The good news for Dean Barker and Emirates Team New Zealand after another defeat to the defenders in the 16th race must have been the postponement of the 17th race to the next day with a much stronger wind forecast - the weakness of their "Aotearoa" in the light winds of twelve to 14 knots on Monday was too obvious. Especially at the start. The Barker Boys used their advantage from the start box to position themselves correctly on the inside heading for the first turning mark and crossed the start line ahead of the Americans. But that was worthless, because they simply didn't get to their feet fast enough. The US team won the short sprint to the first mark in an almost demoralising manner.
Oracle skipper Jimmy Spithill accelerated the US catamaran much faster, overtook the New Zealanders and rounded the important first buoy with a five-second lead. With conspicuously better downwind speed, Oracle Team USA built up a comfortable lead of several hundred metres at times. Tactician Sir Ben Ainslie said later that the day had not been nearly as exhausting as the previous day. The New Zealanders contributed to this. With comparable upwind speed, the balance of power hardly changed during the race. The Kiwis were unable to put any real pressure on the Americans and, after losing five starts in a row, have to ask themselves how they intend to get to grips with this weakness.
The cup duel goes into extra time after the defencemen's fifth win in a row. Contrary to initial information from the Cup organisers, however, it is not yet the longest duel in history. Cup historian John Rousmaniere has done the maths over the past few days and discovered that the 1899 edition between J. P. Morgan's "Columbia" and Sir Thomas Lipton's "Shamrock" lasted 18 days, even longer than the 16-day race between Team New Zealand and Alinghi in 2003. 24 September now marks the 18th day in the current match, which could still become the longest in history if the US winning streak continues and lasts until the 19th day.
At 8:6 in favour of New Zealand, the Kiwis are still "only" missing that one precious point to triumph. Larry Ellison's US sailing team still has to win three times in a row to hold on to the silverware. If they succeed, it would be one of the most amazing comebacks in sporting history. The Kiwis can already feel the defenders' breath on their necks. Nevertheless, skipper Dean Barker demonstrated outward composure: "We're in a very good place. We know we can do it if we sail well."
Meanwhile, fans in New Zealand are concerned about team boss Grant Dalton, who was last on board for the Kiwis' eighth win. Like Sir Peter Blake, Dalton is regarded as a kind of talisman of the team. Since he's no longer on the water, things have gone downhill. However, the 56-year-old Dalton had always said that he would make way for younger and stronger crew members if required. Because the organisers have now lost the rest days due to the ongoing Cup marathon and sailing takes place every day (wind permitting), the physical demands on the athletes have increased dramatically. Barker explained: "Sailing in light winds is just as physically demanding as sailing in strong winds. If not even more demanding."
The Kiwis have three more match points to win this battle of the sails, which is approaching its climax. The weather forecast promises fresher winds for Tuesday. Perhaps Dean Barker, his tactician Ray Davies and the crew can then make better use of their chance in the 17th race with a 10-second advantage when sailing into the imaginary start box, as they also had impressive start scenes and extreme acceleration potential in the first week of the Cup.
The duel becomes more and more of a thriller that a screenwriter could not have conceived better. Perhaps the Cup melody should soon be replaced by the soundtrack to the "Rocky" series. The resurrection of the Americans is celebrated. Oracle skipper James Spithill never tires of gleefully describing his team's role as "underdogs". The psychological exchange of blows has long since found its way into this edition of the Cup.
However, Spithill and his team scored points on Tuesday above all with an impressively fast and light-footed boat. The fact that the Americans have intensively modified their catamaran on a daily basis during the ongoing Cup duel is documented by the 15 new measurement letters they have received so far - a new one every race day. Another one will be added on Tuesday. "We have a great boat. And we can win this cup. No matter how many more races there are," said a delighted Spithill on Monday. In the press conference after the race, Dean Barker countered: "We wouldn't want to swap our current position. We still have match points. We're not flawless, we need to get better. But we are in a good mood and believe that we can win. It's the belief that we can win that motivates us as a team."
The question remains as to whether the obvious downwind advantage of the US catamaran will continue to have such a significant effect in the stronger winds forecast for Tuesday or whether the Kiwis will then regain their old strength. If they fail to do so, it will be tight for the Team of Hearts, as Oracle Team USA will then have the right of way into the starting box twice in a row. So in the all-important race, too, there would be a tie of 8:8.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
