It’s extremely unlikely – and here’s why. Oracle Team USA in 2013 had a fundamentally faster boat than Team New Zealand, they were very late in their development curve going into that regatta and were not sailing their catamaran at anywhere near its potential early in that America’s Cup. Their improvement was massive over the weeks of that regatta and once they cracked the elusive ability to foil upwind – which the larger-volume Kiwi catamaran could not do – it was a massive advantage and this allowed them to come back from 8-1 down.
In that ill-fated campaign, Oracle skipper Jimmy Spithill delivered a famous taunt to his Kiwi rivals.
“Imagine if these guys lost from here,” the Australian said at a press conference. “What an upset that would be. They have almost got it in the bag. So that’s my motivation. That would be one hell of a story, that would be one hell of a comeback and that’s the kind of thing that I’d like to be part of.”
When he said those words, Spithill might well have known his team were on the cusp of getting their foiling catamaran to perform at its optimal level, giving them a genuine shot at defending the Auld Mug with eight consecutive race wins.
The whole country shared Dean Barker’s pain.
This will not happen this time. There is no magic bullet remaining to be found for these two teams. For the Brits to win from here, they need a major change in conditions that might see their performance relative to the Kiwis improve. Or they need the Kiwis to suffer a major calamity. I am sure there are multiple safety lines on the crane lifting Taihoro in and out of the water now!
It’s never over until it’s over – but the Kiwis are well and truly in the dominant position halfway through this 37th America’s Cup.
