Team NZ upbeat despite loss
Team New Zealand believe the early signs are promising, saying the potential of their boat outweighs the tactical blunders that cost them the chance of an early knockdown of arch enemy Oracle.
Glenn Ashby’s crew blitzed Team France by 2m 33s on Sunday to open their America’s Cup campaign in Bermuda but then blew a big lead against Oracle to finish the day with a win and a loss.
The round-robin qualifiers continue today and Team New Zealand are set to face Team Japan and Ben Ainslie Racing (Great Britain) though both races have question marks over them with the Japanese and Brits facing emergency repairs after an ugly collision. It remains to be seen if they will make the start line.
The only thing ugly about Team New Zealand was their afterguard work on the fourth leg of an enthralling duel with Oracle.
They allowed the Americans to split and get a better side of the course. Jimmy Spithill ate into the lead so much that he got an overlap as the teams came through the gate at the top mark and managed to stall the Kiwis by heading them into the wind. Spithill then turned away first and bolted. He couldn’t be caught over the last two legs.
It was a costly mistake but one the young crew will hopefully learn from. They reasoned it’s better to be beaten by Spithill on day one in Bermuda than in the deciding race as they were four years ago in San Francisco.
Burling, at 26 the youngest helmsman in the regatta, put his hand up for the decision-making errors but believes the early signs from his complicated boat in a full race mode were very encouraging.
‘‘We were happy to get that win on the board in th first race and just settle into it,’’ Burling said. ’’We felt like we have plenty of potential out there but we also feel like we have plenty in the tank left to go. I think that race against Oracle showed that. We had moments where we were pretty quick and then, obviously from myself, made a few mistakes in the tactical side at the top mark to let those boys past.
‘‘It’s the first time we have gone up against Jimmy and the boys from Oracle with a bit of anger in racing. Having lost it late on was a little frustrating but I’m really happy with our first day on the water.
‘‘It just shows how close this racing is going to be and how good everyone is going to have to sail to achieve wins.
‘‘You are going to have to sail well and you are going to have to push these boats incredibly hard. And we are up for the challenge.
‘‘We have a massive amount to improve on like everyone here today. But we are really happy with where we checked in. All the systems and stuff were working really well.’’
Getting the boat back to base in one piece was a bit of an achievement in itself considering two out of the six boats suffered significant damage as the boats showed their remarkable speed in mid-range wind conditions.
Ainslie was left with a punctured left hull as Dean Barker managed to overlap him in the prestart maneuvering. Caught on his foils so close to the Japanese, Ainslie side-slipped and rolled his hull over the opposition.
One of Barker’s highly technical steering wheels was damaged and he feared there could be more hidden problems from the highspeed crash.
‘‘We have to pull the boat out to check. There’s quite a big ding in the bilge on the starboard hull. We’ll make sure there is no damage we couldn’t see,’’ Barker said.
Japan, as victims in the incident, would have redress if they discover serious damage, allowing them 24 hours grace and postponing their clash with Team New Zealand.
The Brits, as the villains in the unwanted damage, have no fallback and will default points if they can’t race today.
Ainslie had no doubts his shore crew could fix the British boat. It was just a matter of how quickly because by the time it limped back to base it’s hull was full of water. That could raise electrical as well as structural issues.
Oracle were the only team to win both their races yesterday and Team France the only team to lose both theirs.