Regatta that roars has more twists to come
The “Formula One on water” analogy was thrown around a lot in the leadup to this year’s America’s Cup in Bermuda.
From the opening day of racing in the qualifying series, it was clear the analogy was apt.
If the organisers had come together and written a script for how they would have liked the first day to play out, it likely would have looked much the same as what transpired on the Great Sound.
By themselves, the 50-foot foiling America’s Cup Class catamarans that had been charging around the Great Sound were impressive to watch.
Put two on the water to engage in close-quarter action and the result is visually and technically stunning.
There were high-speed crosses, dramatic splashdowns, a tense win to the “home town” team Oracle over their adversaries from the last Cup goaround in San Francisco, and, yes, even a little bit of crashy-bashy.
It set the tone for arguably the most dramatic few weeks of racing for the most fabled and richly financed sailing event in history.
But the moment that awakened some of the rest of the world to the fact the regatta was under way on this tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic was one Emirates Team New Zealand would rather forget.
The compelling footage of the team’s frightening pitch-pole incident, and the aftermath in which some of the crew sat huddled inside the hulls of the New Zealand boat, while others were sent sprawling into the water, featured in news bulletins all around the world. Pictures of the crash were carried in major metropolitan dailies in the US. In that moment, Team NZ, who were the self-styled “lone wolves” of the competing teams, may just have done massive favour.
Team NZ skipper Glenn Ashby knows the incident, which he jokingly refers to as the team’s “submarine expedition”, is destined to be replayed over and over for the next four years as an example of the type of high octane racing this type of format produces.
The quick-fire regatta schedule and tight turnaround in between racing further heightened the drama in Bermuda. Racing up to three times a day, any spills or reliability issues could have had a serious impact on a team’s campaign.
The opening three weeks of the Cup have delivered the fastest, flashiest and crashiest series yet.
One can be sure there are plenty more twists and turns to come. the organisers a