As we countdown to the 35th America’s Cup The Royal Gazette will bring you one fun fact a day about the boats, the sailors, the crew, or the history of this illustrious competition. There are now 19 days until the month-long sporting spectacle gets under way.

On September 19, 2013 at the America’s Cup held on San Francisco Bay, Team New Zealand could have wrapped things up in the first scheduled race of the day. Emirates Team New Zealand’s skipper Dean Barker was aggressive in the pre-start. It did not pay off, and Jimmy Spithill from Oracle Team USA, representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club, was able to get into a position where the Kiwis were forced to keep clear. From that lead off the start line, Oracle led the whole race to win race twelve by 31 seconds on the line.

During the upwind leg, Oracle’s performance was excellent, which including getting up on the foils at speeds approaching 32 knots. Oracle gained their second point to take the score to 2–8.

The start time for the second race of the day was pushed back several times due to the wind exceeding the allowed limit. At one point the teams were able to enter the box, but the wind then exceeded the limit again. Racing was then postponed for the day, allowing Oracle to stay alive for another day.

In the end Oracle Team USA defended the America’s Cup by a score of 9 to 8. Oracle had to win the last eight races to come from behind and once again win the oldest trophy in international sport.

Team New Zealand won the right to challenge for the cup by winning the 2013 Louis Vuitton Cup. The 34th America’s Cup was the longest ever cup by both number of days and races, and the first since the 25th America’s Cup to feature a winner-take-all final race.