KEY POINTS:
A spat has developed in the Oracle camp over who is responsible for the design of their second America's Cup yacht USA98 - New Zealander Bruce Farr or Argentine Juan Kouyoumdjian.
The American syndicate built one boat early to use as a testing platform and built a second
boat late. This also allowed for their first boat to be modified as needed.
When USA87 was launched last year, skipper and helmsman Chris Dickson described it as the most innovative modern cup boat.
Although the boat performed well in last year's pre-regattas, it looked tricky to sail in some situations, which made it difficult to see where Dickson was coming from.
A year later the syndicate launched USA98, which has looked slick across a range of conditions.
British sailing magazine Sea Horse, in its pre-cup issue, said that Oracle's second boat has more of Kouyoumdjian's "signature" on it than its predecessor, USA87 - an assumption that has been doing the rounds for some time.
The magazine also said USA87 had problems with straight-line speed and it credited Farr largely with that design, accusations that the Washington Post says have infuriated Farr, who has rebutted them.
Farr has a long and successful history in round-the-world yacht racing, designing every winning boat since 1981 except the last one, Kouyoumdjian's big-bottomed ABN Amro One, which won easily.
Farr told the Washington Post that the pair worked well together, although the input from Farr Yacht Design far overshadowed Kouyoumdjian's. "I'd say it was about five to one," Farr told the paper.
To which Kouyoumdjian said: "I don't want to play the same game as Bruce Farr ... But this is not a Farr Yacht Design boat. It is a BMW Oracle design team boat."
BMW Oracle design co-ordinator Ian Burns told the Post they were not sure what to do about the tension between the two designers.
* Race one of the semifinals was to take place overnight. Emirates Team New Zealand were up against Desafio Espanol and BMW Oracle Racing. The semifinals are a best-of-nine race series.