Team New Zealand has suffered its worst result in almost 10 years, failing to finish among the first three at a regatta for the first time since 2003.
Dean Barker and his crew finished seventh in the AC45 World Series regatta off San Francisco with Barker saying they have a lot to improve on before the next regatta in a month's time also in San Francisco.
They'll return to Auckland continue testing on the bigger AC72 boats which will be used in the America's Cup proper but also to improve their racing ability in the small AC45s.
Team New Zealand head Grant Dalton says the team has never been off the podium since the unsuccessful 2003 defence of the America's Cup wih the San Francisco result the worst since then.
Dalton says throughout the regatta he expected things to come right but they never did.
