Burling, Team New Zealand reach match point vs. Oracle
HAMILTON, Bermuda — Emirates Team New Zealand’s Peter Burling wheeled his 50-foot catamaran into controlling position in the prestart of Race 8 of the America’s Cup and then gave a quick wave with his right hand to Jimmy Spithill and the boys on Oracle Team USA.
Burling said later he was merely pleased that he nailed the maneuver that allowed the Kiwis to sail away to their second win Sunday on the Great Sound and reach match point in sailing’s marquee regatta at 6-1.
Perhaps looking to one-up Spithill in gamesmanship, Burling might as well have been waving goodbye to the Golden Gate Yacht Club’s two-time defending champion Oracle Team USA, which is owned by software tycoon Larry Ellison and crewed mostly by Australians.
The Kiwis need one more win to humble Ellison’s squad and reclaim the oldest trophy in international sports for the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in Auckland, which held it from 1995-2003.
The clincher could come Monday, when two races are scheduled.
New Zealand, a small, sailing-mad island nation, will no doubt be holding its breath. Kiwi fans who have been getting up at 5 a.m. to watch the races on TV remember the collapse in 2013 on San Francisco Bay. Team New Zealand, then led by Dean Barker, reached match point at 8-1 only to see Oracle win eight straight races to keep the Auld Mug.
This seems to be a different Kiwi crew.
“To be honest, it excites us. We really enjoy that pressure,” said Burling, 26, who has won Olympic gold and silver medals in sailing. “We’re really excited about being able to go out there tomorrow and put it all on the line again. I think we showed today that we’re a pretty tough bunch. We got asked some questions yesterday and I feel we answered them with our performance on the water.”
After splitting Saturday’s two races, Spithill piled on the Kiwis. He noted that the New Zealanders had taken a few days off during a fiveday break while Oracle hit it hard, on the water and in the boat shed. He said the Kiwis had benefited from some “soft” calls by the umpires.
The Kiwis answered Sunday by winning Race 7 by 12 seconds and Race 8 by 30 seconds.
Team New Zealand has won seven races but began with a negative point because Oracle won the qualifiers.
Spithill said the powerhouse Americanflagged crew — backed by technology from Oracle Corp. and Airbus — continues to make too many mistakes. He said he and tactician Tom Slingsby, a fellow Aussie, will decide whether there will be any crew changes for Monday.
“These guys sailed better. They made fewer mistakes and they deserved to win two races,” Spithill said in a nod to the Kiwis. “We’re in a tough situation now. ... Clearly the plan wasn’t to be in this position again, let me tell you, but we’re here. Now it’s up to us to respond and react.”