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Team New Zealand - Source: Photosport -
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With just two days of round robin racing remaining, Team New Zealand has left a hungry pack of four teams struggling in their wake at the Louis Vuitton Trophy yachting regatta off Auckland.
All4One, (Germany-France), Azzurra (Italy), Mascalzone Latino (Italy) and the British-based Team Origin each have three points and are fighting to catch the thus-far unbeatable New Zealanders with five.
Dean Barker and Team New Zealand on Sunday shrugged off a broken spinnaker pole to down Azzurra - skippered by Francesco Bruni - by 42 seconds, in a race which would have seen the Italians draw level on points with the New Zealanders had they won.
Barker's team offered the Italians a slender opportunity when they broke their spinnaker pole at the first weather mark, but recovered well to take out what was still a one-sided match.
Barker's tactics before the start were clinical; he wanted the left and fought for it. The New Zealanders got under the transom of the Italian boat to control them before the gun, then headed out to the left at speed while Bruni could only tack away and go right.
They were 1000 metres apart on the short harbour course before the Italians came back to trail by eight boat lengths at the first mark.
New Zealand showed a crack in their impeccable crew work as the spinnaker pole end dropped overboard at the hoist and broke as it wrapped around the shrouds.
But the chute went up as planned and they sailed both runs with the spinnaker clipped to the bow.
Conditions were ideal for racing, with almost flat water and a southerly breeze that ranged from 12 to 20 knots with some big shifts and puffs.
Artemis vs Mascalzone Latino
Paul Cayard and Artemis lost a vital match against Mascalzone Latino on a penalty call when he was judged to have gybed too closely in the pre-start struggle.
Although Cayard was adamant the foul was not justified, Mascalzone Latino's New Zealand skipper Gavin Brady saw things differently.
"In this game, the rules are pretty strict and we've got umpires watching us. He couldn't quite get his boat onto starboard. He was desperately trying to, but the rules of sailing say the sail has to be set and he couldn't get his sail through (in time)," Brady said.
Artemis led off the line to control the first beat and was leading by less than a boat length at the top mark until a very untidy situation on Mascalzone Latino when the spinnaker flew loose from the tack.
Brady's boat lost five boat lengths but pulled it back on the subsequent legs to overtake Artemis on the last run, surviving an Artemis protest as they sailed through the Swedish boat's lee.
They came to the line together with Mascalzone Latino one length clear, the winning margin extended to 1min 03sec after the Artemis penalty turn.
