10 Mar 2010

Team NZ win first up

6:11 am on 10 March 2010

Hosts Team New Zealand convincingly beat Swedish syndicate Artemis on their home waters in Auckland on the opening day of the Louis Vuitton Trophy yachting regatta.

Other winners among the eight strong field in the America's Cup-class regatta were Italy's Azzura, French-German syndicate All4one and France's Aleph Sailing Team.

Dean Barker-skippered Team New Zealand, the losing challenger in the 2007 America's Cup, beat Artemis by one minute 40 seconds, making full use of their local knowledge in light winds.

Azzura beat Britain's Team Origin by 53 seconds, while All4one defeated Mascalzone Latino Audi Team by 44 seconds.

In the final race, France's Aleph Sailing Team beat Synergy Russian Sailing Team by three minutes 26 seconds after the Russians ran over their own spinnaker.

The second Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta follows the inaugural event in Nice in November when Azzura beat Team New Zealand in the finals.