Plucky Kiwis challenge Oracle Team USA

HAMILTON, Bermuda — It wouldn’t be an America’s Cup match without Emirates Team New Zealand on the starting line.

Representing a small, sailing-mad island nation of 4.6 million people and led by seemingly unflappable America’s Cup rookie helmsman Peter Burling, 26, the scrappy Kiwis have reached the final round for the sixth time in the last seven editions of sailing’s marquee regatta dating to 1995.

The 35th America’s Cup will be a grudge match against two-time defending champion Oracle Team USA starting Saturday, contested between spaceage, 50-foot catamarans flying on hydrofoils above the turquoise waters of Bermuda’s Great Sound.

Four years ago on San Francisco Bay, Team New Zealand reached match point at 8-1 and then collapsed. It was overhauled in eight straight races as Oracle skipper Jimmy Spithill led one of the greatest comebacks in sports to retain the Auld Mug.

A lesser team might have folded after such a gut-wrenching collapse. Kiwis being Kiwis, though, they made big changes, including sacking skipper Dean Barker and replacing him with Burling, an Olympic star. They refused to march in lockstep with organizers and other syndicates over rules changes. And they emerged as the top challenger.

Learn from mistakes

“We debriefed heavily after San Francisco, and I think the lessons we learned out of that have absolutely made us a stronger team going forward,” said skipper-wingsail trimmer Glenn Ashby, an Australian who is one of the few non-New Zealanders on the team. “The team really only a couple of years ago was looking down the barrel of having its doors closed. For Emirates Team New Zealand, who has been involved in the America’s Cup for such a long period of time, to have that happen would have been a real tragedy.”

Team New Zealand will be an underdog to Oracle Team USA, which is owned by software billionaire Larry Ellison and features three Australians in key decision-making roles, including Spithill.

In one of the many breaks from tradition, Oracle sailed against the challengers and won the qualifiers and a so-called bonus point, which is actually a negative point for the Kiwis. Oracle needs to win seven races; Team New Zealand will need to win eight.

So while rules and traditions change, classes of boats come and go and skippers get replaced, the Kiwis remain a constant in the fight for the oldest trophy in international sports.

Team New Zealand always seems to have innovations no one else thinks of.

Restless innovators

Sometimes it’s having the fastest boat, as in 1995 when Russell Coutts skippered the Kiwis to a fiverace sweep of Dennis Conner off San Diego to bring the silver trophy to the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.

In 1986-87, the Kiwis built a 12 meter out of fiberglass, leading Conner to call them cheaters.

This year’s X factor could be the “cyclor” grinding system. The Kiwis have built four stationary cycling stations into each hull to tap leg power instead of traditional arm power from the grinders.

“I think it’s the passion to be aggressive in design and innovation,” Ashby said. “I think that’s something that has really stood Emirates Team New Zealand apart from a lot of the other teams over the years, and this campaign has been absolutely no exception to pushing the boundaries of what is possible and what can be achieved.”