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Ben Ainslie - Source: ONE Sport -
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British sailor Ben Ainslie holds the outright lead after a tight first day's competition at the Auckland match racing regatta on Waitemata Harbour on Wednesday.
After eight flights of racing in shifty winds and strong tides, Ainslie emerged at the head of a high-calibre featuring several seasoned America's Cup campaigners with six wins and two losses. New Zealanders Dean Barker and Adam Minoprio were one win behind him, along with Frenchman Bertrand Pace.
Ainslie bounced back from losing two of his first three races - by 35 seconds to Polish skipper Karol Jablonski and by 9sec to Barker - to win his last five races in fairly comfortable style.
The most keenly-awaited match of the day saw Minoprio pip Barker by 8sec, in a race which saw the lead change hands twice and Barker penalised.
Barker said dominating the regatta would be difficult because of the calibre of sailors.
"It is very hard to win races. Everybody is sailing well and
everybody is losing some matches," he said.
Tighest race
Barker managed to win the tightest race of the day, coming from behind to beat Sebastien Col of France by 1sec.
The biggest margin was Ainslie's one minute 31sec romp against Pace, where the Frenchman was penalised twice during a fiery luffing match.
The match racing regatta is run by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and uses identical MRX yachts. It comprises a double round-robin, semifinals and final, finishing on Saturday.
It is the opening event of the Auckland Festival of Sailing, which also includes the Louis Vuitton Trophy and the BMW Sailing World Cup final.
Standings after eight flights (NZ unless stated):
Ben Ainslie (Great Britain) 6 wins, Dean Barker 5, Adam Minoprio 5, Bertrand Pace (France) 5, Karol Jablonski (Poland) 4, Torvar Mirsky (Australia) 3, Chris Dickson 3, Magnus Holmberg (Sweden) 3, Sebastien Col (France) 3, Francesco Bruni (Italy) 3
