America's Cup teams will race twice tomorrow as organisers of the challenger series struggle to keep to their sailing schedule on Auckland's wind-battered Hauraki Gulf.
Louis Vuitton Cup organisers last night cancelled today's racing because of predicted 30 knot winds, the fourth day in a row racing has been called off.
Forty per cent of scheduled race days, nine out of 21, have been lost since the series began on October 1, mainly because of high winds.
The nine syndicates contesting the Cup have set wind limits for the series aimed at recreating February sailing conditions when Team New Zealand will defend the America's Cup.
Challengers want to build boats that can be optimised for summer sailing, rather than having to build yachts suitable for a much wider range of conditions.
This year, challengers started the racing three weeks earlier than they did in the last Cup, although the wind limits set under the racing rules are similar to those drawn up three years ago. Racing will not start in winds averaging less than seven knots or more than 19 knots.
If a race has started and the winds increase to average more than 23 knots, racing will be called off.
Round robin two of the series began last Wednesday, but only two days of racing have been completed so far. Racing organisers were last night reviewing options for completing the last seven days of racing in the second round by next Monday.
Syndicates want this round finished on time so they can modify boats and rest crews before the quarter-finals begin on November 12.
nzherald.co.nz/americascup
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