Yachting: Team NZ helmsman wins match-racing cup

Ben Ainslie comes off the start line ahead of Ed Baird at the Allianz Cup.

Team New Zealand helmsman Ben Ainslie won his first event on the world match-racing tour, beating Alinghi's Ed Baird in the final of the Allianz Cup in San Francisco.

Ainslie and his Emirates Team New Zealand crew of Terry Hutchinson, Tony Rae, James Dagg and Jeremy Lomas sailed 19 races in the regatta and lost just five, which won them US$25,000 ($37,830) of the US$100,000 ($151,330) prize purse.

Competing in Group A, they finished with a 5-2 record before going on to beat Italian Paolo Cian in the quarter-finals 3-1 and Englishman Ian Williams in the semifinals 3-1.

In the final against Baird, Ainslie, a triple Olympic medallist and four-time Finn Gold Cup champion, won the five-race series 3-1, winning three races straight after dropping the first.

"The first start we didn't have a great one to be honest, the next three we nailed them. Terry [Hutchinson] did a great job nailing the shifts," Ainslie said.

"The last three starts we shut him out in one, got him late and the last one we wanted the left and got that.

"Ed and his team are bloody good. It was a real challenge to us. It was great to beat someone of that calibre.

"It was the first time I had sailed with Terry calling tactics. Communication on the boat was excellent and we gained in confidence every race. When it really counted we kept our nerve and we produced the results."

Baird said he knew Ainslie and his crew would be tough. "Those guys have been sailing well," he said. "They do a lot of practice in these size boats. I was disappointed that I didn't have stronger starts."

Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker said the emphasis on sailing-crew development had been to create a depth of strength across the board.

"We started this year with a win in the Auckland Cup, followed by the successes in Valencia and on the Medcup TP 52 circuit and now Ben and the boys have taken a Class 1 match racing regatta," he said. "This year has been a good one for the team in every way. The mix of knowledge, talent and experience in Emirates Team New Zealand is coming together as a competitive unit."

Team managing director Grant Dalton said Ainslie's win was good for team morale and "adds to the momentum we set out to create in this final phase of preparations for the Louis Vuitton Cup next April".

"We have spent the past two years developing the yachts and the team to the point where we can be confident in ourselves and credible in the eyes of the public. Ben's win comes on top of encouraging testing of NZL 92 and NZL 84 on the Hauraki Gulf with Dean and Kelvin Harrap at the helm. It helps set the tone for the summer."

The Allianz Cup was the fifth stage of the 15-event World Match Racing Tour. Ian Williams leads the series with 47 points. Ainslie is ninth with 25 points.


ALLIANZ MATCH RACING CUP TOP 8

1. Ben Ainslie (GB), Emirates Team New Zealand

2. Ed Baird (US), Alinghi

3. Jesper Bank (DEN), United Internet Team Germany

4. Ian Williams (GB), Team Pindar

5. Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Viano Mercedes Benz - Shosholoza

6. Peter Gilmour (AUS), PST

7. Chris Dickson (NZ), BMW ORACLE Racing

8. Peter Holmberg (ISV), Alinghi