Emirates Team New Zealand crew prepares for the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup Day 2 race in Barcelona on Oct. 13.Bernat Armangue/The Associated Press
Emirates Team New Zealand avoided a crash and nailed INEOS Britannia with a penalty as it opened up a 3-0 lead in the first-to-seven wins finals of the America’s Cup on Sunday.
Britain was hit with a 75-metre penalty for not keeping clear when the two boats came feet from colliding in the prestart jockeying for position in Race 3. The Kiwis’ Taihoro foiling yacht cruised through the six laps and won by 52 seconds.
Now the challenger that is backed by billionaire Jim Ratcliffe and the design expertise of the Mercedes Formula One team must rebound big if it wants to win Britain’s first ever America’s Cup in its 173-year history.
For the Kiwis, they are four wins away.
“We’re only three races into it but we are obviously happy to be on this side of the scorecard. I think tomorrow [Race 4] will be a pretty important day,” New Zealand helmsman Nathan Outteridge said. “Once you nudge that one forward and get over the halfway stage to seven, maybe the momentum goes a bit that way.”
New Zealand skipper Peter Burling said that they had planned to steer aggressively in the prestart, and it paid off. They had the right of way being the windward boat when they bore down on the Brits before turning late, and the Britannia was a tad slow to react as their foils almost touched.
“We tried it yesterday but they just got past us. It was a little bit uncomfortable to be honest with how close the boats got,” Burling said about the manoeuvre. “But the umpire obviously thought we were pretty clear there, so it was great to get the penalty and control the race from there.”
Britannia was more than 600 metres behind when the lead boat crossed the finish line off the Barcelona beachfront.
Britannia largely avoided any costly mistakes and technical mishaps, until now.
On Saturday, Britannia was hampered by a battery meltdown just minutes before Race 1. New Zealand dominated both the opening regattas to make a perfect 2-0 start.
New Zealand is trying to win the Auld Mug, the oldest trophy in international sport, for a third straight time and fifth overall.
As defender, New Zealand was guaranteed a spot in the final. Britain had to fend off four other challengers to make its first final in six decades.
Race 4 had been scheduled for later Sunday, but it was pushed back to Monday after winds died down below the 6.5-knot minimum. Other than early in Race 2 when there were several lead changes, the Brits have been in the wake of the Kiwis – or even further behind.
Local residents protest
A couple thousand local residents held a protest against the hosting of the America’s Cup near the old port where the team bases and fan zones are located on Sunday. Some locals link the hosting of international events such as the regatta with the already huge presence of tourists in the Mediterranean city. They argue that tourists fuel skyrocketing rents via short-term rentals of apartments and that many areas of the city now cater far too much to tourist appetites and interests. Barcelona calculates the two-month event will attract some 2.5 million tourists and contribute more than €1-billion (US$1.09-billion) to the city. Local authorities say that this type of event is exactly the kind of so-called “quality tourism” that the city needs. Several thousand people turned out to celebrate the opening ceremony of the America’s Cup finals last week.