9:42 PM Sun 14 Mar 2010 GMT
Sail-World presents race updates from Day 7 of the Louis Vuitton Cup.
Emirates Team New Zealand look set to lose their first race of the 2010 Louis Vuitton Trophy.
After losing the start to the French team, helmed by Bertrand Pace, Emirates Team NZ trailed all the way up the beat and were forced to do an extra couple of tacks at the top of the beat.
After trailing at the first mark by 95 metres or 27 seconds, the series leader Emirate Team NZ did a bearaway set and then gybed in a move known as the Zambucka.
Soon after they moved onto the city side of the course, Emirates Team NZ blew a gennaker, could not recover it and lost considerable time on the French team Aleph who rounded the bottom mark, while Emirates TNZ sailed down the rest of the run with their jib up, rounding 57 seconds behind. Grant Dalton commented off the boat that they did not know what had really happened however they have lost a spinnaker halyard and a topping lift.
Emirates Team New Zealand were lucky not to break another spinnaker pole after dropping the topping lift, but recovered well.
The separation between the boats is 175 metres - meaning the Emirates Team NZ have closed, but still a comfortable lead for the French.
Aleph lead around the windward mark for the second time by 38 seconds going into a short tide assisted, downwind leg, on which Aleph led by over 200 metres, to take the race by a margin of 38 seconds.
Emirates Team NZ will still lead the points table 5wins -1 loss, while Aleph move up to 2 wins and 4 losses - still on the bottom of the points table after losing a point earlier in the regatta after being penalised 1 pt.
by Richard Gladwell
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