Mistake-prone Oracle Team trails 1-0

proved no lead is safe.

This is a rematch of that epic regatta, when Team New Zealand reached match point at 8-1 before Oracle Team USA won eight straight races to retain the oldest trophy in international sports.

Still, this isn’t the start Oracle expected.

“It was obviously a tough day,” Spithill said. “Clearly we weren’t sailing at our best. But we had our opportunities. The good news is, we’re only one back.”

For a few dramatic minutes Saturday, Spithill was close to salvaging a split. Oracle benefited from a wind shift sailing upwind on leg five in the second race and made up a huge deficit, pulling right behind the Kiwis sailing through the gate mark. But its 50-foot catamaran came off its foils and buried its bows in the water, allowing the Kiwis to speed back ahead and open a lead of more than 300 yards.