Battle resumed on Father’s Day in the America’s Cup Match, with Jimmy Spithill’s ORACLE TEAM USA looking to seize back the advantage gained by Peter Burling’s Emirates Team New Zealand on day one.
However, it was day two to the Kiwis again, with Emirates Team New Zealand recording two more back-to-back victories over the Defenders of the America’s Cup, putting themselves 3-0 up in the first-to-seven series that will determine the winner of the 35th America’s Cup.
Having dominated day one, the Kiwis completed their clean sweep by winning both races on Sunday by convincing margins to leave a shell-shocked USA team contemplating the dismantling of their America’s Cup legacy.
Only for a brief moment did the USA look like they had turned things around when they nudged ahead of the New Zealand boat at the pre-start of race one. A poor gybe, however, when rounding the first mark caused them to cede the lead to the Kiwis; a position they never relinquished.
Oracle Team USA now have five days to try to come with some answers to counter the design innovations of the scrappy New Zealanders, who are getting by with much less funding. Racing resumes on Saturday and Sunday.
This is a rematch of the epic 2013 America’s Cup, when Team New Zealand, then skippered by Dean Barker, reached match point at 8-1 before Spithill lead Oracle Team USA to eight straight victories on San Francisco Bay to retain the oldest trophy in international sports.