America's Cup- Dean Barker reflects on Race 4, Louis Vuitton Cup

Emirates Team New Zealand test conditions on the race course for their first real match of the Louis Vuitton Cup against Lunna Rossa. 1 Chris Cameron/ETNZ http://www.chriscameron.co.nz

Dean Barker - 2013 Louis Vuitton Cup, Round Robin 2, Race 1 © John Navas

Race 4 of the Louis Vuitton Cup

A race at last!

Today we sailed our first ever official race in the AC72 with another boat on the course. There was a certain amount of anxiety amongst the team as we prepared for the race with the uncertainty of how we would perform against a much improved Luna Rossa.

The race started well when we managed to hold them outside the line and pull the trigger when both boats were late. We converted this into a nice lead around mark 1 and extended away around the next few legs. I was really pleased with the way the guys sailed today and it felt we had continued to make improvements in our boat positioning and crew manoeuvres.

The final result was a little flattering with LR failing to finish within the 5 minute time limit. Understandably they are still learning their new boards and equipment so we expect them to improve over the next few weeks. They have stated they are looking ahead to the LV finals where they are looking to perform as opposed to now so we need to continue to do the same.

We have our race against Artemis tomorrow although again Artemis will not make the start line. Still no word on how their structural testing is going or when they will likely get out on the water. For us though it is an opportunity to keep developing and we have a long list of things we need to work on.

All for now

Dean