Team New Zealand survived a hair-raising finish off the south of France today to maintain their unbeaten record in the Louis Vuitton World Series' inaugural regatta.
Skipper Dean Barker and his crew glided past stalled Russian boat Synergy just out from the line to grab their third win in
the America's Cup-style match-racing event at Nice.
The lead changed four times in light shifty conditions that Team NZ tactician Ray Davies described as extremely difficult.
"We won it in the end but we had to fight hard," he said.
"The breeze was very, very soft and very, very shifty."
Synergy conceded the early lead by being over the line early and having to go back and start again.
But Team NZ then sailed into a hole and their opponents passed them to leeward to round the first mark 14 seconds ahead.
Barker said Synergy was a new team still building experience, but not one to be given too much space.
"We worked hard to get back at them," he said.
"They would gain, then we would take back some of it, but it looked like there was no way around them."
On the first downwind leg, the wind shifted significantly, swinging around by about 160 degrees so the boats ended the leg hard on the wind.
Team NZ managed to overtake Synergy at the bottom gate, but the Russians hit the front again on the next leg when they picked some good shifts.
For much of the final run home, Synergy stayed in front and it looked like an upset was on the cards.
However, Team NZ hooked into a private puff, while Synergy stalled about two boat lengths from the finish.
Barker sailed around the Russians, who were dead in the water, cut across their bow and crossed the line.
While the margin was 25 seconds, it seemed to spectators like a slow-motion split second.
Synergy's Polish skipper, Karol Jablonski, said the defeat was a painful one, but one they couldn't do much about at the end.
"Yeah, it hurts," he said.
"I knew it was going to be tough to the finish because I could see the finish line and there was no wind at it. Everything can happen in one puff."
- NZPA
