Tactician Blair Tuke hoists the Auld Mug, flanked by helmsman Peter Burling (left) and shore crew manager Sean Regan. Photo / Photosport
Tactician Blair Tuke hoists the Auld Mug, flanked by helmsman Peter Burling (left) and shore crew manager Sean Regan. Photo / Photosport
It was the quietest the New Zealand fans had been all regatta.
As Team New Zealand rounded the final mark in the ninth race of the 35th America's Cup match with Oracle trailing some 30 seconds behind the Kiwi supporters were, for once, dead silent.
The New Zealand flags, shippedin by Emirates Team New Zealand chairman and retail king Sir Stephen Tindall, that had been flying high and proudly all afternoon had suddenly become security blankets as family, friends and supporters clung on for grim life down the final reach.
After the cruel plot twist of the San Francisco regatta in 2013, when Team NZ's 8-1 lead was gobbled up by Jimmy Spithill and his resurgent US-flagged team, it was as if no one could quite believe it was actually happening.
The emotion both on land and on board only spilled out once helmsman Peter Burling had safely guided Aotearoa over the finish line to collect the monumental seventh point in the Cup match. After 14 long years of disappointment, missed opportunities, regret and "if onlys" the Auld Mug was finally New Zealand's once more.
"It's exactly what we came here to do, we're just on top of the world right now," said Burling, who, at 26, became the youngest helmsman to win an America's Cup " taking the record and the Auld Mug from Spithill in one swoop.
Burling, who had maintained an air of analytical detachment to the strange old America's Cup game throughout the whole event, finally shed his inhibitions in the wild celebrations that followed as the magnums of champagne piled on board.
For some of the crew the sting in the eyes wasn't just from the "champagne moment" but the tears flowing as they realised the magnitude of what they had accomplished. Blair Tuke, Team NZ's "flight controller", sat quietly off to the side of the boat with his hands to his face.
"The guys have fought tooth and nail ... to win this bloody trophy," skipper Glenn Ashby later explained, gesturing towards the Auld Mug that glistened in the Bermuda sunshine.
Ashby, the only member of the 2013 crew who was back on board the miraculous Team NZ boat in Bermuda, later spoke of the relief he felt crossing the finish line.
As much as he tried to sweep it aside, the heartbreak of San Francisco had weighed on his mind over the past week.
Image 1 of 15: Emirates Team New Zealand are welcomed by spectators after defeating Oracle Team USA in the America's Cup sailing competition. Photo / AP
"The feeling of redemption I guess was pretty overwhelming," he admitted, adding the past four years had been the toughest of his working career.
Hours later, after the team's official commitments had wrapped up and they were able to unwind at the base, there were spontaneous tears from salty old sea dogs who have been around long enough to know that these moments should be treasured.
As the tears flowed freely so too did the stories of just what the team have been through to get to Bermuda, let alone a 7-1 win in the Cup match. Like they do at the end of every campaign, once the shoulders relax and the guard is dropped, remarkable wee pieces of information emerge.
Grant Dalton, the team's combative boss who has maintained a low profile all campaign, was back to his forthright best, revealing how close Team NZ had come to shutting up shop.
Then there was the even more startling disclosure that Team NZ had sailed through the America's Cup match on damaged daggerboards, dating back to their challenger final match against Artemis Racing, when they were caught with the wrong foils for the conditions.
Helmsman Peter Burling of Emirates Team New Zealand sprays champange after they win the America's Cup. Photo / Getty Images
"We found some pretty serious structural issues with the daggerboards, because they had been taken so far out of range that they were basically letting go," said Dalton.
Those stresses may not have been spoken about until now but they showed on Dalton's face throughout the regatta.
"It's just nice to see Grant finally smile," Heather Burling, mother of helmsman Peter, joked.
Meanwhile Tuke spoke of the psychological toll the team's dramatic pitchpole during the challenger semifinals had on the crew.
The double Olympic medallist, one of a new breed of young sailors brought on board Team NZ to inject youth and energy into the campaign, said he came within a few centimetres of serious injury having been sent hurtling past the daggerboards when he was thrown from the boat.
"It was one of the most scary moments of my life. I'm trimming the foils, so it was a pretty tough time for me and the guys ... that first sail [afterwards] was pretty tough," Tuke said.
Emirates Team New Zealand celebrates with the America's Cup trophy after defeating Oracle Team USA. Photo / Getty Images
But tough is the only circumstances the team have really known for the past four years.
They endured the brutal reviews from San Francisco, the ferocious public backlash following Dalton's pleas for more government money, further fallout from the handling of Dean Barker's exit, on-going funding shortages, and found themselves on the outer with the other challengers. That was before they even got to Bermuda.
