There was another spooky coincidence hanging over yesterday's watery drama. OneAustralia skipper John Bertrand had just arrived in Auckland to watch the racing, and was out on the gulf when Young America sent out a mayday call.
As Young America smashed off a huge wave during a tack, the damage was immediate.
"The boat folded and the boom crashed down on the deck. I don't remember the sound, my first thought was to make sure the guys were okay," Baird said.
"Then the boat folded some more and it sounded like it wasn't going to stop. It was time to jump in, but the hardest part is swimming in all that wet-weather gear.
"We had a bunch of Whitbread guys saying 'we're outta here.'"
All but two of the crew jumped into the sea. Baird was not impressed with those who stayed on board.
"I turned around and saw we still had two people on the boat - that made me unhappy," he said. "I told them to get off - and eventually they did. I guess they thought they were doing the best thing.
"But once you see those boats start to go down, there's no reason to think they're going to stop."
One Australia skipper John Bertrand could not believe the feeling of deja vu.
"It's a remarkably similar situation to our boat sinking. The bend in the boat is very similar. But our keel ripped the hull apart underneath," he said.
"It appears to be a compression failure through the deck. It didn't rip apart through the hull otherwise it would have sunk.
"The conditions were not as bad here as they were in San Diego. It was about 18 to 20 knots, where we had 22. But the frequency of waves, and wind against tide, was what did it.
"The boats really are very sensitive. If they made them strong enough they wouldn't break. It's catastrophic structural damage."
While the mayday calls were reverberating around the Hauraki Gulf, the rest of the America's Cup challengers battled on.
After being downed by the wooden-spoon Swiss the day before, Hawaii's Abracadabra campaign scored a much-needed win over Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes.
But at the finish-line there were only 3s between the two American boats fighting for semifinal contention. The furthest distance between the boats in the whole race was 20s.
Stars & Stripes are still 0.5 points ahead of Abracadabra, but they are both on the outside of the top six.
The other close encounter of the day was between Mediterranean neighbours Spain and France, with the Spanish challenge sailing back into the frame with a 19s victory.
Prada continue to power ahead unbeaten, crushing the spirited Young Australians by three and a half minutes - about the same time difference between AmericaOne and the Swiss yesterday.
