I first saw these magnificent boats while riding a streetcar back from the Giants/Red Sox game at AT&T park. At the time, I was only vaguely aware that the America’s Cup races were being held on San Francisco Bay. After seeing them from the streetcar, I was hooked.
I watched most of the races on TV from the comfort of my temporary home in Walnut Creek. The TV coverage was amazing as they used computers to show you who was ahead, how the current was running, distances and wind velocities...plus they had on-board cameras and microphones on both boats. You couldn’t ask for any better coverage for any sport.
On two occasions, I watched the races and pre-race activities from America’s Cup Park. It was a special time for me, and it turned out to be one of the most monumental comeback wins in any sporting event in history. If you weren’t following it, let me fill you in.
When I first arrived in the Bay Area, the Emirates Team New Zealand boat was racing the Luna Rosa Challenge boat (Italian) for the Louis Vuitton Cup and the right to face the defending champion Oracle Team USA boat, built and sponsored by billionaire Larry Ellison of Oracle computing fame.
The Kiwi boat handily beat the Italian boat in every race I saw. It was almost no contest as the 72’ New Zealand Boat flew up and down the course reaching speeds approaching 50 miles per hour.
These boats are more akin to airplanes as their twin catamarans often come out of the water, leaving only a pair of small foils touching the water. I still don’t understand how these boats can go twice as fast as the wind that powers them. Amazing designs, I guess.
But back to the races…I thought the Kiwis had an excellent chance to beat the Americans… and my feelings turned out to be true for quite awhile. Without going into great details on all the rules and the two race penalty suffered by Team Oracle, the first boat to reach nine victories and wins the cup (because of a penalty imposed earlier in the year, Oracle had to win 11 races).
The Kiwi won eight races and led the American boat 8-1. They were beating the pants of the Americans, especially on the upwind third leg and were on the verge of total victory. But, even though the Kiwis were within one race of the win, the Americans never gave up. They changed their on-board boat tactician and made some small design changes.
Next thing you know, team Oracle USA started winning races and were suddenly much faster than the Kiwis…and before you knew it, the score was tied 8-8. It was down to a one, winner-take-all race.
It was an exciting race with the lead going back and forth for the first part of the race. But, suddenly, the Oracle boat took charge and wound up winning the deciding race by 44 seconds…capping off one of the most amazing comebacks in sports history…and I was there for part of it.
Competing in this race is not for the faint of heart or those with lightweight wallets. These boats cost millions to design and built and supporting facilities and crews in SF also runs in the millions. I wondered if it might be cheaper for Larry Ellison to buy an NFL team. But he is a born sailor, and although he was not on board for any of the races, his money and enthusiasm made it all possible.
For me it was an exciting time to watch the races and to use my new Sony NEX-6 camera to record the images. The photo here shows the two boats side-by-side just before a race. If you would like to see more of my photos from the America’s cup, just click on this link.
(To see a larger version of this photo, just click on the image)
To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com
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