Yachting: Mother Nature deals to 40s

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With Team New Zealand expected to announce its fully committed participation in the next America's Cup soon, gaining experience in multi-hull sailing is vital - and that is what they are getting as they lead the Extreme 40 Series in Qingdao, China.

Part of that experience was watching some of their rivals come to nasty catamaran grief as the New Zealand team, headed by America's Cup skipper Dean Barker, escaped harm while many around them didn't in an eventful and gusty day.

Four 40ft catamarans capsized and a major collision happened during the third day of sailing, where winds gusted up to 30 knots.

"The Extreme 40s are renowned for nosediving downwind in a strong breeze and today we saw plenty of that," he said. "In the second race we were close behind The Wave [Omani] when it nosedived ... and skipper Torvar Mirsky was catapulted into the rigging, but fortunately was not seriously injured."

Three other boats - Red Bull, Team GAC Pindar and Oman Air - capsized end over end in race four.

"I think that was enough for the race committee to think there had been enough racing for the day," Barker said. "Reality returns quickly when you see boats having some big spills and you do fear for the crews' safety." The collision occurred between The Wave and Oman Air at the first downwind mark of the first race.

Team New Zealand was the top yacht of the day with a win, two thirds and a fifth, and now has a seven-point lead over Alinghi.