True grit helps TNZ to win over Artemis
Forget all the technology and finesse, it’s the grit quality of Team New Zealand that is impressing skipper Glenn Ashby and CEO Grant Dalton most.
Both were enthused with the team’s latest, and controversial, win over Sweden’s Artemis Racing.
The victory, handed to them by a last-gasp penalty call against Artemis that the judges subsequently felt was wrong, has taken Team New Zealand to outright second on a tight points table at the halfway stage of the America’s Cup round-robin qualifying series in Bermuda.
But just getting their catamaran into a position to have a chance against a very fast Swedish outfit at the last gate, was an effort in itself in a race that saw nine lead changes.
The mental pressure was immense on Team NZ’s afterguard and the physical pressure was enormous on the ‘‘cyclors’’ as they looked to provide the boat the power to get through countless turns in regular tacking duels with Sweden.
It was a draining but ultimately rewarding third day for a young crew who look increasingly comfortable under pressure.
‘‘The guys showed great composure all the way around the course, despite a few rough manoeuvres they dug it in all of the way,’’ Ashby smiled later.
Dalton was similarly impressed with his team’s fighting attitude.
‘‘They dug really deep in that one. They don’t lie down. They know how to win and they win anyway they have to win and I’m really really proud of the way they sailed today. The best I’ve seen us sail in a long long time,’’ Dalton told Newstalk ZB.
The manner of victory eclipsed the pleasing come-from-behind victories against Britain and Japan a day earlier.
It also came in contrasting conditions. Having shown some explosive speed in lighter airs, it was the Swedes who have set the pace in stronger winds as they demonstrated against Team New Zealand, particularly down wind.
Dalton felt it was a massive performance from his team and the learnings would exceed the invaluable point they collected.
‘‘We’re working on it and we’re learning a lot on it every day, as the guys would tell you. I think we’re reasonably quick.
‘‘We learned more today than we’ve learned since we’ve been here and probably since we launched this boat. We came up against a strong opposition that has won every single race in breeze since they landed here in Bermuda and they taught us heaps,’’ Dalton said.
Helmsman Peter Burling revealed the Kiwis stayed on the water for some extra work on Tuesday to sort out some problems they felt had affected their performance against the Swedes.
‘‘That’s the first time in a while that we have sailed in breeze and it was good to give the boat a good shake-down,’’ Burling said.
‘‘We went for a bit of a training run afterwards just to try to sort out some of the issues we did have and we are really happy with a few of the changes we made.’’
There is no rest for the Kiwis they start the second half of the round-robin on Wednesday, lining out in the opening race against Sweden in a rematch that will have plenty of feeling to it given the disappointment Artemis Racing felt at the penalty call.
The first lay day in racing isn’t until Friday (NZ time). Then there are just two days left of roundrobin racing before one syndicate packs up and leaves the regatta on Sunday.
Only three points separate the top and bottom teams and the next few days have plenty hanging on them.
Burling says the pressures will only increase. He played down the influence mistakes were having in an even fleet. The challenge was to eliminate them but the need to improve performance would also bring risks.
‘‘It just shows you how steep we are on the development curve. Any of these teams from a month ago are significantly better in nearly every area of their sailing. It’s just trying to keep on improving,’’ Burling said.
‘‘I think when we talk about mistakes a lot of it is about reevaluating how good you should be as well.
‘‘A big part of it is that we are all just pushing to be better and better. I’m sure it will keep going and people will keep making mistakes.
‘‘That’s obviously part of sport. For ourselves, we are just trying to minimise that.’’