America's Cup: Alinghi wins third race after Oracle penalized

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — After two lopsided wins by the Swiss yacht Alinghi over Oracle in the America's Cup challenger final, yesterday's 61-second victory margin might look like a third.

It was anything but.

San Francisco's Oracle was ahead of its Swiss rival by about 100 meters just seconds from the finish when it was forced to "discharge" a penalty it had incurred earlier in the race for bumping Alinghi's stern.

"You ready, let's do it," Oracle skipper Chris Dickson said.

They made the penalty turn around the pin-end mark of the finish line and watched helplessly while Alinghi crossed the line just one second ahead of them.

Officials first listed the victory margin as one second, then changed it to 1 minute, 3 seconds when it added time from a second penalty turn that Oracle had to make for hitting the finish-line buoy.

An hour after the race ended, officials said they had again changed the race time to 1:01. They gave no reason for the change.

If the officials were confused, then so were Oracle's crew members, who couldn't figure out why they were penalized for bumping Alinghi when they felt Alinghi had restricted their movement during the fourth leg of the race. After the finish, some Oracle crew members berated officials on the committee boat.

"Was that close enough for you? That was a good race," Alinghi skipper Russell Coutts said.

With matches scheduled for the next two days in the nine-race final, Alinghi could clinch the series by the weekend and earn the right to face Cup holders New Zealand in the Cup final beginning Feb. 15.

In a race delayed by 2-1/2 hours because of light winds, Alinghi won the start. But Oracle took advantage of a left-hand wind shift to take the lead briefly for the first time in the final.

Alinghi retook the lead before Oracle again edged ahead during a tacking duel. But the Swiss boat had the lead after the first mark.

Oracle raced much better, keeping the yachts the closest they had been in the final. Oracle's Peter Holmberg, who usually has the wheel for the start, kept driving the boat for the entire race as Dickson stood aside to yell encouragement and commands.

The Swiss boat extended its lead to 13 seconds after the second mark. Alinghi used its leading position to force Oracle into an extra gybe before the mark.

On the third leg, the two yachts separated by more than 500 meters, and Oracle made up just one second on Alinghi's lead as the Swiss boat led by 12 seconds at the halfway point in the race.

On the pivotal fourth leg, the two dueled down the course and nearly touched twice before Oracle finally hit Alinghi's stern, incurring a penalty.