Yachting: Team NZ start double points phase with win

Emirates Team New Zealand. Photo / Getty Images

Team New Zealand picked the right race to win as the second round robin stage got underway in the Louis Vuitton Trophy yachting regatta off Dubai today.

Swedish syndicate Artemis downed Team New Zealand by 27 seconds in the first race today, which completed round-robin one, but the New Zealand team bounced back to beat the Swedish outfit by 32sec in the first race of round-robin two.

All matches in round-robin two are worth double so Team New Zealand picked up two points and are now second on the leaderboard with 6.5 points, though they are well behind pacesetters BMWOracle Racing, who have 11 points.

In the second race, Team New Zealand lead by 10sec at the first mark and increased the margin between the two teams until the finish.

"We wanted the right and got it, and then we defended hard," Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker said.

"Approaching the top mark we came in on starboard, forcing Artemis to tack away. That gave us the opportunity we were looking for and we were never seriously threatened."

Tactician Ray Davies was not happy with the start of that first race, which saw Artemis jump out to a 28sec lead at the first mark.

"We let Artemis get the right and the right paid. They defended the well and we attacked continuously," he said.

"We closed the distance down several times but we never had enough runway to pass.

"As we have seen all week, a mistake, especially in the pre-start, can effectively mean the end of the race."

Standings after six days of racing:-

BMW Oracle Racing 11 points 1, Team New Zealand 6.5* 2, Artemis Sailing 5 3, ALL4ONE 4 4, Mascalzone Latino 4* 5. Synergy Russian Sailing Team 4 6.

* Scoring penalty deducted by umpires.

- NZPA