And so it comes down to this

By DAVID LEGGAT

After 117 races, spread over the best end of four months, we are left with two yachts.

Up to, but no more than, nine races remain, and a curved silver ewer awaits the winner. Not to mention an ocean of glory to the syndicate which lifts the Auld Mug sometime this month.

We have known since December 23 that the winning skipper will be a New Zealander. We should take pride in that. It is the clearest indicator of what has become abundantly apparent over many years and in a variety of classes: that New Zealand produces as high a calibre of sailors as any nation.

That day Chris Dickson lifted Oracle into the Louis Vuitton Cup final from a trough last October, from which it seemed for a time they could miss out on the semifinals, with a 4-0 demolition of the troubled OneWorld syndicate.

Dickson, the first skipper of a New Zealand entry in the America's Cup back in 1869-1987 in Fremantle, then duelled with Russell Coutts - and to no great surprise lost 1-5.

That's no reflection on their respective merits as sailors. Rather it was a predictable result as superior boat-speed and the racing craft and savvy on board Alinghi throughout the regatta had made them the warmest favourites from the nine syndicates who set out in the challenger series to progress to the Cup match.

It also set up the showdown that has been anticipated for close on two years - Coutts v Dean Barker. Sorcerer v apprentice. Alinghi v Team New Zealand. Ex-Team New Zealand v the present representatives of cupholders if you wish, and all the brouhaha that has ensued.

In some respects this regatta has followed the well-worn tradition of the Cup, with allegations of spying, legal papers flying about, sharp words exchanged and above all the secrecy with which syndicates have traditionally guarded their campaign.

Here's a quote: "Design has taken the place of what sailing used to be." The speaker: Dennis Conner, after losing the Cup to Australia in 1983 to the brilliant Ben Lexcen's winged keel.

Now big Dennis hasn't always engaged his brain before opening his mouth, but his remark stands as true today as it did then. No more so than with Team New Zealand's daring hula hulls, unveiled with a suitable drumroll last month. The inevitable wailing followed, and the odd sly jibe, and the suggestion that the hosts had somehow stolen a significant march on their rivals.

The America's Cup, design-wise, has ever been thus. It's all about getting an edge and pushing the legitimacy envelope.

So why is it important Team New Zealand keep the Cup? Does it really matter? After all, another regatta will be held somewhere in about four years. We could go to the Mediterranean and win it back.

Well, actually it does matter. Here's just a couple of reasons.

For a small nation we punch above our weight sporting-wise, and there's any number of examples to prove that point. This Cup, probably more than any other, has seen the dollar rule.

Big wallets have become the norm. Who can put more noughts on their budget. Billionaires have stepped into the game, and the days when the (relatively) little guy can give the fat cat a bloody nose are numbered.

Victory will send a message. Sailors can be bought, success is less easily attained.

The other thought is what the Cup has brought to the people. Call it a feelgood factor. The buzz round the waterfront has gone up several notches from the early days of the regatta. There is a will to win in the air. Sure, part of that is a desire to see the, er, former Team New Zealand sailors beaten. But the more substantial element is in simply wanting to keep hold of the mug, to once again prove New Zealand warrants a large pin on the map of world yachting.

nzherald.co.nz/americascup

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