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Light winds postpone race five
AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Light rains have postponed race five of the America's Cup, frustrating Swiss challenger Alinghi's hopes of winning the series. Alinghi lead Team New Zealand 4-0 in the best of nine series and are set to become the first European team to win sport's oldest trophy. A two-hour delay to the start of the race turned into a postponement until Sunday as the wind shifted between a measly four and seven knots on the Hauraki Gulf off Auckland. The postponement is the seventh time unsuitable weather has forced a race in the series to be called off. Principal race officer Harold Bennett called it off about two hours after the scheduled starting time. "Who would have guessed we'd have the conditions we did today after what we had yesterday?" Bennett said, referring to a disastrous race day on Friday that saw Team New Zealand's mast break in rough conditions. The forecast for Sunday is for wind of 15-to-20 knots from the northeast. Earlier Saturday, New Zealanders watched their representatives head out of port in a stunned funeral-type silence. Little cheer was reserved for the title holders. Team New Zealand had their mast spectacularly broken in race four to tumble to a 0-4 deficit. No boat has ever come back from such a margin to win the America's Cup. (NZ's turmoil | Gallery) The Kiwis were forced to pull out of race one after their boat took on water, which forced a series of gearing problems. It is the first time in America's Cup history a team has withdrawn from racing twice in a series. Saturday's postponement has ruined birthday celebrations for Alinghi's skipper Russell Coutts. The New Zealander had hoped to toast his 41st birthday by raising the coveted sailing trophy. If Alinghi win another race, Coutts will be the most successful America's Cup skipper in history with 14 wins. Coutts led the New Zealand team when it defended the Cup against Italy's Prada in 2000. He, and several other crewmembers, were then poached by biotechnology billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli's Swiss team shortly after. Reuters contributed to this report.
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