Despite the chances of racing looking slim yesterday morning, an 8-12 knot north-easterly sea breeze raised everyone’s moods when it filled in towards early afternoon. To the delight of spectators, both scheduled flights went ahead. In Flight 4, South African first-timers Shosholoza took on Luna Rossa, one of the ‘big three’ challengers, and led them round the course, beating them by a hefty 36 seconds.

Shosholoza went on to put two more points on the board when they won the next race against China Team in Flight 5. Shosholoza’s wins upstaged what many assumed would be the fight of the day between Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team and Desafio Espanol 2007, the two teams up until now that people have thought most likely to claim the fourth spot in the semis. With the performance they put in yesterday, Team Shosholoza is a definite contender for the semi-finals.

The second drama of the day came in United Internet Team Germany’s match against China Team, when China’s mid-bowman Francois Verdier fell over board shortly after the first hoist. ‘He lost a little bit of balance,’ explained China Team’s Sebastien Destremau. ‘I think he slipped on the jib or something – they are pretty narrow these boats and then he was overboard. I tried to pick him up, I grabbed him at the back of the boat, but it was just too much power so I had to let him go.’ Verider was picked up by the umpires and a penalty given to China.

Results:
Flight 4

1 Emirates Team New Zealand beat AREVA Challenge 1:55
2 Desafío Español 2007 beat Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team 0:39
4 United Internet Team Germany beat China Team 4:01
5 Team Shosholoza beat Luna Rossa Challenge 0:36
6 BMW ORACLE Racing beat Victory Challenge 1:18

Flight 5
1 Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team beat 39 Challenge 1:12
2 Emirates Team New Zealand beat Desafío Español 2007 1:12
4 Victory Challenge beat United Internet Team Germany 0:56
5 BMW ORACLE Racing beat Luna Rossa Challenge 0:06
6 Team Shosholoza beat China Team 2:05