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posted: Feb 15, 2010
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elvis
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The 33rd America’s Cup came to a conclusion on Valentine’s Day 2010. BMW/Oracle won decisively with a 5 minute/2300 meter lead when she crossed the finish line. This race was a bit more competitive than the first race last Friday. At least to the windward mark. Alinghi again fouled at the start by misjudging their entry into the start box, which gave BMW/Oracle a 24 sec lead off the line. Alinghi made up some time and actually took the lead for a while on the windward leg by finding some stronger air and a favorable wind shift. BMW/Oracle was able to gain ground and rounded the windward mark 28 seconds ahead and didn’t look back on the two reaching legs, reaching speeds of 33 knots in only 6-9 knots of wind, incredible!
The Golden Gate Yacht Club is now the holder of the oldest cup in international sports. Rumors have begun to arise that the next challenge will offer a more level playing field. It will be nice if they reverted to a more “one design” approach.
Hopefully a mono-hull design to facilitate the upwind tacking duels. This cup challenge was really nothing more than a drag race between two multi-million dollar experiments. BMW/Oracle proved herself the better, and faster boat. Congratulations to the BMW/Oracle team! Thanks for bringing the Cup home…