Cup fever taking over

Emirates Team New Zealand, right, nearly capsizes alongside Oracle Team USA, left, while heading for the windward marks during the eighth race of the America's Cup in San Francisco on Saturday.

America's Cup fever has taken hold in Wairarapa, with amateur yachting enthusiasts glued to television screens for nail-biting races.

Guests at the White Swan Hotel in Greytown have been checking out late just to catch the end of the races in the hotel bar, said hotel owner Rob Slater.

The atmosphere during the races had been "a little bit of tension, a bit of excitement, bit of life, bit of colour, bit of drama".

More than half a million Kiwis tuned in to watch Team New Zealand beat Oracle in the first America's Cup races , topping the number who watched the All Blacks overcome Argentina.

The audience for this year's sailing event has already beaten the highest rated race in the 2007 America's Cup regatta in Valencia, which attracted 270,300 viewers. However, those races were held between 1am and 2am NZ time.

Although the White Swan had not planned any official events for the remaining races, local residents were welcome to come in and watch it alongside guests, Mr Slater said.

Yachting New Zealand expects this year's America's Cup campaign to attract new enrolments to the sport - even if Team New Zealand loses to Oracle.

"Regardless of the outcome, I think there's been enough of a buzz around it," said participation and development manager Andrew Clouston.

"It's been more accessible this time, it's a little bit more prime time, the boats are excitingly new, they're different.

"God forbid even if we lost, I think there are a lot of people who would say, 'actually sailing's pretty cool, maybe I'll give that a try'."

Mr Clouston said national yacht club memberships had risen from 28,012 in 2005 to 31,363 this year.

A membership survey following the 2007 America's Cup campaign showed 3000 new members had signed up since a previous survey in 2005.

"Sailing is a sport that happens offshore out of the sight of most people, so when something like this happens it throws it right in front of people, which is great for us."

APNZ