Stablemates Oracle and Team Japan align aspirations
America’s Cup defender Oracle Team USA were not sitting idle yesterday as the challenger series got under way in Bermuda.
Jimmy Spithill and his team were out on the water in the Great Sound putting their boat USA-17 through its paces as they seek continued performance gains in advance of the Cup match, starting on June 18.
Oracle, who will take a one-point advantage through to the Cup match after taking out last week’s qualifying series, had some assistance with their preparation, lining up against stablemate, Team Japan, for a short period.
Given the close working relationship between Oracle and Team Japan, it was no surprise to see the two teams sparring.
It seems the bulk of Oracle’s development work will be done dur- ing the night by the shore crew to allow the testing to go on during the day by Spithill and his crew.
Having another team to gauge the effectiveness of their constant tweaks will be crucial — and it appears Team Japan, who have had a design and data-sharing agreement with the defender since joining this cycle of the Cup, are happy to play that role.
The shakedown was also of value to Team Japan, who showed some serious speed when they took on Artemis Racing later in the day in the challenger semifinals.
Dean Barker and his crew looked to have a healthy speed advantage over the Swedish team, but a tactical blunder in the second race cost Team Japan a 2-0 start to their best-of-five semifinal match. Barker told the Herald he was pleased with the way the boat had been performing.
“Clearly the boat is going pretty quick, particularly upwind, and we feel strong in those conditions,” he said. “It was obviously disappointing not to come away with two wins, but I think we can be very, very encouraged by the way the boat is going and the way we are sailing in general.”
But, while Oracle and Team Japan’s competitive aspirations align at the moment, the further Barker and his team advance in the regatta, the more the dynamics of the working relationship with the defender will be questioned.
It is almost unprecedented in America’s Cup sailing for a challenger to help out a defender, and at some point, if Team Japan genuinely want to take out the event, their alliance with Oracle becomes counterproductive.