35th America's Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton - Day 3
by 35th America's Cup 24 Jun 2017 14:34 PDT
24 June 2017
Day three of the America's Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton, was full of drama, incident and history-making action, but the big story of the day is the fightback ORACLE TEAM USA staged against their rivals for the Auld Mug, Emirates Team New Zealand.
The US Defenders of the America's Cup found themselves 3-0 down to their Kiwi rivals after the first four races of the final stage of the 35th America's Cup. However, from the start of race five, the first race of day three of the America's Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton, it was clear that ORACLE TEAM USA had found significant boat speed since the two teams last raced on Sunday 18th June.
Race five went to Emirates Team New Zealand, who took full advantage of mistakes made on the US boat to put themselves 4-0 up, but in race six the tables finally turned, ORACLE TEAM USA winning their first race of the America's Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton. With that victory, Skipper Jimmy Spithill made more history, tying Sir Russell Coutts' winning record in America's Cup Match races, recording his 14th victory, the same as Coutts.
That win means that the 35th America's Cup will continue into Monday 26th June as neither team can reach the seven points needed to win the 35th America's Cup in the two races scheduled on Sunday 24th June.
However, the win also signifies that the clear advantage Emirates Team New Zealand had over their US rivals in the opening weekend of the America's Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton, has gone, and that means even more compelling racing is guaranteed in the remaining head-to-heads between the two teams fighting for the oldest trophy in international sport.
The battle on the water also carried on into the press conference after the action concluded on the Great Sound with the rivals looking back at the two races on day three, and the week they've both had to prepare for the resumption of hostilities on Saturday 24th June.
"We felt like we gave away that last race a bit, but it is great to see a little fight out of these boys," remarked Burling, on ORACLE TEAM USA's revival, to which Jimmy Spithill replied, "It is only just beginning mate."
Reflecting further on his team's vast improvement and the importance of ORACLE TEAM USA cutting the overall deficit to Emirates Team New Zealand, Spithill added, "We all saw that the boat is faster, obviously we are not sailing as well as we should do, but the important thing is that the boat is faster.
"We'll be going straight back out on the water today to work on a few things. That's a good position to be in, knowing there is more on the table and that the changes are working, the boat is getting quicker.
"It was five very long days but the good thing is we've been able to reward the entire shore crew with a win. We now have confidence in the tool we have, which is the most important thing.
"It does remind me of San Francisco when, once the guys can see that the boat is faster, then you start building some momentum.
"Getting that first victory was important today but I believe there is more speed in the tank.
"The boat is clearly faster because of the changes and it showed in the second race that if we as athletes can do a good job then the boat responds.
"We know we can do much better, but all in all we are just happy with the performance of the boat, to be able to get that race win, and to know that the boat is faster."
In reply, Peter Burling acknowledged the new greater threat from ORACLE TEAM USA but remained confident in Emirates Team New Zealand being able to hold their advantage.
"We knew to expect a battle and now it appears we have got one," remarked Burling.
"We felt they were a little rusty last weekend but we are under no illusions. When we entered this we knew we were in for one hell of a battle. It was nice to get those first wins and take a lead.
"We came out of a good battle today and managed to take another win but we feel we have plenty more to come.
"We didn't sail particularly well today but it was great to walk away with another win. We're really happy with the lead we have got and we'll come back stronger, expecting a really great battle in the coming races.
"It's no secret that when you look at our team, we are all very young and the advantage that gives us is that we are all pretty open and learn fast. We have an incredibly talented group of guys and we're excited to get back out there and race again tomorrow."
Race Five
After five days away from racing Jimmy Spithill's ORACLE TEAM USA's fightback against Emirates Team New Zealand started in the worst possible style in Race Five, the team being handed a penalty for crossing the start line too early, allowing Peter Burling's Emirates Team New Zealand to sail into a clear lead.
"All of our onboard gear had us behind the line at the start but it was wrong," bemoaned Spithill of the early penalty. "We both rely on pretty sophisticated software at times and in these boats you get one knot of difference and it changes everything."
However, despite the setback, the American team responded spectacularly, closing the gap completely rounding the second gate before taking the lead in the first pass of the America's Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton, on leg 3/7.
However, just as they had taken the lead, ORACLE TEAM USA were punished once again as the boats crossed for a second time on leg 3/7. Both teams appealed against the other but it was Jimmy Spithill who was penalised, his team having to fall two boat lengths behind his rival, effectively handing them the race victory.
To add insult to injury, the Defender's pursuit of Emirates Team New Zealand was hampered even further as a poorly executed manoeuvre then saw them lose all momentum, allowing the Kiwis to sail well clear on leg 4/7.
The Kiwi team's advantage stood at just over a minute at the fifth gate and by the time they crossed the finish line Emirates Team New Zealand were two minutes and four seconds ahead of their rivals, putting them 4-0 up at the end of race five.
Race Six
With the pressure mounting on Jimmy Spithill and ORACLE TEAM USA, they finally halted Emirates Team New Zealand's charge, securing a timely and vital 11 second victory over the Kiwis in the sixth race of the America's Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton, to cut the deficit to 4-1.
In contrast to the first race of the day, both teams crossed the start line cleanly, with ORACLE TEAM USA beating Emirates Team New Zealand to mark one for the very first time in the America's Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton.
The lead then changed hands twice on leg two but it was Jimmy Spithill's team which held a slender 12 second advantage at the third gate.
At gate four Spithill took a gamble, jibing in the run up to the next gate, but it proved to be an error and Burling took the shorter course to the gate to edge ahead of his rival.
However, ORACLE TEAM USA's new-found speed paid dividends on leg 5/7 as they cut the gap to their rivals and engaged in close-quarter racing. Two passes then ensued between the two teams, with Spithill coming out on top, nudging ahead at the fifth gate.
Having eradicated the mistakes that had held back ORACLE TEAM USA in race five, Spithill kept his rival at bay in the run up to the finish line and sealed an 11-second win which, vitally, keeps ORACLE TEAM USA firmly in the America's Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton.
"We had a couple of good leads but some bad manoeuvres allowed them to catch us up," conceded Peter Burling on defeat in race six. "We made a couple of mistakes and we lost some metres, however, full credit to them, they sailed better than us in that race."
Race Results:
- Race Five: Emirates Team New Zealand beat ORACLE TEAM USA by 2 minutes and 4 seconds
- Race Six: ORACLE TEAM USA beat Emirates Team New Zealand by 11 seconds
Overall Standings:
- Emirates Team New Zealand 4*
- ORACLE TEAM USA 1
* Emirates Team New Zealand started the America's Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton -1 due to ORACLE TEAM USA's win in the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Qualifiers
www.americascup.com
Oracle take a win, Kiwis still lead & Burling and Spithill keep the pressure on in press conference (from Nic Douglass, Adventures of a Sailor Girl)
We have a race on our hands!
Here is my recap of the third day of racing at the 35th Louis Vuitton America's Cup including my comparison of the quips from the press conference, the racing highlights, as well as my one-on-one with Peter Burling.
In summary, ORACLE TEAM USA have used the five days off wisely and have definitely found some speed which made for a great day of racing on the water, and some awesome banter off the water! ETNZ and OTUSA are now all but even in the match up, but the Kiwis are still 4-1.
One fact remains as true as any, both teams have a lot of work to do to take home the Cup!
Enjoy, and remember you can listen live via radio stream wherever you are and catch up on all of our reviews including racing action at www.nicdouglass.org/ac35
For more adventures head to www.AdventuresofaSailorGirl.com, or subscribe to "Adventures Weekly", and for live action, be sure to tune in to our social medial channels; Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @sailorgirlHQ.
Even day for Emirates Team New Zealand (from Emirates Team New Zealand)
It's game on at the 35th America's Cup in Bermuda with Emirates Team New Zealand out to a 4-1 lead over Team USA in the first to seven match - but with the Americans getting their first point on the board.
Once again the boat that won the start won the race and in today's first match up that was Emirates Team New Zealand.
Peter Burling looked to be in control heading for the line, with his advantage compounded by Jimmy Spithill misjudging Oracle's run to be penalised for starting early.
But on the first upwind leg the work done by the Americans during the five-day gap between races started to become apparent, with some new-found pace seeing Oracle take the lead for the first time in the America's Cup match.
It proved to be short-lived though. In a tight fight the boats engaged in a port-starboard dial down with both skippers calling for a penalty, the umpires judging the Kiwis to be in the right and slapping another penalty on the American boat.
After that Emirates Team New Zealand moved away and kept on extending at every mark, the Kiwi cause helped by problems on Oracle which saw the boat crashing off its foils en route to a 2'04" defeat.
Burling was quick to praise the shore crew for the work they'd done during the five day break: "They've made this great little boat quicker."
Despite the loss, Spithill was also pleased with the way his boat was going as they lined up for the the second race: "I believe we can win this race and get one under our belt."
And so it proved with Oracle winning the start for the first time in the Match. With the average speeds of the boats almost identical it was a case of who would make the least mistakes, both skippers later admitting to errors as the lead chopped and changed.
Having turned a 12" deficit into a 6" lead at Mark 5 the Kiwis were looking in a strong position to make it two from two. But a misjudgement on the final beat let the Americans back in and they raced away for an 11" win.
Emirates Team New Zealand foil trimmer Blair Tuke was philosophical: "If you make mistakes you get punished for them. That's the way we want sailing to be. It's what we are here for."
Both teams say they've a lot more in the tank and both were planning extensive reviews of their performances.
"We will learn from that," said Tuke. "And we look forward coming back tomorrow and making less mistakes and giving a polished performance."
Spithill and ORACLE TEAM USA get on track with win (from ORACLE TEAM USA)
After five days of improvements to hardware and sailing technique, ORACLE TEAM USA skipper Jimmy Spithill and his team set off for the race course on Saturday afternoon confident of improvements that would close a speed gap with Emirates Team New Zealand.
It worked. Both races featured lead changes and ORACLE TEAM USA earned its first win of the series.
"We've taken advantage of every minute we could this week to make improvements," Spithill said. "We saw these guys take days off during the week, but we made a commitment to use every single one of them to make the boat faster... And we're not done. There's more on the table."
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After racing, as Spithill promised, the team returned the Great Sound for more testing after a short break for the press conference and to make some adjustments and changes to the boat.
Conditions were better for racing than forecast on Saturday afternoon, with wind in the 9-12 knot range, from the southwest. But there were shifts and patches of light breeze on the race course, giving opportunities for tactical passes.
The new and improved "17" was clearly faster and more competitive with the Kiwi boat. In fact, Emirates Team New Zealand needed two penalty calls to go against Spithill to take the win in the first race of the day.
"We're frustrated with the penalty," Spithill said at the post race press conference. "We feel like these guys have been given a few soft penalties. We had one in the first race in the Qualifiers against us; they should have got a penalty at the top mark. You saw it in the Artemis race when the Umpires admitted they made a mistake. It seems like they're getting a few soft ones from the Umpires."
In the second contest, sailing a clean, back and forth race, Spithill and tactician Tom Slingsby engineered the final pass near the top of the race course and held on for win, closing the scoreline to 4-1.
Racing continues on Sunday afternoon.
America's Cup Match – Race Five Report
In the pre-start to race five, both boats were early back to the line with time to kill. Spithill, set up to windward, put his bow down to accelerate just a fraction early and was judged early to the start, ceding a penalty and rounding mark one three seconds behind.
At the first gate, the gap was still close, with ORACLE TEAM USA following Emirates Team New Zealand around the mark just five seconds back.
An early tack on the first upwind put Spithill and Slingsby to the right and when both boats tacked to converge, ORACLE TEAM USA made a pass on the dial-down, switching sides.
The next cross saw an aggressive dial-down by the starboard tack Team New Zealand. Although Spithill kept clear, the Umpires assessed a penalty – the second of the match against the American defender – and after ORACLE TEAM USA paid off the distance penalty, the Kiwis had sped off to a winning margin to take a 4-0 lead in the series.
Crew list for Race Five:
- Skipper / Helmsman -- Jimmy Spithill
- Wing Trimmer -- Kyle Langford
- Tactician / Grinder -- Tom Slingsby
- Grinder -- Louis Sinclair
- Grinder -- Kinley Fowler
- Grinder -- Ky Hurst
America's Cup Match – Race Six Report
A similar start to race five, with Spithill and ORACLE TEAM USA positioned to windward but this time, a perfect timed push to the line allowed the American defender to reach mark one first with a four-second lead. By the windward gate the lead was six-seconds and the Kiwis followed ORACLE TEAM USA through the gate before tacking early to the right side of the race course. At the first cross on the upwind, Spithill had extended enough to cross ahead of the Kiwi boat. Near the top of the course, it was still very close, with a split at the gate and a 12-second lead to Spithill.
Halfway down the run, the Kiwis picked up a nice vein of wind and made a big gain, passing the Americans who were forced into an extra gybe. Spithill followed through the gate, six-seconds behind, and the New Zealanders took up a controlling position, covering the American boat upwind.
Spithill broke away halfway up the beat but it came at the cost of an extra tack. Near the top, he found the favorable shift he needed and faced a dial down on the cross. By switching sides, ORACLE TEAM USA came back with the starboard advantage on the final cross and dialed-down New Zealand. Spithill forced a slow rounding on the New Zealand boat and made a pass early on the run.
There were two quick gybes to get around the last mark – a massive ask of the grinders at the end of the second race. But they faced up to the challenge and sped away to the finish for the first win of the series.
The score at the end of Saturday is 4-1. ORACLE TEAM USA is back on track.
Crew list for Race Six:
- Skipper / Helmsman -- Jimmy Spithill
- Wing Trimmer -- Kyle Langford
- Tactician / Grinder -- Tom Slingsby
- Grinder -- Cooper Dressler
- Grinder -- Kinley Fowler
- Grinder -- Graeme Spence