KEY POINTS:
Yachting commentator Peter Lester believes replacing helmsman Dean Barker with triple Olympic medallist Ben Ainslie is not an option for Team New Zealand.
Barker has come under fire from some of the international media for his performances in the early stages of the Louis Vuitton Cup.
"I am not in the corner of Barker being under pressure from Ainslie," Lester said. "Absolutely not. It would be a huge mistake. If they wanted to consider that it should have been done two years ago. It is a non-issue."
Of Team New Zealand's three round-one losses, only the one against Luna Rossa - where they copped a penalty in the pre-start - was Barker's fault. And that was marginal.
Team New Zealand's losses against Mascalzone Latino and BMW Oracle Racing were the result of mistakes by the afterguard, not Barker alone. However, sailing is not the only reason Barker has come under fire. The Team New Zealand skipper has also been criticised for fronting up to only half of the media briefings after round one.
Lester said Barker doesn't always look comfortable in media situations, and therefore it is in the team's best interests to look after him. But that is not uncommon in yachting.
You would not expect to see Oracle skipper Chris Dickson after a series of losses.
The exception is Russell Coutts. "He used to front up when he lost and send someone else when he won," Lester said.
Early in the campaign Team New Zealand managing director Grant Dalton decided Barker would steer the boat. At the time some thought it was a bold move by Dalton, putting all his eggs in Barker's basket - the man who most associate with the 2003 defeat.
But in some ways Dalton's call was understandable. Ainslie, although a talented sailor, has limited match racing experience.
Barker is a lot more experienced and when he is on form there are few people who can beat him - as shown in last year's final match racing regatta when he blitzed both Oracle and Alinghi.
If Barker was sailing like that now, it is unlikely the Barker/Ainslie debate would have arisen.
The other problem Dalton faced at the start of the campaign was that he had an entirely new afterguard.
To get them to gel, the group had to sail together in the pre-regattas, which started in 2004, which left little time to experiment with Ainslie.
Had they thought Barker was not up to the job then Ainslie needed to have sailed in some of those pre-regattas. To throw Ainslie on the boat now, Lester said, would be unfair.
In 1992 a similar scenario emerged when Rod Davis and David Barnes were booted off NZL20 in favour of Russell Coutts and Brad Butterworth, who proved no better. In fact they were probably worse, having had limited sailing time on the boat.
However, Barker is sailing better in round robin two and, as Lester points out, his statistics are not that bad. In the 86 races over the past three years, Barker has crossed the start line first in 50 per cent of the races and more importantly, led around the first mark 84 per cent of the time.
Oracle's Dickson has similar percentages - crossing the start line first in 50 per cent of his races and ahead at the top mark 75 per cent of the time.
Luna Rossa's James Spithill has the best starting percentage, banging his boat over first 56 per cent of the time. But at the top mark Luna Rossa were the worst of the big three, rounding first 73 per cent of the time.
However, starting statistics do not take into account the favoured side.
It is also important to remember the New Zealand afterguard have been affected by the loss of regular strategist Adam Beashel, who injured himself a week before the challenger series started.
Lester also points out that Dickson had two ordinary starts against Team Shosholoza and Victory Challenge yet no one is calling for his head.
"Starting is a bit of an art, not a science. While Dean's stats are not as good as [James] Spithill's they are not that bad. They are not perfect but they are not that bad."
* Team New Zealand were scheduled to face Desafio Espanol and Team Shosholoza overnight. Tonight they meet United Internet Team Germany. Racing was postponed yesterday because of thunderstorms.
