Another Dark Day For Young America

Nothing but stern.

That’s what skipper Dennis Conner and his crew aboard Young America saw of Black Magic 1 for the second straight race as Team New Zealand’s rocket ship made history in the America’s Cup.

Slow at the start but uncatchable after getting the first wind shift, the Kiwis led at every turning mark and overwhelmed Conner’s borrowed boat by 4 minutes, 14 seconds on Monday.

Black Magic 1 became the first foreign yacht in 61 years to take a 2-0 lead over a U.S. defender. In 1934, England’s Endeavour won the first two races, then lost four straight to Rainbow.

And it was the biggest margin by a challenger over a defender since England’s Livonia beat Columbia by 15:10 in 1871. Nonetheless, Columbia and Sappho ganged up on Livonia to win the series 4-1.

New Zealand’s short America’s Cup history is marked by collapse, but Team New Zealand has shown no weaknesses in this regatta. It is 39-1 on the water in four months of racing and needs to win just three more races in the best-of-nine series to take the America’s Cup to Auckland, the City of Sails. Race 3 is today.