AC35: Day 2, Race 11 – Despite a pre-start penalty, NZL foils their way to a big win over GBR

NZL V. GBR. ETNZ TAKES A DUMB PENALTY for an early entry into the pre-start, giving GBR the early lead off the line – the penalty is the umpires signaling ETNZ to go slow until GBR is two boat lengths in the lead. Already at the end of the short Leg 2 run, Peter Burling's ETNZ gains an inside overlap and rounds ahead of Ben Ainslie & Co. on LRBAR. I think that's the first Leg 2 lead change we've seen. ETNZ speeds away to a big win even in the shifty conditions, demonstrating again good speed and super smooth foil-borne tacking and jibing. Meanwhile, LRBAR drops to six knots on several jibes, looking every bit the unstable slow-pokes that SI's pre-regatta protections made them out to be. This is the day's most boring race, ETNZ's hilarious pre-start penalty being the highlight. Maybe the other highlight is the new term "over-flying" introduced by NBCSN commentator Ken Read to describe Ben Ainslie's struggles after the windward gates. More on that in a later report. ETNZ wins by a dishearteningly (for GBR) large lead of 1m28s. "Issues to address" as NBCSN commentator "Crack Spotter Ali" right pronounced as RBAR crossed the finish line.

After a brain-fart in the pre-start, ETNZ sped away to a 1m28s win over LRBAR.