New Zealand pushes U.S. to match point
hamilton, bermuda» Helmsman Peter Burling and his underdog Emirates Team New Zealand won two races Sunday to reach match point in the America’s Cup competition against Jimmy Spithill and two-time defending champion Oracle Team USA.
Now the Kiwis need to avoid the kind of soulcrushing collapse that kept them from winning the oldest trophy in international sports four years ago.
Burling, who at 26 years old could become the youngest helmsman to hoist sailing’s greatest prize, steered his red-and-black, 50-foot foiling catamaran to victories of 12 seconds in Race 7 and 30 seconds in Race 8 at the Great Sound.
The Kiwis moved to 6-1 in the first-to-seven match. Team New Zealand has won seven races but began with a negative point because Oracle won the qualifiers.
The clincher could come Monday, when two races are scheduled.
New Zealand, a small, sailing-mad island nation, will be holding its breath.
This is a rematch of the epic 2013 match at San Francisco Bay. Team New Zealand, then led by Dean Barker, reached match point at 8-1 before Oracle rallied to win eight straight races in one of the greatest comebacks in the sport to retain the Auld Mug.
Underfunded Team New Zealand almost folded after that debacle, but has bounced back with a remarkably fast boat design that includes a radical cycling grinding system.
Burling appeared to give a friendly wave to the Oracle crew as he sailed alongside and into a controlling position during the prestart of Race 8.
From there, he kept his catamaran on foils all the way around the course as he sailed to the cusp of what would be an enormous upset of powerhouse Oracle Team USA, which is owned by one of the world’s richest men, software tycoon Larry Ellison.
Burling has won Olympic gold and silver medals, along with Team New Zealand crewman Blair Tuke. Now he is closing in on adding his name to a list of America’s Cup winners.