4.45pm
Oracle BMW Racing and GBR Challenge picked up winds and wins in this afternoon's races of the Louis Vuitton Cup series, while Alinghi and Prada had to abandon their match in the boisterous conditions.
Flight eight was sailed this morning in the afternoon it was to be the three rescheduled races
from flight four. All were on the shortened 12.5 mile courses.
This afternoon Oracle picked up their second win of the day, and fifth win in a row, beating Team Dennis Conner. Ken Read was at the helm of Stars & Stripes after Conner himself drove the boat in the team's earlier race win overly the struggling Mascalzone Latino challenge. Oracle led at every mark, with margins of 15s, 9s, and 28s before winning by 18s.
The French Le Defi challenge snatched defeat after leading GBR challenge at the first mark by 8 seconds and second mark by 10 seconds. Some sloppy sail handling on the French boat enable the British to overtake on the second windward leg to lead by 12 seconds at the top mark. GBR added two seconds to their margin on the run home.
The race between Alinghi and Prada was abandoned when winds exceeded 25 knots. The abandonment would have been welcome news for Alinghi, who were contending with a broken spinnaker pole.
nzherald.co.nz/americascup
Racing schedule, results and standings
