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Oracle Completes Voyage to History, Winning America’s Cup Oracle Completes Voyage to History, Winning America’s Cup
(35 minutes 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 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.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 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.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 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.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.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 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.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.
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.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 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.” “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.
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.” “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.
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. “And then there were a bunch of little changes that just reduced the drag a few kilos here and a few kilograms there, and all the sudden you have an edge.”
Coutts said the other major factor was his team’s growing confidence in its yacht.
“Everyone talks about the technology: ‘What changes did you make?’ ” Coutts said. “The guys on board changed a lot. For sure there was a use of the technology change where we manipulated the force or manipulated the balance of those forces, but the guys on board the boat changed their technique, so there’s this fantastic human element to this which really won the day in the end, which is great.”
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 such a reversal of fortune: as a comeback or a collapse. New Zealand, an island nation of 4.4 million, had already been making preliminary plans a week ago to bring the Cup back to Auckland. Instead, as The New Zealand Herald’s headline read, “America’s Cup stays America’s cup.”
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.
“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.”“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.”
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. Oracle’s midregatta 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.
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. 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 on Friday, was unable to finish before the 40-minute time limit. The race that would have been Race 13 was abandoned.
“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.” “Although we sort of probably did have our hand on the trophy, I don’t think we ever thought that way,” Dalton said.
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. “At 8-1, I said to the team, ‘We’ve got to close this out because I’ve got a feeling here.’ I probably slept better in the last two days than I slept a week ago because I knew, I sensed that it was coming.”
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. Dalton was talking about Oracle’s comeback, and though it made for painful viewing for New Zealanders, it was not a dark day for all New Zealanders. Coutts is a Kiwi, and Oracle actually had more Kiwis in its crew than Americans, with Joe Spooner and Jono Macbeth outnumbering the one American: Rome Kirby.
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. But Oracle Team USA’s owner is an American, the software billionaire Larry Ellison, who 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.
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. His priorities were questioned by some who had come to hear him speak and left frustrated, but Oracle will presumably 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.
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. When his team crossed the finish line, he was soon on board with the crew to take part in the celebration, hugging Spithill and exchanging thoughts with Ainslie as they sat on the back of the catamaran.
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. 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.
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!” Ellison did not announce concrete plans for the next Cup. He also did not reveal which yacht club would be the next challenger of record.
But after this Cup had been handed over to the 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. “Absolutely no doubt,” Spithill said, “it’s better to be the rooster than the feather duster.”