TRM try to keep this daily report pure and clean restricted only to the trout fishing but as this was provided by a Tongariro angler (Hi Don) it just slipped past the censors…
“To those folk who are still labouring under the illusion that Team USA “won” the last AC event in SF in 2013 here is the plain unvarnished truth of the matter – “Bollox” to the notion that Oracle won “fair & square” in 2013.
They rorted and gerrymandered the rule book for all it was worth to allow themselves to bolt on an illegal device (Boeings “Little Herbie” Pitch & Yaw computer) midway through the competition. The AC Technical Rules Committee were effectively sidestepped and blindsided by the manner in which Oracle went about introducing this device on to their boat. The AC Technical Rules people are on record as stating that had they been allowed to rule on the legality of the device they would NOT have allowed it; which is 100% tantamount to confirming that Oracle cheated their way to a “win” in 2013.
Had Team NZ opted to challenge the result of AC2013 in court there is little doubt that they would have won…although a very dampened victory that would have been and generally not the Kiwi way of doing things…which no doubt would have been something that Team USA would have relied on as part of their master cheating scheme.
It comes then as absolutely no surprise, especially given the way this AC has been conducted to date with the defender having awarded themselves a valuable point derived from the challenger series that after 2 race days that Oracle have plastered in an “insurance window” sufficiently long enough to add on a dozen new bits of technology and trial them before racing resumes.
I can’t think of any other sporting event where, having got the competition underway, there’s a near week long lay over so that in effect, having got seriously behind, the defenders can buy themselves a second competition. It would be akin perhaps to the All Blacks, having selected a team to play dry weather running rugby, stopping a game at half time for a week while they selected and trialed a game more tuned for wet weather rugby…and then dependent on the then long range weather forecast decide which team they would field.
It simply stinks to the very highest level & it’s to Russell Coutts everlasting shame that he allows himself to be tainted by the near perpetual boorish American tactic of bullying and cheating. Having said all that…
Good luck to Emirates Team NZ...by far the most innovative and efficient team at the event who have conducted themselves like gentleman throughout. Go hard guys!”