Every year, two of the best sailing teams from around the world come together to compete for the America’s Cup through a series of match races in their own, large sailboats.  In this year’s America’s Cup, Team Oracle, representing the US, retained the cup in what is considered to be one of the greatest comebacks in sports history.

After falling behind 8-1 in the first-to-nine Cup format, Team Oracle USA overcame New Zealand’s Team Emirates by winning eight consecutive races.

Team Oracle USA also had to overcome a significant challenge in the race: during the warm-up sessions before racing, Team Oracle modified its boats, an illegal action in the race.  The modification to their boats was not made clear to the public and media. The penalty was two races, so to win the America’s Cup, Team Oracle had to win eleven races.

The victory resulted from the efforts of Larry Ellison, Oracle’s CEO, who chose to utilize $500 million to improve Team Oracle USA’s catamarans and team.  The new catamarans had features that allowed the team to sail to victory, reaching top speeds of fifty miles per hour, almost twice as fast as the wind.  The only power the catamaran has is the wind, but with engineers and mathematicians redesigning the catamaran, the catamaran was able to efficiently stream through the water and turn easily. The catamarans often cost around $100 million to construct.

Larry Ellison hopes that sailing becomes a more popular and better understood sport. Sailing is considered to be a dangerous sport, as last year a sailor lost his life when his catamaran capsized.  At such speeds, falling off the catamaran can be deadly.

Ninth grader Jayveon Montgomery commented, “I think [sailing] will become a popular sport.”

Freshman Selena Ralph also had positive things to say about sailing. “My dad is on a sailing team,” she noted.

According to the website for the 2016 Olympic Games, sailing has been popularized worldwide over the years  and is set to expand even more in the coming years as it becomes more familiar in America.

Sophomore William McMahon remarked, “I thinked [sailing] would be a great sport. I certainly would partake in it.”

With attitudes changing about sailing and Team Oracle USA holding the America’s Cup for another cycle, look for further interest in this timeless sport.