Emirates Team New Zealand beat Artemis Racing on Tuesday in a rematch of their controversial America's Cup encounter a day before, when the Swedish crew were incorrectly penalized. The win gives the New Zealand challenger a fifth victory in their revolutionary catamaran, which features four cycling pedestals to give the sailors the power they need for the hydraulics which control the boats foils and "wing" sail. Although Artemis had the better start and led for much of the race after a dramatic nosedive by the New Zealand crew plunged their cyclist sailors into the water, the Swedish team then lost ground with a tactical error that cost them the race. Artemis had Monday's head-to-head "match race" against New Zealand in the bag before they were penalized by the race umpire at the final mark and had to watch New Zealand sail past them. The America's Cup umpires later made the unusual move of admitting they had made a mistake and the race should have belonged to Artemis, but it was too late to change the result. Winds of up to 16 knots in Bermuda's Great Sound made for another great race between the blue and yellow 50-foot (15 meter) foiling catamaran of Artemis and the black, red and white New Zealand boat, which reached speeds of up to 40 knots. Each of the six teams races the other twice in the head-to-head match race format, with a point for the winner. The challenger with the fewest points at the end of the qualifiers will not go through to the next semi-final round. In pursuit of revenge for their stunning defeat in San Francisco four years ago, Emirates Team New Zealand are setting themselves apart from rivals as they challenge for the 35th America's Cup, both on and off the water. On the water, they have caught their competitors off-guard with a pioneering switch to pedals to power their catamaran's hydraulics, while on land they were notably absent when other top teams endorsed a "framework agreement" for the future of the oldest trophy in international sport. Oracle Team USA, Britain's Land Rover BAR, Groupama Team France, SoftBank Team Japan and Sweden's Artemis Racing all signed up to the plan to boost the number of competitors by capping the multimillion dollar costs of the high-tech boats. It also aims to make it easier to raise sponsorship and strike broadcast deals. Emirates New Zealand's abstention raises the stakes for this America's Cup because if they win the trophy they will be in the driving seat for deciding what type of boat will be raced in the next cup, and where. Lurking behind the decision is the team's CEO Grant Dalton. "Dalts", as he is known, may no longer be leading on board the boat, but the veteran sailor wields huge influence behind the scenes. The competition is being held in Bermuda, with qualifying races already under way as five teams seek to become the challenger to Oracle Team USA in the America's Cup Match next month. Whether Emirates Team New Zealand does lift the cup this time around will depend partly on the other big gamble the team has taken to set itself apart from the rest of the pack. New Zealand's switch to pedal power, with four fixed cycling positions on board their 50-foot catamaran rather than traditional winches, was a closely guarded secret which left the other teams with no time to copy their radical step. Only the US crew, who overturned a seemingly unbeatable New Zealand lead in a stunning comeback in 2013, has been able to come up with anything similar before the event began, hastily fitting a single cycling position in the rear of its hulls. New Zealand's unusual row of pedaling sailors, including a former Olympic cyclist, appear more aerodynamic than the "grinders" on the hand-powered winches of other teams. And by supplying more power for longer, they provide additional grunt for the hydraulic systems used to control their boat. Their catamaran is helmed by New Zealander and Rio Olympic gold medalist Peter Burling, 26, the youngest of the six helmsmen, who is new to one-on-one 'match' racing. But sitting immediately in front of him is one of the most accomplished multihull sailors in the shape of team skipper and sailing director Glenn Ashby, who operates the hydraulic controls that control the boat's wing sail. Ashby, an Australian who has an Olympic silver medal to his name, won the cup with Oracle Team USA in 2010 but will want to erase the memory of losing with New Zealand in San Francisco. – Reuters
