Misc. Ramblings

The home court advantage is more than just an idle phrase. While I can't say it applies to every sport in the world, it does seem to fit most. So when the home team doesn't win you have to wonder if they are up to the challenge. So far, for a series in which it appears the boats are even in speed, we have seen what I can only describe as extreme sailing.

Due to the long weekend in the US, I was able to watch live the second and third races of the America's Cup yacht race (and parts of the first race on tape) being held in the beautiful waters of New Zealand. As of this writing, with the fourth race scheduled for this afternoon, Hawai'i time, the Swiss Alinghi (see their site here) team is leading three to zero, needing to win only two of the last six races to win the series. Or to put it another way, Team New Zealand (see their site here) needs to win five of the next six to win - something no team in the history of the cup has done.

The first twelve minutes of race one looked like it was the start of an exciting series. Neither boat appeared to have a commanding speed difference which means tactics, experience, readiness, and a bit of luck could decide the series.

Unfortunately for the NZ boat, they seemed to be in short supply of all of the above. For some strange reason, they ran their boat heeled so far over that water constantly entered the boat. So much so that they could not pump it out as fast as it was coming in. Why they felt they should angle their deck so much is unanswered, but the result was several tons of water acting as dead weight.

This extra weight, in combination with stiff 20kt winds caused the high-tech carbon fiber boom (the horizontal spar that holds the bottom of the mainsail) to exceed its design specifications and snap like a toothpick. Four minutes later, at sixteen minutes into the race, with the mainsail now dangerously full of air and straining under the force, the titanium tack ring that holds the bottom forward corner of the genoa (a large sail, overlapping the mast) to the deck exploded into pieces. The Kiwi crew tried valiantly to rig up something to keep the boat in the game but it was for naught. Nine minutes later, at 25 minutes into race one, despite the courageous efforts of the crew, the Kiwis retired, something not done in an America's Cup race since 1920.

Race two was fought in much different conditions. The race was postponed seven times, waiting for the wind to pick up. Once under way, the light 10-kt winds seemed to favor the home team, especially on the first downwind leg where they powered back from being 4-boat lengths behind to three ahead. In sailing this is just not done and could only reflect a wind shift that favored the Kiwis. The question is was this luck or superior strategy and seamenship?

Nothing much happened until the final beat where Alinghi decided to force the issue and begin a tacking duel unequaled in the series. A total of 66 tacks were performed by the boats, a new record. But through it all, New Zealand not only held off the Swiss, but increased their lead. This clearly showed the superior boat speed, handling, and seamenship that the Kiwis are justly proud of.

And yet. And yet in the final leg to the finish, after rounding the final mark, Alinghi's decision to jibe set around the windward mark, versus Team New Zealand's bear away and then jibe, may have been the difference. Their respective decisions allowed Alinghi to get inside to the right where the wind was stronger. Even though the Swiss were behind at this point, they ever so slowly moved closer and closer to the Kiwis and eventually blocked the wind from their sails. The New Zealanders then slowed and were not able to catch up in time to get past to retake the lead.

Race three proved the old adage that it is possible to catch up with the leading boat, but getting past them is another thing. From the start, where Alinghi's afterguard was able to position their boat to the right side of the course, where the wind was forecasted to be stronger, the Swiss led the race. While New Zealand was able to nibble away at that lead over the length of the race, things only got interesting near the last mark.

At that point, there was about one boat-length between the two. But after rounding the mark, the Kiwis made a mental mistake and showed their apparent lack of experience. The crew was set for one type of jibe set, but their skipper called for a switch to another very late in the turn. This caught the crew unprepared and resulted in them having trouble getting the spinnaker pole hooked up once on the run. With the finish line a mere three miles (~4.8km) away, the Kiwis were not able to recover sufficiently and Swiss won pulling away.

I don't know how the series will end but I wonder if the Kiwis have the faster boat, while the Swiss have the more experienced skipper, tactician, and crew.

Aloha!