Dana Johannsen: Heart-stopping moment signals start of real sailing

The two giant, skittish, carbon-fibre marvels of engineering provided many tight crosses and near misses over the course of the regatta. Photo / ACEA

The old yachting romantics told me there's nothing like the first leg of the first race of the America's Cup.

It's the time when all the scheming, protest room shenanigans and all the other craziness which goes with the contest are finally cast aside and the points are scored on the water.

There's nowhere for the teams to hide once they hit the racecourse.

The first leg is a forerunner to what will transpire throughout the regatta. That first reach - the fast and furious 40-second sprint to the first mark - would tell us what we could expect from the rest of the contest.

Or so they said.

The first leg of the 34th America's Cup match two Sundays ago gave us no clue as to who would emerge the eventual winner. What it did tell us was it would be hideously tense, stomach-wrenchingly tight, high-octane racing.

And unlike anything we've ever seen before.

After getting the jump over the line, Dean Barker, positioned to windward, powered over the top of Oracle Team USA. As the boats entered the three-boat-length zone at the first turning mark, Team New Zealand had just enough clear space in front of Oracle to round the mark ahead.

Spithill thought differently. Convinced he had the overlap, the aggressive Oracle skipper tried a spectacular high-speed luff on Barker as he set up for the bear away.

Kicking up clouds of spray, Oracle's bows swung perilously close across the Kiwi's stern. The penalty was quickly waved away by the umpires, much to the disbelief of Spithill.

Back in the media centre, long-time sailing scribes were feeling disbelief of a different kind.

We all sat there gaping at the screen as the two giant, skittish, carbon-fibre marvels of engineering travelled at speeds in excess of 80km/h with just a few metres separating them. After months of one-boat races and straightforward Team New Zealand victories, that first, nerve-jangling reach told us we finally had a real contest.

That uncomfortable feeling that reached down into the pit of my stomach scarcely went away during the finals series. It was the first of many tight crosses, near-misses and heart-stopping moments.

But there's nothing like the first leg of the first race of an America's Cup match.