America's Cup: Are Team New Zealand vulnerable after capsize?

Further details have emerged of Team New Zealand's terrifying plunge into the Great Sound as the Kiwis ready themselves for a return to America's Cup racing tomorrow.

Wild weather conditions in Bermuda forced the postponement of races five and six of the Louis Vuitton challenger semifinals today, allowing Emirates Team New Zealand an extra 24 hours to prepare their banged up boat and bodies for a pivotal day of action tomorrow.

With the teams held back on shore today while gusts of up to 35 knots buffeted the Great Sound, the dockside talk was focused on just one topic: Team NZ's shocking capsize the day earlier.

The heart-stopping crash, in which Team NZ pitchpoled their catamaran off the startline in squally conditions, has given their opponents, British team Ben Ainslie Racing, renewed hope of making a bold charge into the challenger final.

Land Rover BAR grinder David "Freddie" Carr had a unique view of the moment Team NZ's challenge almost came crashing down with their boat. From his grinding platform, Carr faces the aft of the British yacht, allowing him to see the drama unfold on the trailing Kiwi boat.

"I was watching them knowing Ben did a great job in the pre-start and knew that out bear-away was a bit hairy and getting up to speeds of 43 knots," said Carr.

"I watched them put the bow down and the over-riding thing for me was just how high they flew out of the water. It reminded me of when we were doing our dinghy sailing camps and we were a little out of control and would have huge crashes. It just looked like a big dinghy to me.

"A second before they even went over, I thought they are going to have a big one here and you saw the result. [It was] spectacular and devastating for those guys."

After being alerted to the chaos behind him, British skipper Ben Ainslie directed his chase boat to assist the rescue efforts of the New Zealand crew. It is understood Blair Tuke was scooped up out the water by the BAR chase boat, such was the distance he was thrown from the vessel.

Cyclors Andy Maloney and Josh Junior were also ejected from the Kiwi boat, both hitting the water at high speed.

Team NZ skipper and wing trimmer Glenn Ashby admitted there were some sore bodies in the crew today, but said it could have been much worse. Had one of them struck the razor sharp appendages on the Kiwi boat, or become ensnared in some of the wreckage, the risk of serious injury is high.

"Those guys got ejected pretty nicely into the water, so no major issues there," said Ashby.

"The boys have a few cuts and bruises, but it was very, very pleasing that no one got seriously hurt."

The New Zealand boat did not escape unscathed, however. It took a marathon repair effort from the shore crew to get the catamaran in any shape to take to the race course today. The Kiwis insist they would have been ready for racing today had the weather not intervened, but Team NZ boss Grant Dalton admitted the boat would only have been at about 7.5, whereas by tomorrow he expects it will be at 9.8.

Team NZ need to win two of their three races tomorrow to wrap up the first-to-five series and secure their spot in the Louis Vuitton challenger final.

While Team NZ lead the series 3-1, Carr believes yesterday's incident would have dealt the crew a major psychological blow and senses they could be vulnerable tomorrow.

"They are a bunch of tough professional sailors and they are used to sailing round at high speeds and capsizing and having crashes. But I couldn't recall a situation where they have had as big an incident as they did yesterday," he said.

"They are great sailors but hand on heart, if that had happened to us in the first bear away in a race, you'd have it in the back of your mind, so it might have put them on their heels a bit."