It was a day of close racing and surprise finishes at the Louis Vuitton Cup where the bottom ranked China Team earned its first win of the competition over the leader, BMW ORACLE Racing, when the American team lost its headsail on the first upwind leg.
That wasn't the only upset of the form guide however. The French Areva Challenge, disappointed with its Round Robin One performance, went out and won its first two matches of Round Robin Two, while +39 Challenge suffered two devastating losses in matches that were desperately close right up until the finishing line.
Conditions on Monday were excellent for racing, with sea breezes of up to 15 knots on both race courses. The wind eased later in the day, but never dropped below 9 knots.
Few would have expected BMW ORACLE Racing, leader after Round Robin One, to fall to the bottom ranked boat, China Team. But after showing better speed in the pre-start and early up the first beat, the headsail pulled out of the headfoil on the American boat. The BMW ORACLE Racing team eventually solved the problem and raised a genoa for the second upwind leg, but by then the deficit was too great, and China Team picked up an unexpected two points.
The French Areva Challenge led Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team for the entire first beat, Areva earning a welcome win. +39 Challenge locked Desafío Español 2007 out at the committee boat in their pre-start. On the run, the Spanish were able to roll past +39 Challenge within sight of the finishing line to take the win by just one second. Team Shosholoza got ahead of United Internet Team Germany on the first beat and extended around the course to finish 1:23 ahead. Similarly after edging ahead of Victory Challenge on the first beat Luna Rossa managed a comfortable win.
The final matches from Flight 1 were held following Flight 2 on the south race course. In the race between Emirates Team New Zealand and Mascalzone Latino - Capitalia Team there was a massive tacking battle. The New Zealanders rounded the top mark 33 seconds ahead and were safe for their victory when the spinnaker pole broke on the Italian boat, knocking a crew member overboard. +39 Challenge had its second close race of the day, this time against the French Areva Challenge. +39 kept it close on the run and in the latter stages managed to roll past to windward.
