The familiar cool, calm, collected atmosphere surrounding Team New Zealand saw them appear as relaxed hitting the water on day one against a race-ready Luna Rossa, as they looked winning the Auld Mug 7-3 on day seven.
However, Team NZ trimmer Glenn Ashby has admitted there was a time they questioned what was ahead.
Having not raced an opponent since December's World Series while Luna Rossa enjoyed two months of racing in the Prada Cup, Ashby said they were uncertain about how they'd stack up.
"We didn't know how were we going to go against these guys in any conditions when we lined up, they'd made such massive improvements since December, their performance ramp was almost vertical going through," Ashby said.