PETE’S DRAGON
Will Oracle roar back?
Red-socked yachting fans were expected to gather at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron before dawn this morning, hoping for a repeat of yesterday’s performance that saw Emirates Team NZ gain the edge in the America’s Cup series.
The yacht club was humming yesterday, fans hooting with glee as Team NZ zipped over the finish line in first place — winning two races in a row.
That meant Team NZ start this morning’s racing with an early 1-0 advantage over their archrivals Oracle Team USA in the first-to-seven series off Bermuda.
The challengers quickly erased the defenders’ one-win advantage on the scoreboard — a result of Oracle’s win in the challenger qualifying series earlier this month — and built their own lead with victory in the day’s second race.
Light winds were expected again today for Races 3 and 4, with the first starting just after 5am NZ time.
Keen sailor Malcolm Scott said the atmosphere was “fantastic” at the yacht club. “Everyone’s cheering, with hearts in your mouth. Every- one’s got Team NZ gear on. I’ve got my red socks on.”
Team NZ helmsman Peter Burling’s dominant display saw him get the better of Jimmy Spithill throughout the opening exchanges, winning both starts and overcoming slight lapses late in Race 1 and 2.
Both ACC (America’s Cup Class) boats were even off the start-line in Race 2, but Team NZ built superior speed to the first mark and quickly extended to more than a minute in front at the third gate.
Oracle made huge gains up the fifth leg and were within a couple of metres, rounding the top mark, but immediately fell off their foils on a gybe and lost several hundred metres in the space of a few seconds.
Team NZ skipper Glenn Ashby said they made a few mistakes but it was a fantastic rally. “It’s so shifty and so puffy, as we saw out there . . . you never stopped trimming something for the whole day, so those guys got an absolute whipping today.”