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Emirates Team New Zealand sails - Source: Reuters
Bright and sunny outside, deeply gloomy inside - the fate of Emirates Team New Zealand after a shudderingly disappointing and dismal showing in the finals of the America's Cup World Series in the Portugese port of Cascais.
Every day this week the Kiwi have pulled one out of the bag to sit at the top of the points table, outwitting the America's Cup holder James Spithill.
This time though the Aussie had the last laugh, Spithill needing just two races in the best of three final to clean out the Cascais leg of the match racing series.
Problems with the gennaker were the Kiwis' problem, losing crucial time without the sails drawing.
Skipper Dean Barker refused to blame his tools and insisted the issue was one of poor technique furling the big red gennaker allowing the sail to billow out and wine-glass.
The result is that the cat slows dramatically, the crew has a real handful trying to douse the kite and the race is lost in an instant.
That furling technique will have to be refined fast if the Kiwis are to try and recover some of their mana with a win in the fleet racing final.
Certainly it was strange to watch the first prize-giving ceremony in years at which ETNZ has not been tasting champagne on the podium.
That will have hurt and will no doubt be incentive itself to emerge from this first America's Cup World Series with at least one title.
