It seems that 13 was an unlucky number for New Zealand. The first attempt to run the race was postponed because the wind limits were exceeded. The second attempt started on time despite very light winds (just 7 to 11 knots), but the race was pretty much run in slow motion with speeds half of what they normally were. New Zealand managed to find some wind and was soon 600 meters ahead, but time was not on their side. New Zealand had a substantial lead but hadn’t made it to the fourth mark when the 40:00 time limit expired.

With the wind slightly higher, Race 13 was restarted later the same day. Barker did a good job fending off a hook by Spithill and started the race with a 3-second lead. The boats stayed very close together, so close in fact that when the boats converged New Zealand boldly crossed on port fractions of a second ahead–the only problem was Oracle had the right of way. USA protested and New Zealand was penalized for a port-starboard violation.

Some good tactical moves on the part of OTUSA put them in the lead by 20- seconds at the second mark. Ainsley, Slingsby and Spithill managed to find better wind and a favorable current which turned into a huge lead on the downwind leg. Oracle won the race by 1:23 bring the score up to 3 to 8.

Here is today’s trivia question:

Race 13: During the 34th America’s Cup, how many races had to be postponed because of wind issues (i.e. too high, too low, blowing in the wrong direction)?