The AC.... One race left thankfully...

In a rare treat, each team actually finished two races without a mechanical failure Wednesday in the Louis Vuitton Cup finals.

The previous three races in the challenge series had been scuttled by equipment problems. The day’s second race brought another first for the series, a tacking duel.

Emirates Team New Zealand won the first race by two minutes and 18 seconds and the second by 1:28 to take a 4-1 lead in the finals. The Kiwis need just three more victories to win the best-of-13 series and advance to the America’s Cup finals against Oracle Team USA.

There’s no scheduled racing on Thursday. Race 6 will take place Friday at 12:15 p.m.

In the first race Wednesday, the Kiwis won the start, as usual. Skipper Dean Barker timed his move perfectly and rolled over Luna Rossa at the windward end of the starting line. Luna Rossa helmsman Chris Draper took off toward the line too early and had to slow up to avoid going over it prematurely.
The Kiwis led by 12 seconds at the first mark and shot around it at 43.8 knots, better than 50 mph. Luna Rossa took an out-of-bounds penalty on the third (upwind) leg and lost about 10 boat-lengths by delaying in taking the penalty.

The second race was competitive until the end of the third leg. New Zealand took inside position at the start and beat Luna Rossa to the first mark by just four seconds. At the second mark the lead was 18 seconds, but Luna Rossa cut the lead to 80 meters on the upwind third leg. A nice tacking duel ensued, but the Kiwis were just too smooth on their turns. Both teams stuck to the shore side, where the ebb tide was the strongest.