ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL rebounded from last place at the first turning mark of the "Super Sunday" fleet race finale to win the America’s Cup World Series San Francisco Championship.
ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL came from last place at the first turning mark to win the final fleet race and take the overall Championship of the America’s Cup World Series in October. Photo by Joel Williams
Published: November, 2012
ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL rebounded from last place at the first turning mark of the "Super Sunday" fleet race finale to win the America’s Cup World Series San Francisco Championship.
Spithill and crew—Dirk de Ridder, John Kostecki, Jono MacBeth and Joe Newton—were dead last off the start line, but fought their way back through the fleet. They rounded the last windward gate first and held on for a 17-second win over teammates ORACLE TEAM USA COUTTS.
Spithill won 40 points for the race and totaled 79 points for the event last month. That put the crew in a tie with J.P. Morgan BAR (Ben Ainslie) for the championship, which placed fourth in the final race. Spithill won the championship based on the final race finishes.
"The difference is the four guys on the front of the boat," said Spithill, referencing his crew. "We were dead last off the start line but it didn’t faze these guys. We have a real team of fighters here. We’re really, really happy."
ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL put an emphatic stamp on this regatta. On Saturday, the crew won the Match Racing Championship after capsizing and breaking frames in the wingsail during a fleet race. The crew also won the August AC World Series San Francisco Championship by one point, previously the closest finish at an AC World Series event. The tiebreaker surpasses that mark.
"We’ve always said we need to be able to come from behind and overcome adversity," said Spithill, who skippered the team to victory in the 2010 America’s Cup. "I thought I gave them that yesterday with the capsize, but it’s really a sign of a strong team. The shore crew, our coaches, it’s been a fantastic team effort."
Artemis Racing – White placed third in Sunday’s race and finished third overall. Emirates Team New Zealand placed fourth overall and ORACLE TEAM USA COUTTS fifth.
Some highlights of the five-day regatta included:
• A crowd estimated at one million visited San Francisco for the America’s Cup World Series and Fleet Week, and a spectator fleet nearing 1,500 vessels was on the water for Saturday and Sunday.
• 177 accredited media were onsite from 14 countries.
• More than 2,600 stories were published in more than 1,000 outlets in 46 countries
• More than 300,000 unique visitors viewed more than 1 million pages on the America’s Cup website at an average duration of three minutes.
• America’s Cup TV produced 38 videos that have been viewed more than 360,000 Times.
• The America’s Cup app for iPhone and iPad has been downloaded more than 14,500 times, and more than 2,700 times for Android.
• The America’s Cup Facebook page grew by 20 percent and now has more than 118,000 "likes."
• The America’s Cup Event Authority distributed 2,000 gallons (7,570 liters) of water onsite, which prevented the use of more than 15,000 single use (500mL) plastic bottles.
• Lexus, the official car of the America’s Cup, provided a fleet of hybrid cars that helped save fuel and reduce emissions.
• The Healthy Ocean Project (HOP) had 40 volunteers including teams, fans and HOP members help the Parks Conservancy at Fort Mason restore and clean up the coastline.
The 2012-2013 racing season for the America’s Cup World Series opened in August in San Francisco and continues into Europe in the spring. The next event is scheduled for Italy in April 2013, and America’s Cup Event Authority officials are hoping to organize an event in New York City next June before the summer of racing in San Francisco kicks off. The next Louis Vuitton Cup, America’s Cup Challenger Series (July-August 2013) and America’s Cup Match (September 2013) will be held for the first time in San Francisco Bay, a natural sailing arena where more than one million spectators are expected.
