KEY POINTS:
On Friday James Spithill was in the Mediterranean gently stretching the legs of Luna Rossa's new America's Cup yacht ITA94 off Valencia.
Yesterday he was stretching his own legs, but much more rapidly, around Auckland's Westhaven Marina
The Australian helmsman and his team were fractionally overweight at yesterday's
weigh in, which he put down to the long flight to get here
As a result he and his crew of Torben Grael, Michele Ivadli, Magnus Auguston and Joey Newton were forced to do a few laps of the marina to get their weight down to the desired limit, which is usually around 437.5kg for the five-man crew.
The issue was soon sorted and Spithill was declared ready to lock horns with the nine other skippers in the Auckland Match Racing Cup.
"We look for any excuse to come down here," Spithill said. "It is really hard for me to say this as an Australian, but we really like the place. You are always guaranteed some good racing with the weather. All of the New Zealand teams, whether they are youth teams or Dean [Barker] and his guys, are always really tough to beat."
The Auckland Match Racing Cup has an impressive lineup, including five of the world's top 10 skippers.
But the most intriguing battle will be between Spithill and Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker, in what will be their last hit out before the America's Cup in April.
Spithill is often referred to as the heir apparent to Russell Coutts, because of his gritty nature, natural ability and slick starting manoeuvres.
Barker, the defending champion, is no slouch in the start box either, setting the scene for a titanic battle in the identical MRX yachts.
"We are here representing Luna Rossa," Spithill said.
"A good result here benefits the whole team, it gives everyone a lift and makes everyone proud ... It is a prestigious event, if you look at the names that have won the event, we'd love to have our names alongside them."
Spithill said he had limited experience on the MRXs but didn't see that as a major disadvantage.
"With two round robins, we should get some good racing, and hopefully we'll get into the semis and by that time we'll have learnt the boats."
Barker is sailing with the same crew - Terry Hutchinson, Don Cowie, James Dagg and Jeremy Lomas - that helped him win the New Zealand match racing title in November. Also lining up in the event are Kiwi brothers Adam and Simon Minoprio.
Meanwhile, New Zealand sailors made a strong start in the opening day of the Miami Olympic regatta.
Star world champion Hamish Pepper and his crew David Giles were second in a fleet that was split into two divisions because of the number of entries. They secured a fourth and a first yesterday to sit second equal with Sweden's Freddie Loof, trailing the early leader, American John Dane.
Dan Slater posted a third and seventh in the first two races to hold fifth place in the Finn fleet.
The Regatta
What: Auckland Match Racing Cup
When: Today through to Sunday. Semifinals Saturday, final Sunday. Racing starts daily at 10am
Where: On the Waitemata Harbour off the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.
Best vantage point: A purpose-built grandstand at the Harbour Bridge-end of Westhaven Marina.
Prize pool: US$50,000 ($71,580.)
Defending champion: Dean Barker
Leading contenders: Barker, world No 2 Ian Williams (Britain), world No 3 Matthieu Richard (France), Luna Rossa helmsman James Spithill.
Prizegiving: Sunday 3pm, outside Soul Bar at the Viaduct.