America's Cup fans braved a surprise downpour earlier today in San Francisco, hoping to see what might be the final 34th America's Cup race. Kiwi fans were out in force for the September 21, 2013 race, hoping for a conclusive win by Emirates New Zealand, which needs only 1 more win to take the coveted America's Cup.
Unfortunately, the fates decreed otherwise. The 1:15 p.m. race time came and went, as thousands of fans waited anxiously for the next race to begin. Instead, wind conditions weren't favorable, and the crowd was asked to wait for the 2:15 p.m. race.
The sun broke through the clouds, and blue skies looked promising. But then, race experts determined the wind direction was impossible to sail. Race 14 of the 34th America’s Cup was finally postponed at 2:40 p.m. due to the southwesterly direction of the wind, which would blow across the course, making navigation near-impossible.
“We saw this day coming a few days ago,” said Regatta Director Iain Murray. “We got the teams together last night to talk about the possibility of a light and variable wind from the south today. We do have an alternate course that we offered up to the teams, but they weren’t interested in sailing that course. They prefered to wait until the wind is back to the southwest on the normal racecourse.
“The racing that’s left is extremely important and the teams don’t want to chance something that they’re not prepared for,” said Murray.
Emirates Team New Zealand leads 8-3 and needs just one more victory to win the America’s Cup for the third time (1995, 2000). ORACLE TEAM USA, on the other hand, needs to win six consecutive races to retain the trophy it won in 2010, after being penalized 2 points by the International Jury.
Race 14 is rescheduled for tomorrow at 1:15 p.m., with Race 15 scheduled for 2:15 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. For race schedules and tickets to reserved seating, click here.
Special thanks to my friends Glen and Don, whose 70 foot double hull yacht was at our disposal today for these exclusive photos taken just off Alcatraz Island.
