The Kiwis have yet to show their best hand (says a Kiwi)

Peter Lester has some short but succinct analysis of the racing in Louis Vuitton Act 13. Peter is doing the TV commentary for America's Cup TV (ACTV), and is the ideal pundit because he has been there, done it with Team New Zealand and probably knows the Kiwis better than anybody.

Although he acknowledges that Alinghi looked very good, there are perhaps mitigating circumstances for the Kiwis not performing as well as they might. Here's an extract of Peter's commentary for the New Zealand Herald website:

Am I surprised Alinghi won the fleet racing regatta so easily? No. They had more to gain and nothing to lose compared to the challengers.

Emirates Team New Zealand used their older boat and it looked like the sails they used were not new. They also had Ben Ainslie helming.

Alinghi had a speed advantage in 12-14 knots-plus and we had those conditions for most of the regatta. Because they've had so much time, maybe they pitched their boat for this regatta. I don't think the challengers had that luxury.

But Alinghi sailed very, very well. They came back from some mediocre starts to win races. I think it is a warning shot for the challengers that they need to do better.

For the rest of Peter Lester's conclusions from the fleet racing in Valencia, click here to go to the New Zealand Herald website's sailing section.