Team NZ unbeaten on first day

More sailing glory beckons Dean Barker and Team New Zealand.

The crack Kiwi syndicate pulled off the extraordinary achievement of winning all three races on the opening day of the Med Cup regatta in Sardinia yesterday.

With just two regattas remaining in the series, Team New Zealand on 68.5 points has built a commanding overall lead. The next best placed syndicate is Matador from Argentina (93.5).

Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton downplayed the chances of his team's hot streak manifesting into what would be a famous first-attempt Med Cup win against the world's top sailors who have migrated to the series while the America's Cup remains in limbo.

"We don't want to start counting our chickens," he said.

"There is still a long way to go and in this game everything can change in a day.

"But yes, we sailed well. Everything we did turned to gold really and it shows there's still a lot of fight left in this team."

The fight was actually a little one-sided even against yachting's highly-paid stars like Paul Cayard, who helmed rival boat Artemis (Sweden) after Kiwi Russell Coutts withdrew from the regatta at the 11th hour.

Barker was a one-time Coutts protege and displayed his old mentor's ruthless streak by twice securing in tandem with his bowman Jeremy Lomas commanding victories off the start line.

On both occasions Team New Zealand rounded the top mark in the lead and won the first race by 19sec and the second by 32sec. Race three was closer.

Until Russian syndicate Synergy fluffed its final gybe to open the door for Barker close to the finish line, they appeared set to play the role of party pooper. But Barker prevailed again by just 1sec.

- © Fairfax NZ News