America’s Cup racing was cancelled on Tuesday due to high winds on San Francisco Bay, denying Emirates Team New Zealand a chance to capture the trophy by sweeping two races.
Racing is to resume on Wednesday, when the Kiwis could seize yachting’s top trophy by beating Oracle Team USA in both scheduled races.
New Zealand will go into Wednesday with the lead and the momentum, having notched seven victories in a humbling of billionaire yachtsman Larry Ellison, owner of the Oracle team and the reason the event is in San Francisco.
The Kiwis scored a piviotal win on Sunday in the 10th race of the series after the event’s fiercest on-water duel.
Oracle had scrambled to make an array of changes to its boat after being repeatedly out-sailed by the Kiwis and the adjustments paid off.
The win broke a nascent rally by Oracle, which had triumped in the prior two races in the best-of-17 series.
Oracle, penalized two points for infractions before the start of the races, is fighting for an unprecedented victory comeback but still needs eight more wins to keep the Cup.
The America’s Cup, first contested in 1851, has been held since 2010 by Oracle team owner Ellison.
The technology industry titan, whose personal fortune is estimated at some $40 billion (30.6 billion euros, 26.3 billion pounds) beat the giant Swiss catamaran Alinghi 2-0 three years ago in Valencia, Spain, with a 30-metre-long (98-feet) rigid wing trimaran.
Ellison brought the regatta to San Francisco, setting the scene for high-speed AC72 catamarans to race this year.
Only two challengers, from Italy and Sweden, competed with the Kiwis in the challenger series, in part because of the high cost of setting up an America’s Cup contender.
If the Kiwis win, they will take command of where the next regatta takes place and what type of boats are used.
High winds postpone America's Cup racing
