The light, shifty breeze frustrated the fleet at the start as it crossed Port Phillip Bay, but the boats hooked into the sea breeze and roared across Bass Strait, changing places with every puff of wind. The Tasman Sea, notorious for its treacherous weather, lay between them and the finish line in Wellington.

By the end of the second day, Ericsson inexplicably dropped to last place and rapidly lost miles on the leaders, to the distress and bewilderment of her crew.

After a spirited battle with movistar in the early stages, ABN AMRO ONE took up her usual position at the front and led all the way across the Tasman, while ABN AMRO TWO first damaged their mainsail and then damaged a crewman as they, too, lost miles on the fleet.

The race to into Wellington was finally decided in nail biting fashion when movistar led ABN AMRO ONE over the finish line by nine seconds, the closest finish in the race’s history. Ericsson sparked controversy when they suspended racing just before the finish so their shore crew could effect repairs.