A few weeks ago, John started watching the preliminary qualifying races for the America’s Cup. New Zealand boat won the opportunity to challenge the defending champion, the US boat. And I got sucked in to watch it, too.
This race is actually a series of races, with the winner being the first one to win nine races. The boats are incredible catamarans, with crews of about a dozen men. There are two very tall “sails”, and they look like no sailboat you’ve ever seen before.
As the races went on, it seemed like New Zealand was giving the US sailing lessons. And soon New Zealand was ahead 8-1. Obviously, the Kiwis were quickly going to put the Yanks out of their misery. But then amazing things started to happen. The US started to win races.
Every day the Yanks got better and better, and kept winning. Tuesday, New Zealand was ahead 8-6 at the start of the day. Wind conditions were such that they were able to run both races, and by the end of the day, the boats were tied at 8 to 8.
So today, there was only one race - the one for all the marbles. And amazingly, the US won it, going away. New Zealand was never even close. What an exciting come-from-WAY-behind win.
Nobody’s ever paid much attention to the America’s Cup, but that will certainly change - if this type of competition and coverage continues. Just wait until next year.
1 comment:
I've loved the America's Cup ever since San Diego held the trophy for about eight years in the '90s. It seems like there's as much jockeying for position behind the scenes (even in the courtroom) as there is out on the water. Didn't get to see much of this year's races, but I did follow the dramatic resurgence of the U.S. boat. Very exciting.
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