When Brit yachting fans relished their morning tea and fans in New Zealand getting ready to go to bed, Brit and Kiwi teams were battling it out at the America’s Cup World Series in Muscat, Oman. After Ben Ainslie as well as his British team registered a 3-1-1 yesterday to get the top spot on the list, they hold the standard today to closely win the 4th event of ACWS circuit. But with 3 double point races, nothing was very certain till the Britain team made an epic return in the final race.
Conditions were similar like it was yesterday, with non-foiling winds of 7-8 knots keeping yacht speed at 10-12 knots upwind as well as 13-14 knots downwind. Same 4 leg course – which is a short reach after the beginning, then a L-W-L to a downwind finish – offered races between fifteen and eighteen minutes long.
The main difference from earlier ACWS tournaments was what came to be less number of spectators. Unlike earlier events in Bermuda, where a crowd of private boats
Biggest difference from previous ACWS events was what appeared to be a lack of spectators. Unlike the previous event in Bermuda where a mob of private boats conflicted on the race course, there were no on-looker boats in Oman, this time. On the land, the cameras hardly looked that way. In earlier events, when the crowds are huge.
The final result assessment showed them that the Brit team was quick when they needed them. Skipper Ben Ainslie said that they kept battling through that day. Compared to the teams with great track records, they need to prove that they could compete at the top of the fleet and he believes that they were getting back to doing that. They have a huge team of designers, boat builders as well as support staff back at home working quite hard for them and they want to know that they could win this thing.