Yachting: Team NZ finish on a high

Team New Zealand in action during the extreme sailing series. Photo - Lloyd Images/Extreme Sailing Series

Team New Zealand have been pipped by the smallest of margins as Sweden's Artemis won the extreme sailing series in Istanbul.

Skipper Dean Barker and his crew won the final double points race today then watched on as Artemis

finish third to claim the overall title by one point ahead oft he New Zealanders.

Artemis, Team NZ and the French team of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild entered the final race separated by just five points, meaning everything was on the line today.

Barker kept his nerve to steer his crew to a convincing race win then had an agonising wait only to see Artemis climb up to third place on the final gybe of the final downwind leg.

The result left Team NZ second on the series standings, one point behind Groupe Edmond de Rothschild.

Final regatta placings: Artemis Racing (Sweden) 307 points 1, Team New Zealand (Dean Barker, Glenn Ashby, James Dagg, Jeremy Lomas) 306 2, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (France) 296 3.

Series standings: Groupe Edmond de Rothschild 29 points 1, Team New Zealand 28 2, Artemis Racing 27 3, Luna Rossa (Italy) 25 4, Red Bull Extreme Sailing (Austria) 23 5.

- NZPA