In 2013, the America’s Cup took on a global appeal as never before, with Oracle Team USA staging a miracle comeback to win 9-8 over Emirates Team New Zealand. Few will recall that the American syndicate were forced to start the Match with two penalty points because of a rules infraction in qualifying, meaning they had to win 11 races to successfully defend the Cup.

Losing the first three races significantly increased the odds before Sir Ben Ainslie, who subsequently has led a gallant attempt on the 2017 vintage in Bermuda with Land Rover BAR, joined Oracle as tactician and helped to change their luck. In the build-up to a repeat of that final between Oracle and Emirates Team New Zealand, The Royal Gazette presents a rerun of the contest that presented the drama of sport at its finest.

Day 1: Sept 7

The 34th America’s Cup began in stark contrast to the one-sided races that dominated the 2013 Louis Vuitton Cup. Team New Zealand, skippered by Dean Barker, led at the first mark, and held it for second (first downward) leg. The gap to Oracle Team USA was only four seconds at the bottom mark, and during the upwind third leg the lead changed several times. Team New Zealand led at the top mark by 25 seconds, and kept the lead until the finish line, winning by 36 seconds.

Race two began as the previous one ended, with Team New Zealand in front, despite the aggressive pre-start by Oracle’s skipper Jimmy Spithill. Team New Zealand led the whole race, and completed the victory by 52 seconds to lead 2-0.

Day 2: Sept 8

Race three initially looked good for Oracle as Spithill luffed Team New Zealand at the reach mark to successfully draw a penalty. Oracle held the lead for the first downwind leg, and were 18 seconds to the good heading into the upwind third leg. The pivotal moment of the race occurred when Barker brought the New Zealand boat back on port tack within three boat lengths of the boundary. Oracle were forced to tack away owing to the boundary rights, even though they were on starboard, which would have otherwise have had right of way. The 29-second lead at the top mark was held by the Kiwis all the way to the finish, crossing 28 seconds ahead of the Americans to go 3-0.

Race four again started well for Oracle, leading around the reach mark by six seconds. Although Barker pushed hard the whole race, Spithill was able to hold off Team New Zealand to cross the finish line first by a mere eight seconds. Because of the penalty imposed, Oracle did not score a point, leaving the New Zealand remaining 3-0 ahead.

Day 3: Sept 10

Oracle’s defeat in race five by 1min 5sec was so emphatic that the Americans played their one and only Postponement Card to call off the scheduled second race. Team New Zealand had once again been behind from the start all the way to the bottom of the racecourse. Once heading back upwind, however, the Kiwi boat was noticeably faster and gained the lead with ease. A top-mark delta of 1:17 effectively ended the race, and gave Spithill plenty of time to consider his options. The score at the end of the day was 4-0.

Day 4: Sept 12

Day four opened with the news that Oracle had changed their tactician. John Kostecki, who was a decades-long veteran of racing on San Francisco Bay, was dropped and Sir Ben Ainslie, the skipper of Oracle’s back-up boat, was brought on in his place. Another change was the noticeably lighter winds compared with the earlier days of racing.

Race six followed a familiar refrain, with Oracle ahead at the start and holding that lead to the bottom of the downwind leg. After rounding the mark 12 seconds behind, Team New Zealand once again took over sailing into the wind. The highest number of tacks seen thus far was unable to prevent the Kiwis from gaining 55 seconds during the third leg, and the 44-second lead at the top mark was extended to 47 seconds at the finish.

Race seven was one-way traffic for Team New Zealand, who led from start to finish. Barker was strong in the windward position off the line and simply powered over Oracle to the reach mark. Along with another substantial gain during the third leg, Oracle Team USA had no answer and finished a distant second. Team New Zealand closed the day 6-0 ahead — two thirds of the way to lifting the America’s Cup.