Kiwis primed for semi-finals 

Source: Bob Grie/Louis Vuitton Trophy, Nice Côte d'AzurLouis Vuitton Trophy boats compete

Louis Vuitton Race Day 11

A treat today. A lie in. Amazing the difference it makes when your body wakes up when it wants to and not when it's told to.

The reason for the luxury was the decision to wait for the later breeze to fill in with the idea of sailing the remaining match between Emirates Team New Zealand and the Russian Synergy team in brisker conditions.

It didn't work otaskaaaut that way of course. For a while it seemed the extra sleep I'd had might have actually been hibernation because the day I woke up to was positively balmy and I cycled in to work in shorts and a polo shirt.

We went out about mid-day and it was oily calm and stayed that way. The hoped for breeze never materialized just as the Principal Race Officer Peter "Luigi" Reggio had feared. He'd been keen to have an early start but sponsor obligations led to the decision to go later.

Luigi sidled up later and said he had four words. I pre-empted him: "I-told-you-so."

Luigi nodded. Such are the vagaries of weather.

And that will be the Kiwis' prime concern as they head into the semis. Dean Barker calls it a minefield with so many imponderables, a northerly off the land swinging to either a southerly or easterly sea breeze of sorts wobbling down the course in a tactician's nightmare.

In essence this is the sudden death stage of the regatta. The semis are best of three. Lose and you're out, so picking the correct side of the course is vital..

As top qualifier Barker got to choose his opponent and trying to second guess him is always an interesting game. On the camera boat waiting for wind we weighed up the pros and cons and eventually decided we'd go for the Russian team Synergy, with the colourful Karol Jablonksi at the helm.

We reckoned he'd avoid his old sparring partner Ben Ainslie on Team Origin, who'd inflicted ETNZ's only defeat so far, and he might be wary of the long experience of Mediterranean conditions accrued by Francesco Bruni on the Italian Azzurra team.

Synergy it is, the over-achieving Jablonski planning another upset while Barker hopes he can maintain his form.

The teams get a day off tomorrow. We'll be in the edit suites compiling the next half hour highlights show before heading back onto the water for the semis on Thursday - fingers crossed.