Douglas Robson, USA TODAY Sports 4:47 p.m. EDT September 25, 2013
Emirates Team New Zealand and Oracle Team USA warm up before the start of the final race of the America's Cup on Wednesday in San Francisco.(Photo: Ezra Shaw Getty Images)
[h=3]Story Highlights[/h]
SAN FRANCISCO – Capping the greatest comeback in America's Cup history, Oracle Team USA trailed at the start but sailed away from Emirates Team New Zealand on Wednesday to retain the Cup in a winner-take-all decider.
After falling behind 8-1, the American team under never-say-die skipper Jimmy Spithill captured eight consecutive races to win 9-8 in the best-of-17 series.
Over 162 years, America's Cup has had its share of oddball incidents, big-money participants, broken dreams and unexpected triumphs. But rarely has the drama quotient reached such heights as it has during the last week along picturesque San Francisco Bay.
Not since Australia II erased a 3-1 deficit to snag the cup 4-3 from Dennis Conner's Liberty – ending the New York Yacht Club's 132-year stranglehold on the competition – has America's Cup offered such theater.
This is only the third time in the regatta's long history that it came down to a winner-take-all finale. The defender won in 1920 and the challenger in 1983.
It's a far cry from the last few months when the so-called "Summer of Sailing" encountered a steady headwind.
The decision by Oracle billionaire owner Larry Ellison to stage the race in gusty San Francisco in expensive, speedy but fragile multihulls looked like a poor one. The lead-up was rife with missteps, broken financial promises and tragic accidents.
The $100 million price tag dissuaded all but three groups to challenge Oracle, while San Francisco's anticipated economic boost fell below expectations.
The exciting 72-foot catamarans could reach speeds of 50 mph by flying across the water on elevated hydrofoils, but they were also dangerous.
Oracle suffered serious damage to one of its two boats when it capsized and broke apart last October. In May, British Olympian Andrew Simpson died in a training accident aboard Sweden's Team Artemis.
The race, too, appeared lopsided as New Zealand took a commanding 8-1 lead.
But Oracle fashioned a stunning rebound by making daily changes to its boat and tweaks to its crew, notably by replacing the American tactician John Kostecki with four-time Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie of Britain.
The riveting closing stages transformed the Cup from a mess to a must-see event watched in 203 countries and territories and more than a million fans in San Francisco over the past three months.
Stephen Barclay, chief executive of the America's Cup event authority, said Wednesday that the close-to-shore race with the "best sailors in the fastest boats" amounted to a "vision delivered."
"If you'd asked me a month or two months ago," he said, "that's a little different."
Due to its strange rules that allow the winner to select everything from the venue to the type of boats used, questions abound for the next America's Cup.
Will organizers stay with a multihull configuration or return to the monohulls of the past? If they go with multihulls, will they stick with soaring 7-ton yachts fastened with 131-foot carbon fiber sails or something less imposing?
One thing seems certain: The 35th Cup will aim to cut costs in order to encourage more participants. In 2007, the last full Cup, there were 11.
A lower bar-to-entry could mean simpler boats with more off-the-shelf parts. But the main focus will be reducing the massive on-shore staff needed to build, maintain and operate the sophisticated sailing machines, which for this regatta climbed into triple digits.
"It's not the America's Cup of old, but interesting nonetheless," four-time America's Cup winner Conner said by phone Wednesday from his home in San Diego. "It's like watching NASCAR or dragsters."
Conner, for one, expects a return to simpler designs even if he has enjoyed the AC72s dueling at previously unimaginable speeds between Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge.
The 71-year-old celebrated yachtsman believes the sailing community prefers monohulls because catamarans stray too far from "the components of real racing."
But that may be a hard sell after this year's climatic finish.
Despite his traditionalist leanings, Conner had to concede the sailing world had been glued to its chairs.
"Good exhibition," he said.
Emirates Team New Zealand and Oracle Team USA warm up before the start of the final race of the America's Cup on Wednesday in San Francisco.(Photo: Ezra Shaw Getty Images)
[h=3]Story Highlights[/h]
- Americans came back from 8-1 deficit in San Francisco Bay
- More than a million fans have watched the race in California
- Ainslie was substituted in to Oracle's crew as tactician
SAN FRANCISCO – Capping the greatest comeback in America's Cup history, Oracle Team USA trailed at the start but sailed away from Emirates Team New Zealand on Wednesday to retain the Cup in a winner-take-all decider.
After falling behind 8-1, the American team under never-say-die skipper Jimmy Spithill captured eight consecutive races to win 9-8 in the best-of-17 series.
Over 162 years, America's Cup has had its share of oddball incidents, big-money participants, broken dreams and unexpected triumphs. But rarely has the drama quotient reached such heights as it has during the last week along picturesque San Francisco Bay.
Not since Australia II erased a 3-1 deficit to snag the cup 4-3 from Dennis Conner's Liberty – ending the New York Yacht Club's 132-year stranglehold on the competition – has America's Cup offered such theater.
This is only the third time in the regatta's long history that it came down to a winner-take-all finale. The defender won in 1920 and the challenger in 1983.
It's a far cry from the last few months when the so-called "Summer of Sailing" encountered a steady headwind.
The decision by Oracle billionaire owner Larry Ellison to stage the race in gusty San Francisco in expensive, speedy but fragile multihulls looked like a poor one. The lead-up was rife with missteps, broken financial promises and tragic accidents.
The $100 million price tag dissuaded all but three groups to challenge Oracle, while San Francisco's anticipated economic boost fell below expectations.
The exciting 72-foot catamarans could reach speeds of 50 mph by flying across the water on elevated hydrofoils, but they were also dangerous.
Oracle suffered serious damage to one of its two boats when it capsized and broke apart last October. In May, British Olympian Andrew Simpson died in a training accident aboard Sweden's Team Artemis.
The race, too, appeared lopsided as New Zealand took a commanding 8-1 lead.
But Oracle fashioned a stunning rebound by making daily changes to its boat and tweaks to its crew, notably by replacing the American tactician John Kostecki with four-time Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie of Britain.
The riveting closing stages transformed the Cup from a mess to a must-see event watched in 203 countries and territories and more than a million fans in San Francisco over the past three months.
Stephen Barclay, chief executive of the America's Cup event authority, said Wednesday that the close-to-shore race with the "best sailors in the fastest boats" amounted to a "vision delivered."
"If you'd asked me a month or two months ago," he said, "that's a little different."
Due to its strange rules that allow the winner to select everything from the venue to the type of boats used, questions abound for the next America's Cup.
Will organizers stay with a multihull configuration or return to the monohulls of the past? If they go with multihulls, will they stick with soaring 7-ton yachts fastened with 131-foot carbon fiber sails or something less imposing?
One thing seems certain: The 35th Cup will aim to cut costs in order to encourage more participants. In 2007, the last full Cup, there were 11.
A lower bar-to-entry could mean simpler boats with more off-the-shelf parts. But the main focus will be reducing the massive on-shore staff needed to build, maintain and operate the sophisticated sailing machines, which for this regatta climbed into triple digits.
"It's not the America's Cup of old, but interesting nonetheless," four-time America's Cup winner Conner said by phone Wednesday from his home in San Diego. "It's like watching NASCAR or dragsters."
Conner, for one, expects a return to simpler designs even if he has enjoyed the AC72s dueling at previously unimaginable speeds between Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge.
The 71-year-old celebrated yachtsman believes the sailing community prefers monohulls because catamarans stray too far from "the components of real racing."
But that may be a hard sell after this year's climatic finish.
Despite his traditionalist leanings, Conner had to concede the sailing world had been glued to its chairs.
"Good exhibition," he said.