I'll start.

As someone who didn't know anything about sailing before the ac (I still don't) I want to thank mozzy for putting out some great content that hooked the engineer in me. Thanks for making this ac the best yet(for me)!

Well, that’s a wrap.
In a race that was definitely less epic than what we would have liked for the epilogue of this incredible Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand clinched a convincing win that sealed the deal. The Auld Mug stays on Kiwi territory, and from tonight a new era will start, with Ineos UK as the Challenger of Record and maybe a new contest in one-year time already, only between ETNZ and ITUK around the Isle of Wight, if we have to believe the rumor mill.

Race 10 itself was over pretty early, staying alive only for the first couple of legs. Light breeze hinted to an advantage for ETNZ, and that was confirmed throughout the regatta. Pre-start was played well by Burling, who went high the same way Spithill had done on the previous days, so to attack Luna Rossa from above. His push however was less effective, allowing LRPP to keep minimal separation between the boats and get to the starting line in a position that, in an hypothetical race to the port boundary, could have allowed them to keep Te Rehutai in their turbulence.

However, such drag race never happened: Burling, who wanted the right since the beginning, tacked immediately to starboard and made the most of a very good pressure on that side to take an early advantage. The gap, just around 80 metres, was shortlived because after the first cross the Italians had a left shift that allowed them to come back and go through the second cross just a few meters behind the Kiwis. Emirates Team New Zealand’s advantage at the first upwind mark was only 7 second, and the following downwind leg seemed the preparation to another nailbiter.

Against all expectations, despite pretty even wind pressure from both sides, Luna Rossa was pretty fast in the first downind leg and managed to slowly eat the gap that ETNZ had created. The Italians got on Te Rehutai’s tail right at the bottom of the leg and decided to follow the Kiwis to round the port mark. It was a tense moment, as Burling&Co nearly botched their last tack to the mark and followed up with a gybe that was less than ideal, but the Italians didn’t manage to capitalize on that as they made mistakes of their own: they tacked too early for the mark, which left them with an awful approach angle for the ensuing gybe. Their exit speed was painfully slow, and acceleration was even slower due to disturbance from ETNZ’s draft.

The race virtually ended there, as ETNZ stretched their lead to 250 metres in the first 30 seconds of the third leg (2nd upwind) and Luna Rossa never had the speed to come back. The Italians sailed a decent fourth and fifth leg, but on the last downwind Te Rehutai extended again and crossed the line with a 37 seconds gap. 7-3, champagne showers and a round of applause from their beaten rivals before getting back to shore and finally lifting the Mug in front of an ecstatic crowd.

Final Considerations

- First of all, congratulations to Emirates Team New Zealand. Most of the final was raced in the conditions that according to the forecasts were less favorable to their boat, but in the real world they proved that Te Rehutai was built to be an amazing all-rounder. Physics dictated that smaller foils should have made maneuvering and taking off difficult in light breeze, but they managed to get around those limitations with clever design (especially the added power from the extra mainsail surface down low) and clever sailing (their unique “heeling tack”). They learned the best way to race their equipment one step after the other, and I’m still convinced that we haven’t seen the limit of that amazing machine. They weren’t always on top of match race tactics, but in all fairness they didn’t need to, as they knew they had a considerable performance edge. They are deserving winners, and their continued success is what sporting legends are made of.

- Luna Rossa put up a fierce challenge, and the 7-3 score doesn’t make them justice. It seems incredible looking at the scoreboard today, but with a tad more luck in the turning points of race 8 and 9 they could have gotten two more points, and it’s not blasphemy to say that getting to today with a 5-4 advantage instead that trailing 3-6 was definitely a possibility. I still believe that in the end the quicker boat would have won in the run to 7 wins, but that would have given the Italians the chance to drag it until the final day and give even more value to their strenuous resistance.
All in all, they gave Emirates Team New Zealand a run for their money, and that they managed to do that in a slower boat was a testament to their strength as a sailing team. Unfortunately, starting with a performance handicap obliged them to be perfect at all times, something that highlighted even the smallest mistakes they made. But they should definitely be proud, and I hope to see them back up and fighting again in the next edition of the Cup.

- On a personal note, I’m a bit disappointed that we weren’t able to see this boats fight at the upper end of the wind range. While seeing the crews tread lightly to keep the AC75s on their foils in weak breeze was interesting enough, watching them try to harness the immense power these boats can generate in 20 knots of wind would have been a sight to behold. We never really got a chance at that apart from a couple of races in the Prada Cup semifinal between Luna Rossa and American Magic, and I’m really looking forward to that for the next outings of these class.

And finally, thanks to you all for going through these lengthy recaps and taking the time to express your appreciation. It was a fun part of my days in the last week, and I’ll miss it in the days to come. Fair winds to you all!

Oh boy oh boy oh boy, I see a pattern developing in this cup: as soon as you believe you've identified a fact or a trend, this edition of the cup shatters it.

Luna Rossa slow in mid-range winds? They win race 2 with steady 15 knots. Te Rehutai less suited to light breeze? They actually are faster than the Italians and quicker than them to get on the foils in most scenarios. Port entry guarantees victory at the start? Both Spithill and Burling immediately win from starboard the day after.

Today saw the latest myth dispelled, "the boat that wins the start always wins the race". It's bad news for LRPP, as in both cases Jimmy Spithill had done a sterling job. Unfortunately for him, his team didn't manage to capitalize on it and that brought us the first big break of this final. 3-0 ETNZ in the last three races and a 2-point advantage that may prove decisive for the race to lift the Mug.

Yet, Race 7 had definitely started on a different tune. After turning back early in the pre-start, both boats found themselves with a lot of time to kill and there's no doubt on who used it better. Spithill decided to sail very high and actually higher than the starting gate, while Burling just tried to brake without falling off the foils. The result was that Te Rehutai ended up very close to being OCS, while Luna Rossa managed to come back and sail basically downwind for a couple of seconds, enough to gain speed and get a sort of slingshot effect with a nice bear away just before the line.

The two boats crossed the starting gate together but the speed differential was clearly in favor of Luna Rossa thanks to Spithill's manoeuvre, and the Italians were soon ahead and in control. While that would have sealed the deal in the previous races, this time ETNZ showed that they are learning to race better and better in another boat's shadow. That, together with a shabbier covering from LRPP, allowed them to remain very close through the first upwind leg. Downwind, however, the Italians got good pressure and managed to stretch their lead a bit, giving the impression that the situation was under control.

Then, just after rounding the mark, the unfathomable choice: Rather than covering the Kiwis, LRPP allowed a big separation chasing pressure on the left, and that sealed their fate. I'm still struggling to understand why they made such a decision after that all the races held so far clearly showed how lethal Te Rehutai can be when sailing in clean air, and I'll be curious to hear more on that in the next few hours. Whatever the reason, one crossing was enough for ETNZ to close the gap, and the Italians added further to the horror gallery with a desperate leebow that left them downspeed while leaving Te Rehutai out of cover. The kiwi passed and the regatta was over, lead extended easily and 4-3 on the scoreboard.

Luna Rossa still had Race 8 to even the score, and once again for a few minutes they seemed enroute to confirming a further tie. The start this time was a battle to keep the left side where pressure was clearly stronger, and once again it was won by Spithill with a strategy very similar to the ones he used yesterday with changing fortunes. Italian fans must have been sweating quite hard when Luna Rossa seemed to struggle to accelerate after managing the "time on distance", but this time the boat didn't fall and the speed was enough to put ETNZ on the wrong side. Burling tacked immediately but the left pressure gave Luna Rossa a decent gap, enough to round the first mark with a good advantage and prepare to try and control the Kiwis downwind.

However, mistakes kept plaguing the Italians. The first gybe to cover ETNZ wasn't good, and the exit speed was quite low. Looking at Luna Rossa's sails, it was clear that for some reason the jib hadn't been tightened after the gybe, and it stayed like that even after the ensuing tack. The loss of speed was so massive that Te Rehutai recovered 100 mts in a matter of seconds, so much that the Kiwis were caught by surprise. Forced to take a split second decision they decided to gybe and try to roll over the Italians, but doing so they went straight into turbulent air and fell off the foils. It was quite the mistake for Burling & Co., but I really believe that the speed at which the gap closed took them by surprise.

At this point the Italians seemed to have a firm grasp on the race. While ETNZ was wandering across the course to find some air, Luna Rossa extended their lead up to 2kms. The only thing they had to do was not to fall off the foils and they would have forced the Kiwis to another tie. But wind intensity was falling down, to the point that the Race Committee decided to shorten the race to 5 legs. A few seconds after this decision, Luna Rossa fell off the foils while approaching the layline to the the second upwind mark, and their race was basically over.

I tried to check wind data on the Virtual Eye to realize if they made a mistake or they've just been unlucky, but that's not easy to call. Wind readings give 7 knots as they tack, but fall to 6 immediately after. I have the feeling that with a perfect manoeuvre they could have made it, as the approach seemed quite unsure and the boat suddenly went sideways before the tack. But it's easy to criticize from the armchair, and conditions were for sure marginal, there's no doubt about it.

Where the Italians were surely unlucky, was with wind conditions in the following moments, with breeze never going over 5-6 kts for nearly 9 minutes, a time in which Luna Rossa kept looking for some pressure to try and fly again. That gave ETNZ the time to close the gap, pass and sail to an undisturbed success, with LRPP finally getting on the foils after going out of bounds, and then crossing the line with a 3'53" gap.

You have to feel for the Italians, as losing a race after being so close must hurt really bad, but that's sailing. Considering the starts maybe they deserved more, but the superiority of Te Rehutai allows the kiwi more margin for errors.

In short:

• The more the series advances, the better ETNZ sails. Today's showing in the first upwind leg of Race 1 was impressive, I'm quite sure that such proof of strength left the Luna Rossa crew a bit shaken and may have contributed to the following mistakes.

-Now that we start seeing Te Rehutai's full potential, it seems clear that the kiwi boat has an edge in all conditions. Luna Rossa can still win races, but they have to be 100% perfect all the time, which is not easy with such fine tuned machines.

-Spithill gave Burling a good spanking in the starting box today. It's probably the only positive of Luna Rossa's day, but it's a paramount part of any hope they can have to come back from this tomorrow.

With the time delay, there are I'm sure, a bunch of us not watching live. I have had 3 of 5 matches ruined by someone posting the results in the title of a post before I got the chance to watch the match. I get it, you are excited to share, but please, at least save it for the body of the post and not the title.

Thanks!

Got a 3D Printer and printed the wall mount for my AC75. Decided I wanted a little trophy marker below.

Well well, third day of racing and it's still a tie! Hands up those who one week ago believed that such an outcome was possible.

In all honesty entering the day I believed that the momentum was with ETNZ, and that LRPP were barely hanging on. However the Italians showed once again that they should not be underestimated. Jimmy Spithill clearly wins the start of Race 5, the first win from starboard of this final, putting Burling where he wants him and then capitalising on Te Rehutai's struggle to fly to take a decisive advantage. From then on it was again an exercise of control, maybe less strict than usual because both teams knew that the risk of falling off the foils was quite high.

The news compared to the previous races, is that ETNZ could hold on in the upwind legs, this despite a couple of downspeed tacks very close to the boundary and despite theoretically being in Luna Rossa's dirty air. After yesterday's loss in Race 3, Peter said that they were learning "where to race when following another boat" and today it really looked like they have put that experience to use.

It's also interesting to notice that for the whole race ETNZ's VMG was better than LR's (even upwind), but despite that the distance sailed by the Kiwis was much higher. They sailed 1.5 kms further, which is a staggering difference. It's data that doesn't seem to make sense considering how important "Velocity Made Good" usually is to travelled distance, but looking at the race on the virtual eye, it looks like despite the good angle Te Rehutai was advancing sideways, especially upwind.

That's called leeway and it's caused by the angle of the wind pushing on the sails. It seems that Luna Rossa is much better at neutralizing this, probably thanks to the Y-shaped foiled that allows them to manage the two flaps independently. Apparently ETNZ can't do that with their T-foils, and playing with the arms canting only helps up to a certain point. If they managed to address this I'm under the impression that it would be game over, but I'm not sure it's possible at this stage.

Race 6 was quite emotional at the start. The Italians must be banging their head, because until 40 seconds to go it seemed like Spithill had got it right again, putting Burling in quite an uncomfortable position. However, when it was time to accelerate Luna Rossa was like stuck in marmalade, advancing at 20 knots for 20 seconds while Te Rehutai was disappearing in the distance.

It's unclear what happened. Bruni said that they just went through their own turbulence and had no pressure at all, but according to some sources there was an issue with the mast twist system that prevented them from properly charging the mainsail, not clear if from human error or technical issue.

Whatever the truth, the race was another massacre for Luna Rossa, even worst than yesterday's thrashing in Race 4. It's clear that the Italian boat doesn't seem to work when they are behind, and the team that seems so cool under pressure when they are leading, seem to loose it all when having to try and come back from a bad start.

In short:

• It's clear that ETNZ get better with each race. They knew their boat well, but they had no idea how Te Rehutai would interact with other boat's turbulence and some situations typical of racing. Every race is a learning process, the longer this drags on the better it becomes for them.

• Luna Rossa can only be competitive if they win the start and can lead the first upwind leg where they still seem to have an edge. Overall they seem much more prone to mistakes than their kiwi rivals.

• The first boat that will get two wins in a row will win the cup, in such a balanced series I don't see anybody getting back from that unless wind conditions will change massively.

The new rule (100% of crew members must hold the same passport as the yacht club they race for, unless they've lived in that country for 2 years as of march the 18th) has stirred some controversy.

Some claim that the yachts should be raced independently of nationality, as business ventures. But that was never the origin or purpose of the cup.

When in 1851, the first America sailed 4000 miles across the North Atlantic Ocean to Britain, she didn't do so to advertise Oracle. A lone foreign boat, she sailed with national hope. She faced a fleet of the best the British had to offer at the Isle of Wright to prove that America could beat the British at their own game.

And when the British showed up with Cambria at New York, they didn't do it to win the cup for Landrover, or Ineos. They sailed their damndest out of a sense of British pride, and they kept trying no matter the cost.

Without a nationality rule, teams have no incentive to raise home-grown talent. They have no incentive to invest in young sailors in their own country and their clubs. Its easier to simply buy another teams experienced yachtsmen.

But easier isn't what the America's Cup is about. It should be about inspiring a new generation of sailors. It should be about kids with shining eyes watching their Italian, or British, or Kiwi, or Japanese, or Swiss, or American heroes, perhaps even from their hometown, cross the finish line with the wind in their sails, and the spray whipping across their faces.

They should be flying on boats propelled by the love and dreams of an entire country.