By PETER LESTER
It was a day of mistakes for Oracle. And the Alinghi guys just showed how good they are.
The penalty against Oracle in the pre-start was pretty expensive for them, but their first run was a good one and they had a good lead.
But again, the second beat turned out to be a bogey for Oracle.
They had Cameron Dunn up the rig, talking that the pressure was on the right, but for some reason the guys on the boat chose to protect the left.
That gave the right-hand side to Coutts and Butterworth, and that was the game.
It was a race where wind pressure won the day - not necessarily the wind direction.
Whoever got in the area of the course with more wind speed won the day.
Alinghi were the best team in the challenger series.
If the Alinghi team were sailing Oracle, would the result have been any different? I think in terms of the tactical decisions and crewing, no it wouldn't.
In the conditions we saw, when we looked at the strengths and weaknesses of the boat and the hardware, there were as many opportunities for Oracle to win the regatta as Alinghi.
The difference has to be crewing, and the afterguard. In three races we saw Oracle in the lead, but they were passed by Alinghi.
So beating Alinghi for the America's Cup will be a huge challenge for Team New Zealand.
The Louis Vuitton Cup is different to the match-racing circuit, where Oracle helmsman Peter Holmberg is one of the best.
In this cup, these guys - Coutts and Butterworth - are absolute masters. There's no one better in these big 25m boats in match-racing.
And it gives Team New Zealand's crew the chance to prove themselves against the best.
* Peter Lester is Yachting New Zealand's high-performance manager.
nzherald.co.nz/americascup
Racing schedule, results and standings
Coutts and Butterworth the masters
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