Editorial: Sharper knife needed

Oracle's automatic foil gadget was scarcely mentioned when we were winning. Photo / Oracle

A friend emailed me last night saying Emirates Team New Zealand had to recall merchandise as the items contained a "choking hazard".

Jokes are, of course, a coping mechanism. So, too, are the excuses, particularly the one hammered ad nauseam by Kiwi commentators Martin Tasker and Peter Lester during the final duel yesterday.

Their consistent citing of Larry Ellison's deep pockets and technology advantage dominated much of their last (thankfully) commentary leg.

Oracle's automatic foil gadget was scarcely mentioned when we were winning.

Let's not forget the Aussies copped similar flak for sporting a winged keel in 1983 - and in doing so ended the New York Yacht Club's 132-year America's Cup tenure.

Let's not forget also that "catamaran" was a distinctly dirty word in these parts during Dennis Conner's reign.

We embrace technology when it serves our purpose.

Certainly I don't disagree with the commentary duo that it was the difference in this epic. Yet such yachting evolution should be celebrated, not used as a crutch when we lose. Ellison and his empire have lifted sailing to a level never before seen - as did America's Cup bankrollers Alan Bond and our own Michael Fay before him. No one complained about wealthy benefactors then.

Yachting purists should be lauding the performance of the software magnate's two-wheeler, not lamenting it.

So "choking" is a misnomer. It implies fragility of mind. Physics cost us the Cup, not pyschology. We brought a knife to a gunfight. The only question is whether our Government will dish out another $36million (about $8per Kiwi) for a sharper knife.

For the record, I'm in for $8.