In Race 8, Barker did a great job holding off Spithill at the start and made it first to the line. By Mark 1 there was a 3-second delta between the boats. This race was seriously close with Oracle faster and stabler after some hefty modification work by the shore team the day before.

A tacking duel began on the upwind leg and although New Zealand tried to cover them, Oracle began making gains. A one point, ETNZ tried to tack in front of a faster and more aggressive USA-17 and it didn’t go well. Oracle quickly built 300 meter lead which turned into 700 meters on the next leg. OTUSA won the race by 52 seconds.

Winning meant Oracle had finally erased the two race penalty imposed by the International Sailing Federation and from this point on could start adding points to the scoreboard.

Here is today’s trivia question:

Race 8: Oracle Team USA-17 was noticeably faster and more stable in this race which allowed for more aggressive tactics on Oracle’s part. When ETNZ tried to take control of the situation what was the result?