Yachting: Cool Swedes edge Team NZ

Team New Zealand approach the top mark off Barcelona yesterday. Photo / Supplied

Artemis skipper Paul Cayard believes his team's third-round MedCup win in Barcelona has delivered a major shot in the arm to the series.

Leading Team New Zealand by one point heading into the final day, in which light winds early in the day meant organisers could only get one race away, the Swedish team remained cool and calm under pressure.

After rounding the top mark in eighth position, Artemis clawed their way through the fleet, courtesy of some spectacular speed shown on the downwind runs to finish second over the line behind Spanish team Bribon.

Team New Zealand limped home in fourth.

Artemis became the third winner in as many regattas this season after Emirates Team New Zealand took out the Cascais event, while Quantum Racing (USA) were the TP52 victors in Marseille in the second round of the five-regatta circuit. Team New Zealand finished fourth in Marseille after a slow start to the event.

The recent decline in results from the Kiwi syndicate has added intrigue heading into the fourth round of the series in Cartagena next month and Cayard said it was just what the series needed.

"Team New Zealand has been on the top of the heap for a long time. For Artemis, what's important is just keeping on doing what we're doing right now - sailing well and building strength as a team.

"It's a very, very competitive fleet. No one team dominates this competition any more and that's great," he said.

Cayard is not alone in his views - the general consensus around the race village in Barcelona's Port Vell was that the win by Artemis has breathed new life into the circuit and made things interesting again.

Yet despite having two poor regattas by their own standards, Team New Zealand have actually extended their lead in the overall lead in the series after Barcelona.

The Kiwi syndicate hold a 28.5 point advantage over Quantum on the leaderboard, with Artemis a further 17 points back.

ETNZ skipper Dean Barker said while disappointed not to take out the Barcelona leg, he was pleased they continued to set the pace.

"We're still pretty happy with the result, we've extended our season lead out to about 28 points or something now, so I guess you could say it's been good in that respect," he said.

"Yes we would have loved to have won the event and we had a good chance to do that, but sometimes things just don't go your way."

With one point separating Artemis and Team NZ, the Kiwis needed to finish two places ahead of the Swedish team in the final race to take out the Barcelona leg.

They looked on track to do just that after the first leg, rounding the top mark in second place, while Artemis languished in eighth.

But early on in the downwind leg it was obvious to those on board something was not right. In 17 knots of wind, conditions in which Team New Zealand's boat would generally excel, they appeared to be losing ground against their rivals.

"We were just horrendously slow," said Barker. "We knew something wasn't right, but at that point there's nothing you can do about it."

What was later discovered to be a rubbish bag was caught on the rudder of NZL380 causing severe drag, which slowed them by up to two knots at times.

By the bottom mark, Team New Zealand had dropped a place, while Artemis had rocketed their way to fifth. Showing stunning pace on the final run, the Swedish team eased past Team NZ in the final few hundred metres.

The drama continued with Argentinian boat Matador lodging a protest against Artemis but after nearly two hours in the jury room the Swedish team were confirmed as Barcelona champions.