Kiwis On Top

It is never easy to win the America’s Cup, but this year’s victory for Emirates Team New Zealand was truly remarkable. The Yachts & Yachting team takes a look back over a stunning regatta

Before the 35th America’s Cup began, there were clues but no guarantees as to how it would play out. Even amongst themselves, there was the sense that the Kiwis had taken a gamble with their technology, with a clear departure from the ‘norm’.

Their win was a win for the underdog, a blow to the billionaire Larry Ellison backing Oracle Team USA for what he must have felt certain was destined to be a hat-trick victory, following San Francisco (2013) and Valencia (2010).

But the Kiwis were gunning for a hat-trick of their own – although not a consecutive one, 2017 marked the third time their country lifted the coveted Cup (San Diego 1995, Auckland 2000). Their helmsman, Peter Burling, is the youngest helm to have ever won, doing so in front of a crowd of over 100,000 watching the drama on the blue waters of Bermuda’s Great Sound. Burling was backed up on board by Blair Tuke, his 49er team mate with whom he won both silver and gold Olympic medals, and directed by Cup veteran and skipper Glenn Ashby. Also on board was cycling’s 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Simon van Velthooven and rowing’s 2012 Olympic gold medallist Joe Sullivan, taking the mercenary roles in the primary cyclor station, along with a wealth of Kiwi sailing talent.

The team’s determined fight back from their 2013 defeat began with a solid third in the AC World Series. By the time they arrived in Bermuda, they meant business, winning eight from 10 races in the qualifying series – a score equal to that of the defender. Crucially though, the Kiwis’ two losses were both to Oracle.