Comment on It’s Kiwis’ turn to set the rules for America’s Cup

It’s Kiwis’ turn to set the rules for America’s Cup

HAMILTON, Bermuda — When the post-race formalities ended, feisty Emirates Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton picked up the America’s Cup and carried it the few hundred yards to the team base. Perhaps it was a metaphor for what’s ahead for the Kiwis, who nearly folded after their nightmarish collapse in 2013 but rebounded to yank the oldest trophy in international sports from tech tycoon Larry Ellison’s Oracle Team USA. [...] there was a blowout party at the team compound Monday evening. In the next few weeks, Team New Zealand and the new Challenger of Record, Italy’s Luna Rossa Challenge, will start shaping the future of sailing’s marquee regatta. The biggest question is whether the Kiwis will stick with space-age catamarans that rise up on hydrofoils and speed across waves with both hulls out of the water, or go back to monohulls. Team New Zealand won this America’s Cup because it hit on a remarkably fast, innovative boat design on a budget of about $55 million. While many traditionalists would welcome a return to monohulls, foiling is the rage in sailing. Burling is the world’s best apparent wind sailor who has won Olympic gold and silver medals in the 49er skiff class. After blowing an 8-1 lead in a crushing loss in 2013, Team New Zealand knew it couldn’t outspend Oracle Team USA, so the Kiwis had to out-think the American powerhouse. The standout feature was a revolutionary grinding system in which the Kiwis replaced traditional arm power with leg power.

 

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