Steady winds a breath of fresh air

by Stephen Lyon nzoom.co.nz on 11 Oct 2002 After three days of light winds and postponements gave way to perfect sailing
conditions on Thursday, Friday's races have got under way on time.

Fresh breezes greeted early risers in Auckland
with winds of between nine and 12 knots,
increasing to 15, forecast for later on Race Day
Eight.

However, actual race conditions are quite a bit lighter and shiftier than
forecast, meaning that the pressure is going to be on the afterguards all
afternoon.

The on-time start will come as a welcome relief to regatta organisers
who face a race against time to complete Round Robin One by
Monday. Light winds caused the postponement of five races over
Monday and Tuesday this week as Auckland lay in the grip of a
high-pressure weather system.

Conditions allowing, the ninth, and final, race day of the first round robin
will be sailed on Saturday, with the five postponed races being sailed in
two chunks on Sunday. Syndicates then have seven days to ready their
boats for Round Robin Two.

One clash stands head and shoulders above the rest on Friday as
Oracle BMW Racing, unbeaten in four starts, take on Alinghi Challenge
who have tasted defeat just once in six races.

A close match is expected when GBR Challenge face Victory
Challenge, while the Team Dennis Conner-Mascalzone Latino and
OneWorld-Le Defi Areva match-ups have a very one-sided look to
them.