Yachting: Perfect start for Team NZ at Medcup

Team NZ in action during day one of the MedCup regatta in Sardinia. Photo / Chris Cameron, ETNZ

Three wins from as many starts has catapulted New Zealand into a commanding lead on the first day of the latest round in the MedCup yachting series at Cagliari, Sardinia.

The regatta is the third of five in the circuit, and the Dean Barker-skippered New Zealand crew leads not only the Cagliari regatta, but also the season-long MedCup series, which is sailed in TP52s.

The New Zealanders have a comfortable overall lead on 68.5 points, ahead of Matador (Argentina) on 93.5 and the United States team Quantum Racing (100.5).

The New Zealand treble came on the back of some consistently strong starting. It was only in the third windward-leeward contest that they had to overcome another boat, the Russian entry Synergy, to keep their perfect score-line intact.

Competition was always close due to the very steady sea-breeze conditions, with only tiny speed differentials between first and 10th places.

After the first start, Barker and the New Zealand crew were able to ease away from current MedCup champions Quantum Racing upwind in the 13 knots breeze. They led around the first windward mark to easily head home Artemis (Sweden) and Matador.

The second race saw a repeat performance as they won gun-to-gun from Artemis and Matador. Things were closer in the third race, as the New Zealanders only managed to roll Synergy on the closing stages of the final run.

New Zealand tactician Ray Davies said the team was well satisfied with day's racing.

"We had a great day today, we started really well. The key there was time on distance, positioning with couple of minutes to go.

"That is something that we have been working on really hard and it seems to be working really well. Mainly that's just about honing in on the on-board communication, working on where we want to be with a couple of minutes to go, and then the final execution from 45 seconds to go."

Davies said the last race was "a real nailbiter".

"It was a match race and we got strong on them, did a better gybe and rolled them, and then they got strong on us and had a very good chance of winning the race. It must have been down to a second or two."

- NZPA