Roger Badham (popularly known as the weather guru of team New Zealand) has recently and very bravely questioned the legitimacy of the boat that was utilized by USA team Oracle during the America’s Cup 2013.
Oracle was able to win the America’s Cup last year in spite of the good performance of team New Zealand. During the America’s Cup 2013 there were some speculations in relation to the boat utilized by team Oracle. However, team New Zealand did not pay that much attention to it.
Later on, team NZ protested against Oracle’s boat claiming that the team had used some automatic, computer-based and hydraulically powered stabilizing system that allowed the boat to be in a stable condition while gibing. But the protests were dismissed by the authorities on the basis of timing.
While giving an interview to the Australian online yachting magazine named Afloat.com.au, Badham highlighted the fact that team NZ’s Dean Barker struggled during the regatta to keep the boat stable. On the other hand, team Oracle’s captain- Jimmy Spithill was sailing his boat very conveniently.
One of the spokesmen of team Oracle stated that the article in the Australian magazine did not state any facts which were true and many incorrect assertions have been made in the article which seems to be ridiculous to a certain extent.
Concerns that were raised by Roger Badham during the interview have also been a part of the extensive review that was carried out by team New Zealand after its failure to win the 2013 America’s Cup.
Sir Stephen Tindall (director of team NZ) had hinted that a portion of the review will be released. However, it seems that the team New Zealand has decided not to make the review public as it consists of sensitive details which will turn out to be helpful for the rival team.