Americas Cup ACTION

UNBELIEVABLE!

After about a billion dollars worth of investment, we got our moneys worth at the final race of the America's Cup. Sitting on match point at 4-2 in the best of 9 series Alinghi the Swiss defender just had to land the killer blow to complete a bathotisimal sporting week for New Zealand. Of course no-one is forgetting that skipper Brad Butterworth is calling tactics, Warwick Fleury on the main sheet, Simon Daubney trimming the genoa, Dean Phipps working the pit or Murray Jones up the mast, in his wind-spotting role. After all, this is the core group of New Zealanders who Russell Coutts asked to follow him to Alinghi from Team New Zealand seven years ago. It’s a group who have won three consecutive America’s Cups. The daggers were out in 2003, as the nation of New Zealand lost the Cup to these traitors who put money before country, but its on much equal terms that the two met for the 32nd America's cup Regatta.

Alinghi seemd to have a marginally quicker boat, but had just managed to pull a few breaks their way so far to be 4-2 up. They both pulled off the line on starboard in the 15kts sea breeeze with nothing in it, the Kiwis managed to sneak a boatlength ahead, but Alinghi remained on the starboard track of the course. After a few Lee-bow tacks, the Kiwi's just couldn't get past or force it to the starboard layline. They had to settle for the to a fetch out to port and wait for the Swiss move, despite being ahead on the course. Once they were both on port, one quick luff put the nervous Kiwis into irons and a lead change saw the Alinghi squeeze round with a tiny 5 second delta. Heading down to the bottom mark it was gung-ho as ETNZ got their wind shadow onto Alinghi, two collapses of the big white kite and Barker pulled NZ-92 back into the lead! Being ahead, they had the choice of which gate to round, and in a critical decision took the easier drop but would be once again on the port side of the track.


In a repeat of the leg 1, the Kiwis did not have enough to cross ahead and Alinghi made a gain on every lee-bow tack that forced them to the right. Terry Hutchinson on NZ-92 made the call to drag it out to port and hope to beat them on boatspeed alone. This is where the modern race coverage gets brilliant, skipper Brad Butterworth clearly calls for a 'dial-down' as an attacking move at the layline. Once forced past the line, Barker tacks onto port, to find Alinghi heading below course and coming straight for him on starboard. NZ-92 gets round SUI-100's stern, but evasive action is taken and Butterworth pulls up his protest flag. Alinghi slams onto port and gets round the mark ahead anyway with an overlap. The double blow comes when the umpires correctly give a penalty to ETNZ.

The game is now dead and buried, Alinghi are 100m ahead on their way to the finish and the Kiwi's still need to do a 360' penalty turn. Or is it? Three-quarters of the way down, the beak blows on Alinghi's pole and Barker pulls ahead with this lucky break. Crucially a windshift allows Alinghi to reach through to the line, and the Kiwis struggle with their rounding. It comes down to a dead heat, with NZ-92 battling to regain speed after the turn. After 90 minutes of intense sparring Alinghi take the gun to raptuous celebrations, the delta is a paltry one second. Podcasts are well worth watching here



Valencia will be waking up to a massive hangover today, it's probably a good thing having the cup in Europe again, and we can only wait for the 33rd edition of sports oldest contest - will Shosholoza be there?