Blog: Positioning, not speed the key in race one

Alinghi and Team New Zealand approach the windward mark during race one of the 32nd America's Cup. Photo / Reuters

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Well race one is done and dusted in the America's Cup and it wasn't exactly the result Kiwi fans were looking for.

The way Alinghi won race one was intriguing.

Going into this many thought Alinghi would be quicker but that usually means upwind. What we observed was two evenly matched boats upwind, the crucial first cross was created by wind shift and positioning as opposed to speed.

Downwind was where Alinghi were dominant. Alinghi gained seven seconds on the first run and 21 seconds on the final run. That wasn't wind shift or pressure it was boat speed.

Upwind Team New Zealand didn't look as strong on the first beat as they did in the second. It wouldn't surprise me if they used a different genoa on the second upwind beat. Up the second beat their genoa looked a lot flatter. Today the conditions, which were 14-15 knots with big waves, were tailor made for Alinghi. It will be interesting to see the relative performance of the boats in flatter seas and slightly lighter breeze.

The send off the teams got this morning was magnificent. There were people everywhere. America's Cup management reckoned by the end of the day 70,000 people would have visited the port.

Visit Peter Lester's website Full coverage of the America's Cup from nzherald.co.nz/americascup and desktoptv.co.nz