Historic Cup Penalty
September 4, 2013
What was already destined to be a difficult defense has become exponentially more difficult following the jury ruling on Oracle’s cheating during the AC45 World Series
What was already destined to be a difficult defense has become exponentially more difficult following the jury ruling on Oracle’s cheating during the AC45 World Series
Imagine, if you can, not hearing the fluttering wind, the luffing main or the snap of your sheets hitting the deck. Now imagine being the first sailor to cross the finish line, all without the sound of your boat and environment to guide you.
As expected, it will be Emirates Team New Zealand against the defender, Oracle USA and the Golden Gate Yacht Club, in the 34th America’s Cup regatta, now that Kiwis have prevailed over Luna Rossa in the Louis Vuitton challenger series.
The Louis Vuitton Cup finals is beginning to look like a race of the pit crews as Luna Rossa and ETNZ have both been experiencing a spate of race-ending mechanical failures.
It wasn’t necessarily the prettiest weekend of racing, but there was plenty of drama and more than a few surprises as Emirates Team New Zealand and Italy’s Luna Rossa both scored wins in the opening rounds of the Louis Vuitton Finals.
The America’s Cup Event Authority recently released a fun video that provides at least a glimpse of what’s involved in getting these 72-footer airborne.
If Oracle was hoping that giving up its wins in last year’s America’s Cup World Series would put the controversy surrounding the team’s illegally modified AC45s to rest, they must be seriously disappointed.
Despite a truly heroic effort to get their boat out onto the racecourse following the fatal capsize of hull No. 1, time was against Team Artemis from the outset, and they were unable to upset the more experienced Italians.
The good news is that at least a bit of a real race took place on Tuesday, with a dramatic start and an actual lead change on the second leg. The bad news is that while their boat appears sound, team Artemis has a long way to go if it’s to defeat Luna Rossa in the Louis Vuitton semi-final round.
For months now, it feels like Cup fans have been waiting for some kind of a sign as to whether the 34th America’s Cup will be worth the effort. Unfortunately, despite some positives, the event has been afflicted with a serious case of “one step forward, two steps back.”
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