12 Sep 2011

Team NZ leads in Plymouth

11:29 am on 12 September 2011

Team New Zealand has won the "preliminaries" of the America's Cup World Series regatta at Plymouth.

Finishing second in the long-course fleet race, Dean Barker and his crew earned 37 of a possible 40 points from the four races held at the weekend.

Oracle 4 was second with 36 points and Artemis Racing third on 29.

The day will be remembered for the three yachts that capsized and Artemis retiring with gear damage. No one was hurt when first Aleph, then Team Korea and finally GreenComm Racing went over.

The teams raced in winds gusting above 25 knots, stronger than any breeze they had previously encountered on the ACWS circuit.

Teams take a scheduled two-day break from racing and the regatta restarts on Wednesday with three fleet races.