A gear breakdown - it seemed to be a failure of the hydraulics which operate the wingsail and the daggerboards - left Team NZ dead in the water as the Italians ran away with a gift victory.
Before that, it all appeared to be going to plan. Team NZ won a close start and produced a 10s lead at the short first mark. The boat speed of the Kiwis was apparent again on a hazy, choppy day on San Francisco Bay, gybing faster and producing superior sailing in avoiding the worst of the currents while finding the best of the wind.
They led by 23s at the second mark, with the Italians noticeably quicker than they had been in the round robin contests, where they sometimes trailed in over five minutes behind.
It looked like, after the gear breakages yesterday (when the Italians had daggerboard problems) and Team NZ's spectacular nosedive, that order would be restored. Emirates Team NZ seemed to be continuing their plain sailing towards a date with Oracle Team USA in the America's Cup match.
But they slowed uncertainly on the way to the third gate with the hydraulics cutting out. At the time, they had a 400m lead over the Italians and were demonstrating some sizzling speed upwind, their hulls not quite fully foiling but hulls dancing lightly over the chop.
But, as they approached the third mark, the increasing lead turned into diminishing hopes. The hydraulics failed, the boat halted and the Italians, scarcely believing their luck, swooped past - ironically pulling off a good turn to speed away while the helpless Kiwis sat watching.
ETNZ then withdrew from the race to fix the hydraulics and ready the yacht for the second race of the day - scheduled for 9.15am NZT.
"It's not the way we would like to win points but I was really happy with the way were sailing," said Luna Rossa helmsman Chris Draper.
"We had a problem with the hydraulics and you can't tack or gybe without them," said ETNZ skipper Dean Barker. "It's the nature of these boats unfortunately - there are so many things that can go wrong and today it was a problem with the hydraulics.
"We have been very fortunate so far not to have had many issues until today but I guess this just reinforces the need to be 100 per cent."
Team NZ repaired the hydraulics quickly and were quickly ready for the second race today - though it was postponed until tomorrow after the wind exceeded agreed safety limits.
- Paul Lewis in San Francisco
