Two wins from two starts on Dubai Day 2

Emirates Team New Zealand took two wins from two starts on Day 2 of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Dubai.

Racing against the French-German team ALL4ONE, Dean Barker and crew coped better with a light and shifty breeze in the first race and recovered well from being caught on the wrong side of a wind shift in the second.

Racing was in the Emirates Team New Zealand yachts - ETNZ in NZL92 and ALL4ONE in NZL84.

Racing was close all the way. On these short courses, a three boat-length margin is proving to be a big lead   The start-finish line is situated half-way up the course, serving to keep racing close. The first beat and the second run are only .8 of nautical mile long. Races take between 30 and 40 minutes in the conditions experienced so far off Dubai.

Skipper Dean Barker: “ALL4ONE kept it close in the first race and the lead was never more than a boat length so we were never comfortable, leading tactician  Ray Davies to observe ruefully : “It looks straight forward out there – but it’s not.”

The first race was always close. Dean Barker and crew got a good start to leeward and used their control to force ALL4ONE to tack away.  Barker said: “We took them all the way to the right on the beat and pretty much led all the way to the finish.”

The margins were: Mark 1: 12sec, mark 2 13sec, mark 3 7sec, finish 23sec.

In the race two pre-start, NZL92 fought hard for the right to capitalise on a big right shift in a rain squall that went down the side of the course. They got what the start they wanted and then the breeze went left...

ALL4ONE grabbed the opportunity and led around the first mark by 10 sec.  New Zealand attacked on the run; ALL4ONE defended well and looked like they might hold Barker off.  Approaching the mark Barker and his crew attacked again and this time roiled over the opposition and led around the mark.

The margin was only 8 sec, but the lead was enough for NZL92 to control the long beat and the margin at the top mark extended to 19 sec, NZL92 covered down the run and crossed the line 17 sec ahead.