Unreal win in AC

After starring down the barrel of defeat for a full week, Team Oracle USA took back control and won the Americas Cup in probably one of the most amazing comebacks I've ever seen. The final race wasn't even that exciting. The defender was just faster. At Tradewinds YC we set up a big screen and had a get together to watch the final encounter. Here we are, fourteen of us at the round table at Tradewinds:

Big screen for the final encounter

Team ENLZ won the start, so hopes were high. They stayed ahead all the way to the second mark where Team OUSA went for a split. I cannot believe Team ENLZ allowed that, but the fact is that ENZL failed to cover on the upwind leg. The result was - obviously - that Team OUSA had clean air, and they simply passed Team ENZL on pure boatspeed. At mark three it was all over for Team ENLZ. They were trailing by almost 500 meters.

Laugh, cry or sail the Zen Ten

So, the Americans won the race comfortably. What an unreal comeback. What an amazing win. Big congrats to Team OUSA. To be honest I was cheering for Team ENZL. Not that I like them more. Ok, Dean Barker is maybe more my cup of tea, but that's beside the point. Somehow I always felt they needed the support. Underdogs as they were with only one boat and way less billions to spend on development. The AC has always been about money, and the 34th AC was no exception. Besides, Team OUSA hasn't excactly behaved well, but you gotta hand it to them. They've worked hard and sailed well these past few days.

Zen Ten and a smile after all

Not that I care much about the result. These races have been unreal in so many ways. It's so far away from ordinary sailing anyway, but Larry Ellisons vision of an exciting race holds true. This has been more exciting than any other AC. At least the ones I've watched or heard of. What's more important is that Larry has come down from his tower and showed us he's got his priorities straight. How is that? Apparently he cancelled his own key note at some inferior database event, because sailing was more important. I like that. A lot. Congratulations to Jimmy, Larry and the team. What an unreal comeback.