Alinghi in a different class as they race to second win

THE Swiss Alinghi team put on a clinical display of match racing skill to sweep to 2-0 over the US Oracle BMW Race team in the Louis Vuitton Cup final on Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf yesterday.

In contrast, a botched spinnaker drop at the end of the first downwind leg cost Oracle BMW Racing dearly.

Having closed up to within two boatlengths on the run, the San Francisco-based team blew their chances when the spinnaker was allowed to trawl in the water, hauling the boat to a standstill and breaking the spinnaker pole in the process.