Bermuda shorts: Day three - Highlights and oddities from the America's Cup

Day three of the America's Cup Qualifiers. Photo / ACEA 2017 / Photo Ricardo Pinto

Love tap of the day

It has to be the umpires calling a penalty - a decision they later said they got wrong - on Artemis against Team New Zealand.

In the best race of the regatta so far, Team Sweden were in a dominant position down the final leg and seemed to have the win well in hand as they sprinted towards the finish line.

But they were slapped with a late penalty for not allowing their rivals enough room to turn safely around the final mark and Emirates Team NZ were able to claim a result that had looked beyond them.

Artemis' Iain Percy was immediately heard over the on-board mic screaming "no way" at the umpires, followed by "we're not happy!".

Artemis helmsman Nathan Outteridge was later (somewhat sadly for those of us hoping for fireworks) much more controlled at the press conference: "Obviously it was a pretty good race. Such an epic battle ... we gave them plenty of room to make the gybe ... we were a bit shocked when the blue light came on."

TNZ's ice-cool Peter Burling responded in his somewhat laconic style: "Incredibly fun race ... we were really happy with the outcome. Like in any sport, you've got to play it to the whistle."

That seemed to be that. And then, in something of a bombshell some hours later, organisers later released a statement that - after a few paragraphs of fluff - said: "As in all sports, umpires are not infallible and on this occasion, even with the best sailing umpires in the world that are overseeing the 35th America's Cup, they have admitted that their decision, on reflection, may have been different."

Hmmmm. Do go on ...

Richard Slater, ACRM's chief umpire was then quoted as saying "When they were coming down to the final gate mark, with the information we had at the time, we had Artemis Racing on port, as the keep clear boat, and Emirates Team New Zealand on starboard, and our job is to be certain that Artemis Racing were keeping clear, and we weren't at that time certain they were keeping clear.

"We have had a discussion, we have looked at other evidence, information and data, and I think if we were to go back in time and make that call, we would green that call and not penalise Artemis."

Ka-boom!

Asked if the decision could be changed, Slater answered, "No, it is a field of play decision and the decision of the umpire stands." In plain English, the race result stands. But imagine if the positions of the boats had been reversed and it was TNZ robbed of victory! The saga sure increases anticipation before this morning's race ...

Term of the day

Jibe: Yes, it can refer to the insults that teams seem to enjoy throwing at each other. They probably call it banter. But we're ladies and gentlemen here, so we're referring to the sailing term (again, our thanks to Wikipedia): "A jibe (US) or gybe (Britain) is a sailing manoeuvre whereby a sailing vessel reaching downwind turns its stern through the wind, such that the wind direction changes from one side of the boat to the other ... the other way to change the side of the boat that faces the wind is turning the bow of the boat into, and then through, the direction of the wind. This operation is known as tacking or coming about. Tacking more than 180 to avoid a jibe is sometimes referred to as a 'chicken jibe'." We're fairly sure no-one in Bermuda for the 2017 regatta has publicly called anyone else a chicken. Yet.

Quote of day

"You know we were just turning the boat as hard as we could and I think we were pretty lucky not to end up on our side. These boats when you're coming in at 40 knots you need a little more room than that." - Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Peter Burling on the moment at gate six that saw Artemis penalised, leading to TNZ's win just when all seemed lost.

Tweet of the day

Again, from the official America's Cup account: "Amazing race for so many reasons. 9 lead changes,close quarter action and a dramatic late penalty results in a win for @EmiratesTeamNZ"

Get up for the Cup

Today's racing (weather permitting) sees Emirates Team NZ take on Artemis again. If you're reading this nice and early, it's on at 5.08am. If not, head to nzherald.co.nz to catch up on the action as it happened - and of course all the news that follows. And remember you can listen live to Peter Montgomery's call of the TNZ races on Newstalk ZB or Radio Sport. Tomorrow, TNZ is scheduled to take on Ben Ainslie Racing (Land Rover BAR) at 5.08am NZ time.

Day three results

Groupama Team France beat Land Rover Ben Ainslie Racing by 53 secs; Emirates Team NZ beat Team Sweden; Softbank Team Japan beat Groupama Team France by 33 secs.