#americascup – Today is a layday in the 34th America's Cup in San Francisco after a ferocious weekend of racing in which defenders USA racing the 75ft catamaran Oracle put in an astonishing Lazarus act to snatch more wins, with the pace being indicated by seven lead-changes in just one race. This prompted seasoned observer Gary Jobson to comment that there have already been more place changes in this series than in any since the cup became an international challenge series in 1870.
And there's more to come when racing resumes tomorrow. Grant Dalton's Emirates New Zealand team now lead by 7 point to 1, but defender USA's seemingly lowly score is distorted by the fact that they had to win two races before they could even begin to amass points - they'd incurred a severe rule infringement penalty set by the International Jury before this final challenge series started.
New Zealand need only two more wins to clinch the nine points for overall victory, so with eight wins required, the Oracle team still has a mountain to climb. Nevertheless their performance over the past two days shows that while it's still a slim hope, it's not impossible. That said, the Kiwi train is very much on the direct line, and they almost added another point yesterday. They were in the lead when racing was called off by the race officers as the wind had edged above the agreed maximum speed of 23 knots, set after the fatal accident to the Swedish challenger back in the Spring. Tensions are such that Kiwi commentators wondered if the race would have been so readily scrubbed if the Americans had been in the lead.........
It could all end tomorrow if there are two more Emirates New Zealand wins. But the programme has the potential to draw out the agony right through to Monday September 23rd if Jimmy Spithill and his Oracle USA team can continue to work miracles.
