Suzanne McFadden: Burlingnators hard to swallow as Team NZ chokes

QUOTE-UNQUOTE: In Bermuda, Burling sits at the press conference table, looking like a puppy who’s been hit with a stick. His doleful eyes seem to tell the story of a fledgling helmsman, who under pressure made two mistakes too many against the wiliest of rivals.“Today was a pretty good learning experience,” he says. “Obviously, we weren’t good enough out there today, but we’ll address that and come back stronger.” Spithill, in his usual combative style, declares he revelled in the pressure of the race, before suggesting that the Kiwi team could blame a lack of communication on board for their errors. "Both times we've raced Team New Zealand they've made some pretty fundamental mistakes," he says."I think that's something that's powerful for us, having a dedicated tactician like Tom Slingsby to tackle those tricky situations on the race course. On the other boat, they don’t have any of that. You can hear it in their communication.” –Veteran AC scribe and esteemed NZL journalist Suzanne McFadden, writing today (Sunday in NZL) for newsroom.co.nz. It is a terrific article. Read it here.

Dawn Patrol very early Sunday morning at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron as Emirates Team NZ take on Oracle Team USA. Photo courtesy of Suzanne McFadden and newsroom.co.nz.