Yachting: Barker collides with Italians

NZL 92's spinnaker pole speared through the side of Mascalzone Latino after the two boats collided at the top mark of their second race. Photo / Chris Cameron

The final regatta of the short-lived Louis Vuitton trophy series began with a bang in Dubai, with two collisions marking the opening day of racing.

Emirates Team New Zealand were involved in the most serious incident when they speared the spinnaker pole of NZL 92 through the side of Mascalzone Latino, steered by Gavin Brady, after a collision at the top mark of their second race.

The accident brought Mascalzone Latino's first day's racing to a sensational and premature end.

Brady had earlier outsmarted Kiwi skipper Dean Barker, winning the opening race by 27 seconds.

But Barker looked to be in control early in the second after forcing the action far above the wrong side of the weather mark.

Barker broke off the engagement and led back into the mark with Brady attacking. As the protracted confrontation continued, the Italian boat was close to head to wind and carrying a red-flag penalty as Barker attempted to duck behind, and in the process the Kiwi spinnaker pole speared the side of the Italian boat.

Brady picked up two penalties for the mark-rounding scuffle and Team New Zealand went on to win the controversial second race unopposed with Mascalzone left stranded at the top mark after race officials asked Brady to withdraw to avoid further damage to the Kiwi boat.

Both teams were punished afterwards, the blame being stacked more heavily on Brady, whose Mascalzone crew were docked a point, compared with the half-point penalty for Team New Zealand.

The incident meant the Team New Zealand shore crew were in for a long night repairing damage to the stern of NZL 84.

Provided there is no major structural damage - and first inspection indicated that there was none - boat builders are convinced NZL 84 will be ready for racing today.

Damage to NZL 92 was confined to the spinnaker pole, which was brought ashore in three pieces.

In the other incident, young French helmsman Sebastien Col flicked the bow of his French/German boat All4One into the safety wands on the stern of BMW Oracle Racing. The contact earned him a penalty flag and he lost the race.

BMW Oracle top the standings after the first day of racing, with young Australian skipper James Spithill steering his team to a 2-0 record over All4One while the other four boats in the contest posted 1-1 records.