Yachting: Team NZ win Louis Vuitton Trophy

Photo / Chris Cameron, ETNZ

Team New Zealand underlined their dominance with a stirring come-from-behind victory in the final of the Louis Vuitton Trophy yachting regatta in Italy today.

The New Zealanders won the final 3-2 over Russian syndicate Synergy at La Maddalena off Sardinia after staging a miraculous fightback when finding themselves 0-2 behind.

It represented Team NZ's third Louis Vuitton regatta title, with their record blemished only by a loss in the final to Azzurra, of Italy, in the inaugural event in France last November.

It was the first time in America's Cup history that a Russian-flagged boat reached the final of a Louis Vuitton-sponsored event and her mixed Russian and international crew led by Polish skipper Karol Jablonski fully stretched the highly fancied New Zealanders.

Team NZ skipper Dean Barker applauded his crew's fighting qualities and their ability to recover from a loss or two.

"In the end it comes down to confidence in our team. It's hard to believe. It was a long way back from 2-0 down. But the guys stuck with it and they gave us an opportunity that we jumped on," he said.

"After that we sailed more like we expect to and it feels fantastic to win another event."

Team NZ syndicate boss Grant Dalton said the latest regatta showed that other crews were beginning to catch up with the New Zealanders and they had to be on their game in every race.

They were also stretched by Sweden's Artemis in the semifinals, being forced to come from 0-1 down before winning 2-1.

"This regatta has been about the emergence of the teams that are putting us under pressure. We need someone to put a blow touch on us before we start performing," Dalton said.

"That's not good enough. Someone's going to knock us off our pedestal if we carry on like that. I would have been incredibly hacked off if they hadn't won."

Team NZ started today 0-1 down in the best-of-five final then quickly found themselves on the brink of defeat after losing the second race to fall 0-2 behind.

But they responded magnificently in increasing winds to deny the Russians a shock result by winning the next three races in succession.

They overcame a 26-second deficit at the first marker in the third race, pressuring the Russians, who responded by fumbling a gennaker takedown, which was pivotal as Barker and his crew pounced before going on to win by one minute and five seconds.

The margin in the fourth race was a slender 4sec. Barker led by 7sec at the top mark but the Russians overtook on the run, only to be penalised after contact when Team NZ closed up again.

Synergy fought to land a penalty on their opponents on the last run but Barker kept clear and crossed the line first with the Synergy penalty still outstanding.

The last and deciding race saw Team NZ prevail by a comfortable margin of 1min 23sec after the Russians shredded a gennaker when trailing by three boat lengths.

Team NZ tactician Ray Davies identified the Russians' misfortune as the turning point.

"It was a tough one but we got there in the end," Davies said.

"It was tough to win and we're pretty darn proud of it. The turning point was on that final run when their spinnaker blew out.

"In the end, the team keeps backing itself. It was stressful, but like all of these regattas, you just have to win the last race, and we peaked at the right time."

- NZPA