Herald yachting experts Paul Lewis and Dana Johannsen answer the burning questions from another dominant display by for Team New Zealand.
1. Did Ben Ainslie make a difference? If so, how?
Paul Lewis: No - Races 6 & 7 were just as convincing a defeat as Race 5 and comes down to one simple fact - upwind speed. Oracle Team USA made no mistakes today but it is hard to blame Kostecki for a move they planned and practised as a team the previous day but failed to pull off. Kostecki doesn't execute the tacks - he just calls 'em.
Dana Johannsen: No. There was little even the greatest sailor in the world could do to counteract Team NZ's upwind power and slick manoeuvring. It was a desperate play by Oracle that did not address their real concerns - poor boathandling and execution.
2. Ray Davies has got a lot of credit for engineering a spilt at the bottom mark in Race 6: was that the difference between winning and losing that race?
PL: No - it helped to play to NZ's upwind strengths but the race was won and lost when Barker & Davies called that dial-down and played chicken with OTUSA, forcing them to sail wide.
DJ: It helped, but Team NZ's upwind advantage is so great that you would expect they would have found a way to roll over top of Oracle regardless.
3. Was it important, if only for Dean Barker's peace of mind, to win a start in Race 7?
PL: Yes, it helps, but they could have a cup of tea and a lie-down at the start and still win the race if they keep their form and tactical decisions going. Their boat is faster upwind by a decisive amount.
DJ: Yes, as skipper you don't want to be putting your crew under any more pressure than you have to. Barker described his effort in the startbox in race 6 as a "shocker" and it was important he put things right in the second.
