Team NZ retains the America’s Cup

Team New Zealand has retained the America’s Cup, beating Italian challenger Luna Rossa 7-3 in the 36th match for sailing’s oldest trophy.

The defender came into the sixth day of racing Wednesday at match point, with a 6-3 lead in the best-of-13 race series. It won the 10th race by 46 seconds in a shifty northeasterly breeze to complete its defense of the famous Auld Mug.

Team New Zealand crossed the finish line just after 5 p.m. local time in Auckland to a cacophony of horns and sirens from more than 1,000 spectator boats and the cheers of tens of thousands of fans who watched from vantage points ashore in COVIDfree New Zealand.

Spectators thronged the downtown Viaduct Harbor to watch Team New Zealand return from the racecourse and later saw the crew lift the America’s Cup, the 170-year-old silver trophy which has long attracted the world’s best sailors.

“We’ve had messages from everyone from the Prime Minister to high school kids,” helmsman Peter Burling said. “We’re just blown away by being able to achieve what we have as a group and win another America’s Cup.”

The victory was New Zealand’s fourth in an America’s Cup match after triumphs in 1995, 2000 and 2017, and its second successful defense. The Kiwis had a 5-0 win over Luna Rossa on the same waters 20 years ago. Italy is yet to win the America’s Cup.

Luna Rossa was a gallant challenger and chivalrous runner-up. After congratulating Team New Zealand, helmsman Francesco Bruni said Luna Rossa had answered its doubters.

“I think we proved to the world that we can do it,” he said. “It’s been hard luck the last couple of days but definitely we’ve done a fantastic job as a team.”

With its nation on tenterhooks, Team New Zealand sailed a faultless race Wednesday on a racecourse full of shifts and pitfalls to win the match at its first opportunity.