5.00pm
The Swedish Victory Challenge completed a successful day at the Louis Vuitton challenger yachting series on Hauraki Gulf, chalking up two victories today.
This afternoon they had a one minute 17 second win over Mascalzone Latino, in the only match to get under way in the second set of races planned
for today.
Earlier Prada had pulled out of their race with Alinghi after damaging a winch pedestal in their first race of the day against Le Defi.
In turn, the French had pulled out of their second race, against GBR, after damaging the top of their mast.
Both Prada and Le Defi announced their problems soon after their race finished about noon.
But the race between Larry Ellison's Oracle and Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes had been within minutes of starting about 3.35pm when Stars & Stripes announced they had gear damage that prevented them starting.
The start of that race had been delayed previously because of wind speed problems.
An umpire and chief measurer Ken McAlpine went aboard Stars & Stripes to check the damage which appeared to be to the port side genoa car system.
The delay meant the race could not start before 4pm, after which all parties must agree before a race can go ahead.
The crew on Stars & Stripes said they were not willing to start after 4pm, even though Oracle BMW Racing and the Race Committee both said they were prepared to continue.
Immediately after Stars & Stripes declined to extend the deadline, Oracle BMW Racing announced they were initiating a red-flag protest.
Had the race gone ahead it would have been a sterner test for new Oracle skipper, New Zealander Chris Dickson, than his previous win over Mascalzone. Ellison brought him back into the centre of his operation following a string of disappointing results.
For today's race Dickson had removed Ellison from the team and had brought Peter Holmberg -- who was not in the crew for the race against Mascalzone -- into the afterguard.
An Oracle official said Dickson had selected the crew, which fitted in with the syndicate's policy of crew rotation.
- NZPA
nzherald.co.nz/americascup
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