The oldest continuous trophy in sport that is still being competed for today is the America’s Cup. In 1851, an American-designed and built schooner, ‘America,’ began to compete in various regattas in the United Kingdom. In every race she entered, she destroyed the competition. Their ships were a point of pride for the English, and thus they were both very impressed and dismayed by this advanced vessel showing them how racing is done. The final big event of the season was a race around the Isle of Wight. America would go on to win the event and take the trophy home here to New York City. Approximately every 4 years since the cup has been competed for in the most advanced boats the world has seen. The Cup has outlived the Confederacy, Fascism, and the Soviet Union. Those more astute of you may have noticed that here on Stevens campus, we have a coffee shop called the America’s Cup, which tells this story. That is because it is the Stevens family that designed, built, raced America, and founded the New York Yacht Club, one of the most prestigious yacht clubs in the world.
Many, many stories have come out of this event. However, one of those stories is the greatest comeback in sports history. The book The Comeback tells the story of the 2013 America’s Cup race in my own San Francisco Bay. The America’s Cup is raced in match-racing style, where two boats race against one another, the first to the finish wins. This requires intense tactical play and perfect control of the boats, as one tiny slip-up can cost you everything. The finale of the event saw the reigning defender, Larry Ellison’s Oracle Racing, competing against Team New Zealand. Over the course of 18 days these teams would race their high-speed, high-performance boats to the very limit of sailing technology. These boats had already claimed one life, so there was more than just the Cup on the line. Due to some cheating and simply not being able to sail the boat as well as the New Zealanders, the Americans found themselves seven points behind; Six to negative one after eight days. Soon after, they were still seven points behind — eight to one — and New Zealand was only one race away from total victory of the most prized trophy in sport.
This is where G. Bruce Knecht begins his story in The Comeback. Over the course of a very short book, Knecht details the technological changes that had to occur over very short periods with no testing. He introduces us to the characters, the Oracle team, and the crew changes that were required to make the American boat competitive. Finally, he tells the story of the races themselves, how Oracle Racing won eight races in a row, creating history and overcoming a century and a half of superstitious karma.
Sailing isn’t the most well-known sport. It’s too complex to be shown on TV, and it’s too inaccessible for everyone to learn how it works. However, this book makes you fall in love not with the idea of drinking champagne and eating caviar on a yacht, but with the nitty gritty and the triumphant that is racing yachts.
