Team New Zealand to the Final

Emirates Team New Zealand has qualified for the Final of the Louis Vuitton Cup. The Kiwis defeated Desafío Español 2007 on Wednesday afternoon to win their Semi Final series 5-2. The Emirates squad will face Luna Rossa Challenge in the Final beginning on 1 June. Today's race took place in the most testing conditions seen to date at the Louis Vuitton Cup. Winds approaching 20 knots whipped up a swell of just over one metre, and the short, sharp waves tested both man and machine. Emirates Team New Zealand led Desafío Español over the starting line and extended the rest of the way around the race course to claim the win and finish the series. Desafío Español played a typically aggressive game in the pre-start against Emirates Team New Zealand, even in the big waves that were rolling across the course. However, Dean Barker got into a controlling position and forced Karol Jablonski out beyond the right-hand end of the start box. Eventually Barker tacked back towards the Race Committee boat and aimed for the line. NZL 92 crossed 17 seconds late but this didn't matter because ESP 97 crossed more than 10 seconds later, directly in the wake of the Kiwis. There was a moment of worry for New Zealand fans when the foredeck crew failed to get the spinnaker pole attached before bearing away at the top mark, and one crewman was washed back down the boat and sustained an injury to his hand. However, the Kiwis rounded 38 seconds ahead and took out chunks of distance downwind. The New Zealand crew were pumping the mainsail aggressively on the waves, surfing at every possible moment and rounding 50 seconds ahead at the leeward gate. The breeze dropped to 14 knots up the final windward leg but the Kiwis continued to pull away, leading by just over a minute at the top mark and going on to win by 1 minute 18 seconds.