34th America's Cup Final Race, San Francisco, California, USA - 25 September 2013

[Here's an update to my previous post on Monday] With Team USA making another excellent comeback to win races 17 and 18 on Tuesday and closing the score to a tie of 8-8, Wednesday's race 19 was going to be THE winner-takes-all final race. The first to win 9 races wins the Cup. Hence, on Wednesday, I returned to the pier and watched the race live as a guest of Oracle. It was pleasantly nice to wine and dine at the Oracle Box and to see the race from an upper elevation perspective at the deck. Noticeably, there were more people at the event Wednesday than Monday - both on water and on land.

This was a fairy-tale win for Team USA. They had previously incurred a penalty imposed by the International Jury for a rule violation in previous events which nullified their first two wins. The team then trailed Team New Zealand by a large margin but managed a dramatic comeback to win the Cup. It's unbelievable to think how close Team New Zealand was to winning - since last Wednesday, they were one victory away from winning the "Auld Mug". I couldn't begin to imagine the mental anguish and pressure for both teams in the past week or two. Team USA seemed to have a better strategy over the Kiwis at the final race. They were able to make incredible turns at the marks and held a good boat speed momentum (averaging at 30+ knots) throughout most of the race.

After all the trials and hurdles, the Cup is now over. There will always be critics and judgments about the event. Whether this Cup was an ego-boost for the Oracle founder or if Team USA had an unfair advantage, as a first-hand witness to the Cup, I have to say that this was a well put-together show for families and sports enthusiasts. Ultimately, in my opinion, this was a competitive sport of team building and working hard with and circumventing the natural elements. It brought together great minds and talents to innovate and build a state-of-the-art sailboat that challenged the status quo. This was not an environment for the faint-hearted prima donna or whiner - it takes humility and courage to step up to the plate. For these reasons, my hats off to the sailors and organizers!