Swiss yacht Alinghi has notched up its first point in the first race of the Louis Vuitton Cup, beating the French yacht
Le Defi Areva by four minutes 48 seconds.
Team Dennis Conner beat the British GBR syndicate by 20 seconds. Stars and Stripes led in a cat and mouse duel with GBR.
Larry Ellison’s Oracle BMW Racing team also had a close race, finally beating the Italian Prada team by 42 seconds.
Oracle led at every mark, although Prada made a strong push to catch up during the forth leg.
The Seattle-based OneWorld beat Italy’s Mascalzone Latino by five minutes 43 seconds.
The first races of the Louis Vuitton Cup were sailed in changeable southwesterly winds gusting between 12 and 15 knots.