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America's Cup victory for Oracle Team USA after stunning comeback America's Cup victory for Oracle Team USA after stunning comeback
(about 1 hour later)
Orcale Team USA completed a remarkable comeback on Wednesday, winning the America's Cup after a nailbiting final race in San Francisco bay. Oracle Team USA won the America's Cup in a climactic race in San Francisco Bay on Wednesday, capping an epic comeback and rewriting a script that had the plutocratic sailing tournament sinking into pre-ordained ignominy.
All but defeated a week ago, Oracle Team USA forced a winner-takes-all decider against Emirates Team New Zealand. Thousands of jubilant supporters cheered the American team, the defending champion, on Wednesday as they ploughed past the finish line 44 seconds ahead of Emirates Team New Zealand, sealing one of the most memorable victories in the cup's 162-year history.
The Americans recovered twice from seven-point deficits to win 9-8 Wednesday. Oracle's feted British tactician, Sir Ben Ainslie, hugged and exchanged high-fives with other crew members and Larry Ellison, the billionaire co-founder of Oracle, amid a shower of champagne on their AC72 catamaran.
For Skipper Jimmy Spithill and his crew, it was one of the greatest comebacks in sporting history. Owned by software billionaire Larry Ellison, Oracle Team USA was docked two points for illegally modifying boats in warmup regatta. They had to win 11 races to retain the trophy. Minutes earlier, on-board cameras captured Ainslie's orders to his teammates as the 72-ft vessel powered towards the finish. "This is it. This is it. Work your arses off."
The buildup to this year's event was marred by accidents, boycotts and bickering. Then Oracle rejigged its crew, replacing tactician John Kostecki, a Bay Area native, with Ben Ainslie, a Briton who has won four Olympic golds. They obliged the four-times Olympic gold medallist, making him the first British sailor to be on board the winning boat in the America's Cup since Charlie Barr in 1899, 1901 and 1903. "Oh man, oh man, what a race!" exulted Oracle's Australian skipper, Jimmy Spithill. "It was a fantastic race. We wouldn't have had it any other way. To come from behind, these guys just showed so much heart. It really is about the team. I am so proud of the boys. We were looking down the barrel of a gun."
The drama of the greatest comeback in the cup's 162-year history has saved it. Gripes have turned into wonder at the spectacle of two huge catamarans, specially built for this event and crewed with elite sailors, duelling at more than 50mph. A troubled contest which verged on fiasco a week ago transformed into a thrilling nailbiter over the past week when the Oracle team - which counted only one American on its winning crew hauled back a huge deficit to tie the series and set up Wednesday's winner-take-all decider.
"Just when you thought it was safe to leave the water, the America's Cup has blossomed into a fantastic affair," marvelled the San Francisco Chronicle before Wednesday's final race Just a few weeks ago, the paper had floated a rather different comparison during the preliminary Louis Vuitton Cup: "Perhaps the worst nautical launch since the Titanic set off across the North Atlantic." The greatest comeback in the cup's history vindicated Ellison's decision to host the event in San Francisco bay and use super-fast telegenic boats which zipped across the water at more than 50mph.
The about-turn came after Oracle's superstar sailors lost eight of the first 11 races. Ellison, who famously hates to lose, looked like he was going to lose. In a bold move the team replaced personnel. To widespread astonishment, Oracle then won nine of 13 races, including the two wins on Tuesday which tied the contest. Even when the Kiwis started with an advantage, the Oracle crew found a way to overtake. Under a bright sun, Oracle started badly when it buried its bows in a wave but recovered to zigzag and overtake the Kiwis, approaching the Golden Gate Bridge on the windward third leg.
"The boat is just getting faster and faster," said Spithill. "The boys are really starting to believe now. There's a lot of good energy on board." The result was a devastating blow to the New Zealand team which expected a week ago to take the cup to Auckland after building a seemingly insurmountable early lead. The government gambled about $30m in subsidies in hope of bringing the next contest, and its financial spin-offs, to New Zealand. "Bugger," tweeted the New Zealand prime minister John Key on Wednesday.
The Team New Zealand skipper, Dean Barker, called Tuesday's latest losses "an absolute shocker" and faulted himself for making a premature approach to the line, incurring a penalty. Until a week ago this latest cup was not going well. Accidents, boycotts and bickering marred the build-up, then the defending champion, Oracle Team USA lost eight of the first nine races in a desultory surrender. Then the script changed. Oracle, a zephyr from defeat, rejigged its crew and mounted a spectacular comeback which electrified the contest.
The American side has actually won 10 of 18 races, having begun two races down because of a penalty for cheating in the America's Cup world series. Gripes turned into wonder at the spectacle of two huge catamarans, specially built for this event and crewed with elite sailors, duelling at more than 50mph.
Ellison missed a keynote speech he was due to deliver at the Oracle OpenWorld conference to watch Tuesday's race, a scene Hollywood will surely mine should it make a movie. The win is in many ways a personal vindication for Ellison. As winners of the last race in 2010, Oracle got to set the rules for this year. Ellison introduced a new class of catamaran, the fiendishly expensive AC72s, The twin-hulled 72ft vessels, replacing the single-hulled catamarans that previously featured in the race, whip along at high speeds, delivering a thrilling spectacle to fans. Underwater foils, known as daggerboards, enable the boats to sail with both hulls lifted out of the water.
A few months ago the America's Cup was in deep trouble. What was billed as a glory of California's summer – 15 teams competing for sailing's most prestigious prize, generating $1.4bn in the process – had shrivelled into a bickering rump of just four teams. Accidents destroyed or damaged two catamarans and killed Andrew Simpson, a British Olympic gold medallist with Sweden's Artemis Racing team, prompting rule changes. "It's the most amazing sensation when you look down and there's no part of the boat in the water, just the two foils on the leeward hull and the rudder on the windward one," The New Zealand skipper, Dean Barker, told the New York Times in July. "Just the sheer acceleration of the boat when it breaks clear of the water is quite remarkable."
Italy's Luna Rossa Challenge team sat out some Louis Vuitton races – the warm-up contest to select the challenger – in protest. A major sponsor demanded a refund and San Francisco braced for a financial loss instead of a promised bonanza. Just a few weeks ago, it seemed that the technical innovations would help to sink the race. Accidents destroyed or damaged two catamarans and killed Andrew Simpson, a British Olympic gold medallist with Sweden's Artemis Racing team, prompting changes to the rules.
Oracle's initial rout deepened the sense of debacle as the main event got under way. Then began the comeback, and a cup dismissed as a tycoons' bauble became nail-biting drama. The $100m price tag deterred all but three team from challenging Oracle. Italy's Luna Rossa Challenge team sat out some Louis Vuitton races – the warm-up contest to select the challenger – in protest. A major sponsor demanded a refund and San Francisco braced for a financial loss instead of a promised bonanza.
What was billed as a glory of California's summer – 15 teams competing for sailing's most prestigious prize, generating $1.4bn in the process – had shrivelled into a bickering rump of just four teams.
Oracle's initial rout deepened the sense of debacle as the main event got under way, losing eight of the first 11 races. The American side started with a two race deficit because of a penalty for cheating in the America's Cup world series, when members of the team were discovered to have placed illegal weights in their boats.
Ellison, who famously hates to lose, looked as if he was going to lose. But in a bold move the team replaced personnel, notably the tactician John Kostecki, a Bay Area native, with Ainslie. To widespread astonishment, Oracle staged a fierce comeback, including two wins on Tuesday which tied the contest. Even when the Kiwis started with an advantage, the Oracle crew found a way to overtake.
Barker, the Kiwi skipper, appeared an increasing morose, lost figure as he headed towards the record books for the wrong reasons. Ellison missed a keynote speech he was due to deliver at the Oracle OpenWorld conference to watch Tuesday's race, a scene Hollywood will surely mine should it make a movie.
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