 52 seconds.

'We’re all good; disappointed to let the lead go,' said Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker. 'They got nicely out of phase and chipped away. We didn’t get the hydraulics and if the wing doesn’t tack when the boat does, you’re in trouble… Fortunately the boat came up and no collision with the other guys.'

Emirates Team New Zealand still leads on the scoreboard 6-0, and in wins 6-2. The winner of the 34th America’s Cup will be the first team to win nine points. For the Kiwis that means three additional race wins and for Oracle Team USA it means nine, due to a penalty imposed by the International Jury.