Originally built for off-the-breeze tradewind races like the Transpac, from Los Angeles to Hawaii, Pyewacket's performance over a rugged, upwind course was impressive.
When the Race Committee chairman blew his horn, off they went, gliding south toward the Statue of Liberty and the course's upwind buoy.
Among them, it calls for an upwind-and-back course for the first and third races that is 40 nautical miles long, and a 39-mile triangular course for the second.
The Deed of Gift also sets the size of the course — 20 miles upwind and 20 miles back for the first race and for the third, if necessary.
Given the potential speed differences and the length of the course — 20 miles upwind to a buoy, called the top mark, and 20 miles back on the first day — it is likely that after some maneuvering at the start, the boats will speed off on different tacks, paying little or no attention to each other.
Moths that were initially flying downwind change course and start flying crosswind whilst those that initially flew crosswind change course and start flying upwind.
For the second day, Oracle's starting helmsman, Peter Holmberg, executed a perfect start, striking out for the left side of the course in the favored upwind position.
The course for the first race, 20 miles upwind and 20 miles back, as stipulated in a 19th-century document known as the Deed of Gift, which governs the race, is far longer than that of the usual America's Cup race.
The pair operate differently to most crews in that Percy, as the helmsman, calls the tactics upwind, before Simpson, with a better view of the course, takes over the strategy downwind leaving Percy to concentrate on boat speed.
It allows a boat to get ahead of its competition, then once upwind of its rival, foul the air coming down the course, slowing the other boat further.
