The America's Cup: Emirates Team New Zealand make history to win the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup

On a day where the Barcelona waterfront was treated to the spectacle of a record breaking 350 Patí Catala catamarans on the racecourse before racing, the British came out looking for a pre-start fight. In a shifting breeze of 7-11 knots on flat water, they entered on starboard before gybing immediately onto the Kiwi line to trail them out to the far-right boundary of the box and the race was on.

Emirates Team New Zealand were first to gybe down the boundary but found INEOS Britannia, who had gybed inside, right on their bow. On the lead back to the line, the New Zealand crew tried to wriggle free with two tacks, but these were matched deftly by the British.

As the set-up began for the line, INEOS Britannia sat to leeward, attempting to force a shutout at the right-hand end of the line. But in the final seconds, both boats had time to kill and bore away down the line, allowing Emirates Team New Zealand to assume the windward position and tack off immediately for the right boundary. On the tack back, the Kiwis had the right-of-way advantage and crossed before making a decision that was crucial to the race’s outcome.

Ignoring the chance to tack immediately and cover the British—who were headed to the right-hand boundary—the canny afterguard of Emirates Team New Zealand held on straight, sailing into increased pressure and a favourable shift that helped them eke out further boat lengths ahead, so that when they tacked back their lead was assured. It was a masterclass of wind-reading and sailor’s intuition, with Peter Burling, Nathan Outteridge, Blair Tuke, and Andy Maloney sharing information effectively between them and reacting accordingly.

For INEOS Britannia, the writing looked to be on the wall, but the never-say-die attitude that has been carefully cultivated within the team came to the fore, and on the second windward leg, a rare miscalculation on the pressure from the Kiwis opened the door for the British to stage a comeback.

INEOS Britannia helmsmen Sir Ben Ainslie and Dylan Fletcher grabbed the opportunity with both hands, playing the far-right boundary to great effect and eating up the distance metre-by-metre to bring Britannia within striking distance at the second windward gate.

With a right-hand wind shift making both boats overstand on starboard tack on the final approaches to the gate, the teams elected to take opposite markers, with Emirates Team New Zealand bearing away around the port marker as Britannia tacked around the starboard. The official delta was measured at precisely zero seconds – literally, nothing separated the two boats.

This dead heat rounding set up a potentially fascinating downwind leg, but after gybing on the right boundary, Emirates Team New Zealand came scorching across on port gybe in a pressure patch that had been spotted by the team well in advance, and the resultant 180-metre gain was telling.

The Kiwis, having seen their lead evaporate once, were in no mood to give it up again. On the final beat, they played it conservatively up the right side, tacking on Britannia where necessary to bounce them to the left and rounded the final windward gate at 47 knots with a 17-second lead. It was brilliance combined with boat speed, and the results were devastating on the water.

A final downwind leg to the finish, textbook in its execution, saw Emirates Team New Zealand gybe off the right boundary and fly down the course before a final gybe on the port layline to angle into the finish line and the history books. The finishing delta was recorded at 37 seconds, and as INEOS Britannia crossed the line, they were quick to round up and applaud the victorious Emirates Team New Zealand crew, who were almost immediately surrounded by an armada of spectator boats and supporters.

Onboard ‘Taihoro’, the sails were quickly and efficiently stowed before the New Zealand flag was raised above a banner with the Catalan words: ‘Moltes Gràcies Barcelona’ – Many Thanks, Barcelona. Bernard Arnault, the Chairman and CEO, LVMH, and Pietro Beccari, Chairman and CEO, Louis Vuitton were welcomed aboard ‘Taihoro’ by the Kiwi sailors before the customary spraying of Moët & Chandon champagne in celebration.

After both teams made a fast tow back to the Port Vell—which was filled with spectator craft of all shapes and sizes – Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei once again greeted the arrival of ‘Taihoro’ at the dock. Emirates Team New Zealand have officially made history as the first continuous team to win the America’s Cup three times in a row, and the sense of elation around the dockside was palpable.

Stepping ashore, Peter Burling skipper of Emirates Team New Zealand put it in perspective as he struggled to take in just what he and the team had achieved, saying: “It’s a pretty surreal feeling, it’s still definitely sinking in. In the America’s Cup you’re all ready for a long battle but to be able to get it done today in just beautiful sailing conditions with a little bit of shift in it and just so many people cheering us on, was amazing.”

Emirates Team New Zealand defended the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup in style and accepted the trophy with class and grace officially at the main stage of the Race Village this evening. The future of the event will be announced in “due course,” according to Grant Dalton, CEO of America’s Cup Event and Emirates Team New Zealand, with the tradition being for a challenge to be issued as soon as the winning boat crosses the finish line of the last race.

One of the finest sports teams in the world, Emirates Team New Zealand have consistently set the bar high. Here in Barcelona, they just pushed it even higher with their historic third consecutive victory in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup – a remarkable achievement by a truly remarkable team.

Text and images courtesy of the America’s Cup. Read more at americascup.com.