The most fundamental America’s Cup tradition is alive and well: The fastest boat usually wins.  The Kiwis’ unique talent for thinking outside the box has paid off handsomely with a decisive 8-1  win. The cyclors were the most obvious of their innovations, and provided more efficient power generation to enable sophisticated control systems for the wing, daggerboards and rudders. Their light air boards let them get up into foiling mode quickly, and also performed well further up the wind range. The combination of foil shape, control systems and crew work allowed them to whip the boat through tacks and stay on the foils all the way around the race course. They kept their bicycle grinding under wraps until they launched their race boat, knowing that other teams would not have time to re-engineer all their systems to take advantage of the extra power. It was a textbook example of how to mount a successful America’s Cup campaign and harked back to the clean sweeps of 1995 and 2000.

The tradition of first-time teams needing to gain experience also held true. Groupama Team France, Land Rover BAR and SoftBank Team Japan were the first teams eliminated. Artemis Racing showed tremendous progress since their first campaign in 2013. Iain Percy’s men were the only team to beat Oracle in the round robin Qualifiers, and were robbed of a win against the Kiwis in the round robin when a rare umpire error penalized them incorrectly. After dispatching SoftBank Team Japan in the semi-finals, Artemis scored two wins against the Kiwis in the Challenger Playoff Finals.

The high speed foiling catamarans have delivered surprisingly good match racing. We saw a variety of pre-start moves, including a dial-up, hooks and timed runs for high speed starts. On the race course, the leader was often able to cover their opponent. In the 19 races of the 2013 Match, there was only one lead change after the windward gate. This year we saw dial-downs and close tactical moves late in the race. In the Challenger Finals, Artemis even threatened to chase down the Kiwis on the last leg to the finish line. We also had a spectacular Kiwi pitchpole at the start of a semi-final race against BAR. Three of their cyclors literally went over the handlebars. Thankfully there were no serious injuries. Miraculously the boat builders repaired the ugly looking damage to the fairings and wing and the unseen damage to electronics and systems. The Kiwi boat builders were helped by high winds the day after the capsize, blowing off the racing and giving them an extra day to complete their work.

The boats are seductively fast, but top end speed was not the ultimate objective. Lift off speed and maneuverability were more important than trying to hit 50 knots.  Teams seemed to have chosen a top target speed somewhere above 40 knots and then sailed surprisingly deep angles on the downwind legs – up to 160° off the true wind.

Keeping with tradition, the weather played havoc with the schedule. Strong wind and rain delayed the first day of racing and the opening ceremony with its skydivers and fireworks. Two windless days and one more high wind day meant that almost a fourth of the scheduled race days were lost. Luckily the Match could be sailed on schedule – crucial to the nationwide live broadcast in the US. Focusing the revenue model on “linear” television instead of building on a “digital first” strategy seems  mired in 20^th century thinking and ignores the vagaries of the weather.

As the prospect of a Kiwi win became apparent, the debates about nationality and returning to monohulls bubbled up once again. Anyone who came to Bermuda could see that these debates are unnecessary. With up to seven J Class yachts out racing with crews of 30 top sailors, many of them former America’s Cup winners, there was plenty of spectacular racing for fans of big monohulls. This part of the event needs to be better integrated into the main events. Captain Nat Herreshoff must be smiling as he reflects on the 2017 America’s Cup. He loved speed and his favorite designs were his catamarans. In 1876, his first catamaran, “Amaryllis,” finished first in the US Centennial Regatta and was promptly disqualified, for not being a traditional “yacht.” He went on to become the most important player in America’s Cup history, with his giant monohulls winning six America’s Cup matches in a row. Not only did he design and build these yachts for the tycoons of the day, he helmed his first winner, “Vigilant,” in 1893. The 21^st century America’s Cup can build on the traditions Herreshoff began in the 19^th century.

One new tradition has become an instant success: the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup. Four of the winning youth crew from 2013 moved up to the Kiwi pro team, including helmsman Peter Burling. Five other sailors from the 2013 youth teams found places in with Oracle, Team Japan and Artemis Racing. The youth teams have a 100% nationality rule. The J Class provide monohull majesty. The Endeavour youth sailing program attracted new young sailors and let them show off their skills for the crowds at the America’s Cup Village. The Bermuda America’s Cup delivered a valuable mix of new and old traditions to be leveraged into the future.