Yachting: Oracle first real test for NZ

Team New Zealand's new boat NZL84 is expected to face its first real test tonight when it lines up against Oracle's radical USA87.

Emirates Team New Zealand opened their account at the pre-America's Cup regatta in Valencia yesterday with two comfortable wins.

NZL84 cruised to a 2m 32s win over Germany and followed up with a 1m 44s win over Team Shosholoza from South Africa.

The Grant Dalton-led syndicate were expected to rack up another two wins overnight against France's Areva Challenge and Sweden's Victory Challenge.

It is tonight's race against Chris Dickson's Oracle, who decided at the last minute to race their new boat USA87, where the real interest lies.

Of the four new boats launched Oracle's is the most different.

"USA87 is a very innovative boat, possibly the most innovative America's Cup class yacht built to date," Dickson told AP.

"The mast, the hull, the structure and the appendages make this a very different boat. It will take us some time to get the best out of her, but we are happy to be starting that process."

Team New Zealand and Oracle squared off in a series of practice races last week where it is understood they were quite even.

But website Valencia Sailing has reported that the general impression is that NZL84 "is very fast."

On-the-spot observers were less impressed with Oracle after the first day's racing. "Nobody would go as far as defining [USA87] as "slow", but she didn't take everybody's breath away," the website said.

Team New Zealand, Oracle, Luna Rossa and defenders Alinghi returned to the dock yesterday with two wins.

The first race of the day was sailed in a shifty, light easterly that never got much above eight knots, and in the afternoon the breeze built to 10 knots.

Team New Zealand had some jittery moments against Team Germany, dropping a sail into the water as the spinnaker was being raised for the first time, but the crew quickly recovered.

NZL84 showed some good upwind speed, having a margin of 58s at the top mark. On the second upwind leg NZL84 increased the margin by 52s, then added only another 2s on the downwind leg due to the spinnaker troubles.

NZL84 totally dominated the pre-start against Shosholoza's RSA83, a new generation yacht which the team campaigned last year.

NZL84 quickly established a 200m lead by working the left of the course and at the first top mark were ahead by 47s.