It’s an obsession and . . . I have lived the dream

Oracle Team USA skipper Jimmy Spithill confirmed he wants to stay in the America’s Cup game but doesn’t know where his future is.

Spithill said it was too early to say what he would do as he digested the loss but the 37-yearold was eager to stay in the mix.

‘‘I love this game. I’m sorry, honey, but I think more about the America’s Cup than my own family,’’ he smiled.

‘‘It’s an obsession and when you are in a great team and you get to hoist that cup up, the feeling is indescribable.

‘‘I’d love to do that again. I love working with great people and great teams.

‘‘And man, have I lived the dream. You go home at night and you can’t wait to get up in the morning. It’s been somewhat of a family. When you go to work and look forward to being pushed and learning, it’s not that bad of a day. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.’’

There had been no indication about whether Oracle would continue.

‘‘We haven’t talked about that, we just focused on winning this race,’’ he said, adding he had talked with Oracle boss Larry Ellison between the race weekends.

‘‘Larry said, ‘you can get this done’, and he believed. But we haven’t spoken at all about the team and what the future holds.

‘‘It is quite a fascinating period you go through on these campaigns. You kind of live on a day by day basis, you try not to look far ahead. It’s one race at a time and you try and put all your energy into that.

‘‘Defeat is nothing but education . . . and clearly we learnt a lot in this series. Champions and champion teams always come back so we need to learn a lot.

‘‘Now that we lost the list is long . . . there is a lot of stuff. In the reflection period now is important to think it through and try and learn the lesson.‘‘

Spithill was very gracious in defeat. Often a prickly character to Kiwis, he only had good things to say about Team New Zealand’s effort in Bermuda.

‘‘We’re disappointed obviously but first of all full credit to Team New Zealand, what a series,’’ the veteran Australian helmsman said.

‘‘They made fewer mistakes and they fully deserve it so our hats are off to them.

‘‘They had a great boat, they outsailed us, so well done.

‘‘We thought we could get the show back on the road.

‘‘It would have been great to have a three-peat. But at the end of the day the Kiwis were a class above.’’

Asked if the decision of the Kiwi syndicate to build an innovative boat and go against the tide of the other teams was key, Spithill was unsure.

‘‘It’s always hard to know, there’s always that anticipation and they clearly were down there training on their own and you’ve really got to give credit to them, what an incredible job they’ve done.

‘‘But let’s not forget they also sailed very, very well.

‘‘It’s been one hell of a ride.’’

‘‘Sorry, honey, but I think more about the America’s Cup than my own family.’’ Jimmy Spithill