Team New Zealand's second win in a row appears to have won them the all-important psychological advantage heading into race four of the America's Cup.
Yachting commentator Peter Lester said Alinghi had the upper-hand going into this morning's race but Team New Zealand has snatched that away.
"Isaw Ed Baird look over his shoulder and he really wasn't a happy chappy when he saw the kiwi's bow forward," Lester told nzherald.co.nz.
He said the race came down to who made the most mistakes and in the end Team New Zealand made one less.
"It was a day of high drama," he said.
Team New Zealand got the call from their weatherman to take the right-hand side off the line. It initially cost the black boat a length and-a-half, Lester said.
Team New Zealand went out to a 1minute 28 second lead but it didn't last.
"In a normal race, you would expect the race to be over but in these fickle conditions we had today, with huge windshifts and large velocity shifts, Alinghi came steaming back on the second downwind," Lester said.
At one point Team New Zealand appeared to lose a man overboard and then got their spinnaker draped over their jib sheet.
But Alinghi's slow tacking enabled Team New Zealand to pull off the win, he said.
With the fast turnaround between races, it was now vital for Team New Zealand to relax.
"They need to hydrate well overnight and try to sleep well - and there was so much excitement today, that will be difficult," Lester said.
Listen to Peter Lester
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