First Day of Americas Cup Final Team Oracle starts in the hole and keeps digging.

Hope for a competitive Final Series in the America's Cup was muted when a 2 point penalty was assessed against Team Oracle for cheating in the 45 competition.

Larry Ellison's Sailing Team Was Slammed With Huge Penalties For Cheating 

"Now a jury for the America's Cup has imposed severe penalties on the team, harsher than any in the race's 162-year-old history, reports Reuters Ronnie Cohen. The jury docked the team two "points" and kicked three people off the team. Oracle also has to pay $250,000 to two charitable foundations. The America's Cup finals are a series of 17 races. Those two points mean that Oracle will need to win 11 races while its competitor, Emirates Team New Zealand, will only need to win 9."

After the first day of racing, it does not look like Team New Zealand will need those two penalty points. The first race looked competitive for a while, but the Kiwi's seem to have Larry's boys outclassed.


As noted in prior posts, we've got a view of about half the course from our vantage on Russian Hill. Sigrid got out the long lens and I was playing around with time-lapse video on the droid and conventional video from the Olympus Stylus Tough. I suspect this may not last more than a week, so we'll enjoy it while we can. Some sample shots from the terrace:

 

UPDATE:New York Times coverage of the race:

Already in Hole, Oracle Drops First Two Races to New Zealand

Jim Wilson/The New York Times

SAN FRANCISCO — Emirates Team New Zealand skimmed above the waves of San Francisco Bay faster and better than the defending champion, Oracle Team USA, on Saturday to win the first two races of the 34th America’s Cup.