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Oracle Completes Voyage to History to Win America’s Cup Oracle Completes Voyage to History to Win America’s Cup
(about 1 hour later)
SAN FRANCISCO — Many regattas ago, when Jimmy Spithill had not yet won the grandest prize in yachting, one of his mentors, the Australian Syd Fischer, gave him words to sail by.SAN FRANCISCO — Many regattas ago, when Jimmy Spithill had not yet won the grandest prize in yachting, one of his mentors, the Australian Syd Fischer, gave him words to sail by.
“Syd used to say to me when something was going good, ‘Be careful,’ ” Spithill said. “ ‘Because you can be a rooster one day and a feather duster the next.’ ” “Syd used to say to me when something was going good, ‘Be careful,’ ” Spithill said, “ ‘because you can be a rooster one day and a feather duster the next.’ ”
A sailor had to be careful indeed in the 34th America’s Cup, which generated historically fast speeds and risks in carbon-fiber foiling catamarans that bore a greater resemblance to flying machines than boats.A sailor had to be careful indeed in the 34th America’s Cup, which generated historically fast speeds and risks in carbon-fiber foiling catamarans that bore a greater resemblance to flying machines than boats.
But while it once looked all but certain that Spithill, the Oracle Team USA skipper and helmsman, and his crew mates were going to end up as feather dusters in San Francisco, they were ultimately able to turn Fischer’s catchphrase on its head, pulling off the greatest comeback in America’s Cup history and one of the most dramatic in any sport.But while it once looked all but certain that Spithill, the Oracle Team USA skipper and helmsman, and his crew mates were going to end up as feather dusters in San Francisco, they were ultimately able to turn Fischer’s catchphrase on its head, pulling off the greatest comeback in America’s Cup history and one of the most dramatic in any sport.
Trailing by 8-1 to the challenger, Emirates Team New Zealand, and within one defeat of losing the Cup, Oracle made changes to its AC72 and its lineup and — against heavy odds and a team of veteran sailors — proceeded to win an unprecedented eight straight races to defend the trophy. Trailing by 8-1 to the challenger, Emirates Team New Zealand, and within one defeat of losing the Cup, Oracle continued to upgrade its boat and its confidence and — against overwhelming odds and a team of veteran sailors — proceeded to win an unprecedented eight straight races to defend the trophy.
The final blow was delivered Wednesday in the first winner-take-all race since 1983. It was a grand spectacle, with the biggest crowd of the regatta gathered onshore and the two predatorial catamarans crossing the start line in near unison at nearly 40 knots. The final blow was delivered Wednesday in the first winner-take-all race since 1983. It was a grand spectacle, with the biggest and loudest crowd of the regatta gathered onshore and the two predatorial catamarans crossing the start line in near unison at well over 30 knots.
Though New Zealand led at Mark 1 and Mark 2, the third leg again proved critical. In the early stages of this best-of-17 regatta, Oracle was the slower boat upwind, but as the series stretched on, the American shore team used the off days to modify the boat to its advantage, and Wednesday only underscored the obvious. Oracle was the significantly faster boat upwind, hydrofoiling for extended periods while Team New Zealand remained closer to the water and increasingly farther from the defender. Though New Zealand led at Mark 1 and Mark 2, the third leg was again critical. In the early stages of this best-of-17 regatta, Oracle was the slower boat upwind, but as the series stretched on, the team’s designers and shore crew used the off days to modify the boat to their advantage.
Wednesday only underscored the obvious. Oracle was the significantly faster boat upwind, hydrofoiling for extended periods while Team New Zealand remained closer to the water and increasingly farther from the defender.
“They just got better and better,” said Grant Dalton, the managing director of Team New Zealand, who was also part of the crew Wednesday. “They got about a minute and a half faster on the beat than they were nine days ago. We were sort of 50 seconds a beat quicker, and now they’re 50 seconds quicker than us. So they’ve done a really amazing job to turn that around.”“They just got better and better,” said Grant Dalton, the managing director of Team New Zealand, who was also part of the crew Wednesday. “They got about a minute and a half faster on the beat than they were nine days ago. We were sort of 50 seconds a beat quicker, and now they’re 50 seconds quicker than us. So they’ve done a really amazing job to turn that around.”
The full extent of what Oracle did to change that crucial speed equation is not yet entirely clear. Modifications were clearly made to many aspects of its AC72, from the hydrofoils to the wing sail that was its primary power source. And unlike Team New Zealand, Oracle changed its measurement certificate for every race as it searched for incremental changes. The full extent of what Oracle did to change that crucial speed equation is not yet clear. Modifications were made to multiple aspects of its AC72, from the hydrofoils to the wing sail that was its primary power source. And unlike Team New Zealand, Oracle sailed with a new measurement certificate — reflecting changes to its boat’s configuration — for every race as it searched relentlessly for incremental improvements.
“I think what they did is they got their foils working very efficiently, took some weight out of the boat and learned how to use the wing a lot better,” said Gary Jobson, the sailing analyst who was part of a Cup-winning team in 1977. Russell Coutts, the most successful skipper in the Cup’s modern history and Oracle’s chief executive, shared some details, looking as relieved as he did delighted.
The mid-regatta decision to replace the tactician John Kostecki, an American veteran who knew San Francisco Bay intimately, with Ben Ainslie, a four-time Olympic gold medalist from Britain, also clearly contributed to the momentum shift, even though Oracle still lost its first two races with Ainslie in the lineup. “The major changes in my view were the balance of the boat, where obviously the load sharing between the foils is critical, so we adjusted that quite a lot,” said Coutts, an engineer by education. “We changed that loading by manipulating the wing shapes and flaps. So we didn’t actually change anything in a physical sense. We just changed the setting, so we more bottom-loaded the wing and more off-loaded that, and that created a different loading for the foils, and that was probably the biggest change we made. And then there were a bunch of little changes that just reduced the drag a few kilos here and a few kilograms there.”
But the team’s fortunes and confidence clearly began to soar when Team New Zealand, well in front and within one nautical mile of winning the Cup last week, was unable to finish before the 40-minute time limit in a race that was abandoned. Coutts added: “Then I think the last factor is the guys on board the boat got confidence in the boat, and you saw that developing. There was a race they lost; I can’t remember when it was. It was so far back, but in the race they lost, the boat wasn’t that different to what it is today. They just sailed the boat differently today, and I think the fact the human element came into this is fantastic.”
“I think Ben Ainslie helped them tactically,” Jobson said. “When papers are written by the naval architects, I think it will be many little things together that made the difference.” It was hard to ignore the human element Wednesday when Oracle’s joy was matched in intensity by Team New Zealand’s disappointment. There are two ways to view a reversal of fortune: as a comeback or a collapse. It was a brutal blow to Dean Barker, the Kiwi helmsman and skipper who has had to deal with plenty of Cup-based disappointment after losing it in New Zealand in 2003 to Coutts and the Swiss syndicate Alinghi.
Larry Ellison, Oracle’s owner, said he had a discussion with Russell Coutts, the team’s chief executive officer and former skipper, at the most dire phase of the regatta for Oracle. “I think again we saw today just how dominant they’ve become upwind,” Barker said of Oracle. “It’s very difficult to accept, a very tough pill to swallow.”
“We were down, 8 to 1, and Russell says, ‘It doesn’t make sense that they are faster than us upwind,’ and we kept focusing on things we could do to the boat,” Ellison said. “We actually thought our boat was going to be O.K. We just had to configure the boat properly, and the combination of our engineering team and the guys out on the water finally broke the code, finally figured out what we had to do.” Oracle’s mid-regatta decision to replace the tactician John Kostecki, an American veteran who knew San Francisco Bay intimately, with Ben Ainslie, a four-time Olympic gold medalist from Britain, also contributed to the momentum shift, even though Oracle still lost its first two races with Ainslie in the lineup.
Ellison, the American software billionaire, has been juggling two major commitments this week. His company Oracle is staging its annual conference in San Francisco, attracting thousands of participants, but Ellison decided not to deliver his long-scheduled keynote address to the conference Tuesday so he could watch his team from the same chase boat where he was watching it lose earlier in September. But the team’s fortunes and confidence began to soar when Team New Zealand, well in front and within one nautical mile of winning the Cup last week, was unable to finish before the 40-minute time limit in a race that was abandoned.
His priorities were questioned by some who had come to hear him speak and left frustrated, but Oracle presumably will have another conference in San Francisco next year. The America’s Cup was much less of a sure thing, and on Wednesday, Ellison was back on the water. “I think Ben Ainslie helped them tactically,” said Gary Jobson, the television analyst who was part of a Cup-winning team in 1977. “When papers are written by the naval architects, I think it will be many little things together that made the difference.”
Larry Ellison, the American software billionaire and owner of Oracle Team USA, has been juggling two major commitments this week. His company Oracle is staging its annual conference in San Francisco, attracting thousands of participants, but Ellison decided not to deliver his long-scheduled keynote address to the conference Tuesday so he could watch his team from the same chase boat where he was watching it lose earlier in September.
When his team crossed the finish line, he was soon on board with the 11 members of the crew to take part in the celebration, hugging Spithill and exchanging thoughts with Ainslie as they sat on the back of the catamaran.When his team crossed the finish line, he was soon on board with the 11 members of the crew to take part in the celebration, hugging Spithill and exchanging thoughts with Ainslie as they sat on the back of the catamaran.
This was Ellison’s and Oracle’s second victory in the America’s Cup, but it was the team’s first in a full-scale Cup. After two unsuccessful challenges, Ellison and Oracle claimed the Cup in 2010 from the defender Alinghi after a series of legal challenges resulted in a best-of-three series in Valencia, Spain, in two large, fragile multihulls.This was Ellison’s and Oracle’s second victory in the America’s Cup, but it was the team’s first in a full-scale Cup. After two unsuccessful challenges, Ellison and Oracle claimed the Cup in 2010 from the defender Alinghi after a series of legal challenges resulted in a best-of-three series in Valencia, Spain, in two large, fragile multihulls.
Ellison and Coutts then decided to bring the Cup back to the Bay Area, home to the Golden Gate Yacht Club, the once-obscure club that the Cup has brought to prominence.Ellison and Coutts then decided to bring the Cup back to the Bay Area, home to the Golden Gate Yacht Club, the once-obscure club that the Cup has brought to prominence.
But San Francisco, though familiar territory, must have often felt like hostile territory to Ellison. There were long negotiations with municipal groups, downscaled plans and public frustration over the fact that only three challengers took part in the regatta because of the costs of competing in the AC72s and the global economic downturn.But San Francisco, though familiar territory, must have often felt like hostile territory to Ellison. There were long negotiations with municipal groups, downscaled plans and public frustration over the fact that only three challengers took part in the regatta because of the costs of competing in the AC72s and the global economic downturn.
There was also the death of the British sailor Andrew Simpson in May in a training accident on the bay with his Swedish team, Artemis Racing.There was also the death of the British sailor Andrew Simpson in May in a training accident on the bay with his Swedish team, Artemis Racing.
But after the accident and the strife, the final phase of this much-criticized Cup definitely ended on an upswing for Ellison and his team. And after the Cup had been handed back to Oracle’s crew, Spithill — in rooster mode — opened a bottle of sparkling wine and shouted: “Larry! Hey, Larry!” But after the accident and the strife, the final phase of this much-criticized Cup definitely ended on an upswing for Ellison and his team. And after the Cup had been handed back to Oracle’s crew, Spithill opened a bottle of sparkling wine and shouted: “Larry! Hey, Larry!”
When Ellison turned, Spithill removed his thumb from the top of the bottle and sent a steady spray in his boss’s direction.When Ellison turned, Spithill removed his thumb from the top of the bottle and sent a steady spray in his boss’s direction.
“Absolutely no doubt, it’s better to be the rooster than the feather duster,” Spithill said.