I work with a mostly New Zealand wine list at The Musket Room restaurant in Manhattan. As one of the few restaurants in the states that celebrates New Zealand cuisine (thanks to our Auckland native chef, Matt Lambert!) we also find ourselves celebrating other New Zealand feats, like yesterday's incredible Louis Vuitton Cup race-- the final qualifying race series before the boats compete for the America's Cup. The New Zealand team, Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ), won both races against the Italian team, Luna Rossa. They are racing each other up to 13 times-- the best of 13 will race the American team, Oracle, for the America's Cup. This means that the first team to score seven wins will move on to the next round. Yesterday's races brought New Zealand up to 4 wins.... three more to go!
I'm in San Francisco for a New Zealand wine seminar held in the ETNZ boatyard! Yesterday, we got to see the race from the water-- I was texting race updates back to The Musket Room kitchen so they'd know who was winning! There was much cause for celebrating after the race, and we did so with some great New Zealand wines at dinner.
Here are some stunning photos that we snapped of the race!
I'm in San Francisco for a New Zealand wine seminar held in the ETNZ boatyard! Yesterday, we got to see the race from the water-- I was texting race updates back to The Musket Room kitchen so they'd know who was winning! There was much cause for celebrating after the race, and we did so with some great New Zealand wines at dinner.
Here are some stunning photos that we snapped of the race!
These markers help define the course, and serve as a finish line. You can see the Bay Bridge in the background.
ETNZ sails down the coast line, taking advantage of the current patterns near the shore.
We had a great view of the bay from our bow!
I couldn't resist DiCaprioing and doing a 'King of the World' pose!
We sailed up to the Golden Gate Bridge-- one of the most amazing structures in the world!
On board, tasty New Zealand treats kept us satiated. These are pikelets- similar to baby pancakes. (....and if they look good, you can try them from The Musket Room brunch menu!).
ETNZ with the San Francisco skyline.
Here she is with a lead in the first race.
Ross Blackman (an original founder of the team) talked us through the race. Yes, I asked what his favorite New Zealand wine is. He reports, "I don't want to sound boring, but I love sauvignon blanc." He also loves Central Otago pinot noir. So do we, Ross!
During the race, the Italian boat, Luna Rossa, came around a bend just meters from our boat! Here she is coming right at us before the turn!
She made the turn and brushed right by us!
The crew was working hard!
<-- Luna Rossa is in pursuit of ETNZ.
Before the second race the boats sail by each other, sizing up the opponent...
During turns and at high speeds, the boats literally fly up out of the water.
<-- You can see this boat flying around a turn.
Here we have another lift off!
As ETNZ sailed across the finish line of the second race, the boat was high up out of the water, flying at 46 knots! (That's a very high speed! Most of the race happened between 10 and 23 knots).
This was an incredible sight to behold as the boat whizzed by us!
Back in the boatyard we caught a glimpse of the back-up wing.
Disassembling the boats is a pretty interesting process. As ETNZ sailed around the harbor on a victory lap, this huge crane lifted Luna Rossa out of the water, and the Italian team spent a half an hour separating the sail from the body of the boat!
<-- Here is the boat, suspended about 8 feet off the ground as the team removes the foils and prepares the sail for removal.
<-- Here is the boat, suspended about 8 feet off the ground as the team removes the foils and prepares the sail for removal.
The crane slowly lowers the sail for storage....
You can see all of the ETNZ supporters celebrating on the porch-- it was a great day!
You can see all of the ETNZ supporters celebrating on the porch-- it was a great day!
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