All on table but table looking bare
One-design limits Oracle in what they can change on boat The sweeping changes aren't really working out for Oracle. TNZ action takes place in boatshed
Jporing over the footage and data and looking at what they can do to catch this Kiwi boat.
For both teams, the biggest gains to be made are out on the water.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Oracle spend a lot of time out on the Great Sound this week. They will have seen how the Kiwis are sailing their boat and they will be looking to replicate some of that.
A lot of what Team New Zealand are doing will be difficult to copy. For example, many sailing anoraks have taken note of the way the Kiwi boat flies bow down, cranked to windward. This means the windward elevator is getting more grip, which creates righting movement, giving it more stability and speed.
It's not just a case of Oracle being able to match this — it is all to do with the way the New Zealand boat has been set up and the systems, in particular their wing.
Oracle will no doubt have company out on the Great Sound this week. Team NZ will also be looking to spend some significant time on the water, because they believe they still have huge gains to make in the way they sail their boat.
As we've seen all regatta, Team NZ are seeking continual refinement.
The other big factor that might come into play when it comes to narrowing the gap between the two teams is the weather.
The first two days of the Cup match produced winds in the 8-11 knot range, and in those conditions, the New Zealand boat is decidedly quicker.
Oracle will be hoping to see the breeze pick up next weekend, because immediately that means the boats are set up differently.
Yet you get the sense from the New Zealand camp that won't faze them.
This team and their mentality is entirely different from San Francisco. They're not standing still looking over their shoulders, they're focused on continuing the development race they've been having with themselves since they launched their race boat in Auckland in February. The America's Cup action appeared to be happening in the boatshed yesterday, with no sign of Team New Zealand or Oracle Team USA on the Great Sound.
After the opening four races over the weekend the teams have a fiveday break before the next block of races in the first-to-seven series.
The break has come at an opportune time for Oracle, who have struggled to match the pace of the Kiwi boat, and find themselves down 3-0.
Oracle skipper Jimmy Spithill on Monday described the five-day gap between races four and five as the most important period of the team's defence. The team appeared to be hunkering down in the boatshed yesterday devising ways to eke out speed and performance gains in the Oracle boat.
“I think it's pretty obvious these guys are faster and we need to make some serious changes,” Spithill said after the team's fourth successive loss in the finals series.
“There's no two ways about it, we will look at every single thing we can. We've got an incredible team on the shore — the boatbuilding team, design, engineering.
“We've been here before,” Spithill added, referencing Oracle's incredible come from behind victory in San Francisco in 2013.
The Team NZ base in the heart of the America's Cup village was also quiet yesterday, with most of the crew given the day off to rest ahead of what will be a demanding week ahead.
But behind the tented doors of the boatshed, the shore crew were hard at work making refinements to the New Zealand boat.
Peter Burling and Co are expected to be back out on the water today finetuning their boat handling and systems ahead of the resumption of racing on Sunday.
“We've got a massive list of things we want to work on and improve on,” the Team NZ helmsman said.
“We're all still on an incredibly steep part of the learning curve. We're just trying to keep learning and keep improving. Nothing changes for us.”