Peter Lester: Satisfied crew show they have solid foundation to build on

Team New Zealand should leave Valencia feeling more than satisfied. Having finished second in act four and third in act five, they have shown they are in the "first division", with Alinghi, BMW Oracle Racing and Team Luna Rossa.

In these regattas the priorities for the Emirates-sponsored team would have been the performance of the afterguard and crew and learning about the venue.

The crew are equal to the best and the afterguard, comprising helmsman Dean Barker, tactician Terry Hutchinson, navigator Kevin Hall and strategists Ray Davies and Adam Beashel, will be happy with where they are at. However, they know they will have to continue to develop so they gain the consistency of performance that Alinghi have set as a benchmark, especially in match-racing.

Dean and Terry are forming a very workable combination and are gaining trust in each other. They will be looking to get their winning-starts percentage up.

I would discount the performance of the boats in these regattas, given that they are old.

Although Team NZ have done a tremendous amount of work to NZL82, adding a new bow and stern, many improvements still need to be made.

It is probable that when the teams gather in less than two years' time for the Louis Vuitton Cup all the boats will look alike.

The Mediterranean venue is likely to be a bit one-dimensional, as the speed and direction of the wind are generally stable.

However, it is hard to read the wind on the water, perhaps because of pollution levels.

You read the wind on the water by the puffs being the darker colours and the light bits the lighter colours. It looks tricky but it is a skill they are sure to work on.

The fleet-racing regatta was a bit of a mixed bag for Team NZ.

To be fair, a bit of luck was needed, especially as the three days of racing were held in winds ranging from 6-10 knots.

Such races were dominated by the start and the first 10 minutes and whether they went to left or right up the course.

Sweden's Victory Challenge were impressive. The way they had their boat set up (in terms of sail area, bulb size etc) looked like it was aimed more to the lighter air as opposed to Alinghi and Oracle, who looked to be set up for conditions 12 knots plus.

Prada and Team NZ were in a similar setup a little bit lower (10 knots) down the range than Alinghi and Oracle, but not as optimised as Sweden, who looked fast in the 6-10 knots.

But in terms of overall performance we are talking less than 1 per cent speed performance differences.

As to the fleet-racing's relevance to the America's Cup, I would say very little. But as a spectacle it is great to see them all out there thrashing round.

So with the acts four and five over, Team New Zealand will be more than happy with where they are at less than two years out from the Louis Vuitton Cup. They are in the top group but have plenty to work on.

* Peter Lester is a former America's Cup sailor.