Wednesday 27 June 2007

An America's Cup classic...

In one of the greatest America's Cup clashes in recent memory, Team New Zealand staged an unbelievable comeback to pull ahead in the series, 2-1.

Weather conditions for the 3rd America's Cup race were not favourable. Shifty light winds and choppy seas forced a delay of several hours, and when racing did get underway, required great tactics and faultless operation. As it happened, both teams suffered from errors and the lead changed 3 times over the closely fought challenge. Alinghi took an 8 second advantage at the start, but Team New Zealand immediately got the advantage of shifting winds to pull ahead with a 1 minute 31 lead at the first mark. At the second Team New Zealand's race seemed all but over when a spinnaker change went disastrously wrong, and $40,000 of Nylon had to be cut with a knife. With only a 21 second deficit, Alinghi maintained speed and by the third mark they'd taken a 1 minute 17 lead and on past performance, looked set for the finish and a second win of the cup. Some poor decision making by the Swiss and a remarkable comeback by Team New Zealand saw them crossing the finish 25 seconds ahead of the defeated and deflated defenders of the cup. It might only have been a race victory, but it will be interesting to see what longer-lasting impact such a heavy defeat has on Alinghi's psyche.

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