In brisk winds on Saturday, Emirates Team New Zealand’s hopes of winning the America’s Cup nearly came to an end when they came perilously close to capsizing during a tack in Race 8 of the Americas’ Cup races in San Francisco. The Kiwi wingsail did not release in time during the tack and the boat rolled high on one hull before slowly righting itself.  Two AC72s have capsized in practice sails. In both cases, each boat was significantly damaged, and in one case a man was killed.

Race 9 was cancelled due to winds being too strong.  Oracle Team USA came back with a win after two losses to the Kiwis and showed improved windward performance overall.  Notwithstanding the considerable point lead by the Kiwis, Oracle is clearly not out of the competition.