VALENCIA, Spain (Reuters):ALINGHI BEAT Team New Zealand by 19 seconds in one of the most dramatic races of the America's Cup yesterday to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-nine series.
The 32nd America's Cup has been one of the most exciting ever and yesterday added yet more colour to the edition as Team New Zealand chased Alinghi out between the spectator boats at the start, then ripped their spinnaker in two, half an hour later.
The pre-start dogfight left guests on the VIP and media boats open-mouthed as the sleek 24-metre boats sailed by within spitting distance.
Crossed the line first
The Kiwis crossed the line first and led up the first beat to turn the top mark 12 seconds ahead. But as they were heading downwind, they spotted a hole in their bright red spinnaker.
Just as they were getting ready to hoist a new kite, the 500-square-metre spinnaker ripped in two and flew into the air.
The second spinnaker turned out not to be tied on properly, so as it went up, it also flicked out, fluttering from the top of the mast like a flag.
Number three came out of the sail store in the belly of the boat but as they hoisted their final spinnaker, this one got tangled halfway up, turning into a big 'wineglass'.
Kiwis kept their heads
Amazingly, the Kiwis kept their heads, eventually untwisted the third spinnaker and cut the other two free, dropping them in the water like a huge blood spill.
"That was an important race and it wasn't one we should have lost on a mistake on a move we've practised time and again," said Grant Dalton, managing director for Team New Zealand - which won the Cup in 1995 and 2000 butlost to Alinghi in 2003.
Team New Zealand chased Alinghi back and quickly closed down a lot of the gap, but by that stage, the Swiss crew were in control and led the rest of the race.
The 32nd America's Cup, the first to be raced in Europe since the initial race in 1851, has added plenty of lore to the storied history of the world's oldest running sporting event.
For the first time since 1992, Team New Zealand has broken the jinx of the Cup loser going down without winning a single race, setting up a real battle for the tall, silver 'Auld Mug'.
