Issue date
The elusive match point for Emirtates Team New Zealand was again out of reach in San Francisco today.
And as Oracle crossed the finish line ahead, the longest America’s Cup in history was set to continue for another day.
Only one race was sailed after the start was delayed for 30 minutes and it produced another win for Oracle.
Skipper Dean Barker said the team was ready for another race this afternoon but again the weather called the shots. The delay meant the race committee ran out of time to run a second race.
NZL5 has sat on match point for five days as a vastly improved Oracle has chipped away, winning five races on the trot.
Baker was upbeat after racing: “We don’t want to trade positions. We would still rather be on match point,” a reference to the points table, led by Emirates Team New Zealand by eight point to six. Nine points are needed to win the America’s Cup.
“It’s a battle and Oracle has stepped it up a lot. We are racing against a boat that is much better than when it first started.
Today’s pictures are here, the video here
“It has been a rough road the last couple of days. It is very, very close. We have to sail well, get ahead and win. We are motivated to work even harder to make sure we do finish this thing off.”
Tomorrow’s forecast is for winds at the upper end of the range.
Standings (first to 9 points wins)
Emirates Team New Zealand – 8
ORACLE TEAM USA – 6
Race 16 performance data
Course: 5 Legs/10.21 nautical miles
Elapsed time: OTUSA – 30:43, ETNZ – 31:16
Delta: OTUSA +:33
Total distance sailed: OTUSA – 11.8 NM, ETNZ – 11.7 NM
Average speed: OTUSA – 23.21 knots (27 mph), ETNZ – 22.46 knots (26 mph)
Top speed: OTUSA – 38.05 knots (44 mph), ETNZ – 36.61 knots (42 mph)
Windspeed: Average – 12.0 knots, Peak – 14.1 knots
Number of tacks/gybes: OTUSA – 10/10, ETNZ – 10/10
