Sailing: Black day for GBR Challenge

The flag flying at half mast over the British America's Cup compound in Halsey Street, Auckland signified sympathy for the passing of Princess Margaret at a time when the Princess Royal was visiting the syndicate's home yesterday. It could also have been an evaluation of the performance of the GBR Challenge on its first foray on to an America's Cup race track since 1986.

This was not a glory day. In the opening fleet race between the defenders, Team New Zealand, and three of the 10 challengers vying to snatch their crown away next February, GBR, Sweden's Victory Challenge and the Seattle-based OneWorld, the British were premature starters.

They were called back and, from that moment on they had no chance of winning. The Swedes, with the only new boat in the pack, showed enough strength to win that tussle and, for the first time in a formal race, the TNZ's Cup-winning boat of 2000 was beaten, not just by the Swedes, but by Peter Gilmour, at the helm of Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes, now the trial horse for OneWorld.

Britain, drawn against OneWorld for the first of a match race series in the second half of the day, were having a much better time of things until, for the second time in the day, a primary winch broke. Having scored a penalty in the pre-start manouevres and then been ahead on the water, they were beaten by 33 seconds. Skipper Ian Walker made no excuses. To be told by Gilmour that they would have won but for the gear damage was little consolation.