Six reasons New Zealand lost the Auld Mug

By JULIE ASH

So what went wrong?

1. The Black Boat - NZL82 simply did not live up to expectations. With its hull appendage and long keel bulb, the fragile NZL82 was no match for Alinghi's battle-hardened SUI64. The Black Boat failed to finish two races because of gear failure and was simply disappointing.

The sight of around six tonnes of water pouring into the boat in race one, the mast collapsing in race four, not to mention the spinnaker pole breaking in race five, will be how many Team New Zealand fans remember this America's Cup.

2. The afterguard - A lack of experience really cost Team New Zealand. In race two they blew their lead, opting not to stick on the side with the favoured breeze. A win in that race would have given the team tremendous confidence and may have resulted in a different outcome.

In race three their weather team told them to go to the right at the start but in a moment of confusion they settled on the left. Alinghi went for the right, capitalised on a large shift and won. The switch from the inexperienced Hamish Pepper to Frenchman Bertrand Pace came too late.

3. Lack of a true leader - No one could fill the shoes of the inspirational Sir Peter Blake. While Dean Barker was a tremendous skipper and helmsman, Tom Schnackenberg a superb design co-ordinator and Ross Blackman a great businessman, there didn't seem to be anyone to make the hard calls, to rally the team in the darkest hours.

4. Questions over preparation - The Black Boat had the potential to be a rocketship but the team possibly didn't spend enough time on it in a range of conditions. NZL82 appeared fast yet fragile. A little more fine tuning and it may have done the job.

5. Not enough money - Although the family of five have been great supporters of Team New Zealand, a bigger budget was needed to keep the cup here. After the mast collapsed in race four Team New Zealand were forced to admit they had not trained in heavy conditions for fear of breaking something and not being able to replace it. Alinghi on the other hand could afford to push their equipment.

6. The old trustees - Surely the first priority after the last cup was to secure the services of the key people such as Russell Coutts, Brad Butterworth and Co. Now Coutts and Butterworth and four other former Team NZ members have created America's Cup history by taking the cup back to Europe. The battle between Coutts and Butterworth and the old trustees was a conflict that had serious repercussions right up until yesterday's fatal final blow.

nzherald.co.nz/americascup

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