Heavy winds hit America’s Cup

HEAVY winds and high seas have forced the postponement of racing in the America’s Cup challengers semi-finals, with Swiss syndicate Alinghi just one win away from reaching the final.

Winds in the Hauraki Gulf off New Zealand’s largest city averaged 28 knots yesterday, well above the 19-knot upper limit set for the expensive but fragile America’s Cup class yachts. Regatta officials postponed racing until today.

Biotechnology billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli’s Alinghi lead US team Oracle BMW Racing 3-0 after dominating the first three races of their best-of-seven race “double chance” semi-final of the Louis Vuitton Cup challengers series.