America's Cup: Fourth race postponed; Alinghi still ahead 3-0

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Race 4 of the America's Cup was postponed yesterday due to light, shifting winds, but not before Alinghi of Switzerland had a little fun with the race committee.

The race is now scheduled for tomorrow, with Alinghi holding a 3-0 lead over two-time defending champion Team New Zealand in the best-of-nine series.

At times there was enough wind to race in, but it was shifting too wildly to start a fair race.

After waiting two hours, principal race officer Harold Bennett radioed the sloops at about 3 p.m. and told them he didn't see the conditions improving.

"It'll be my intention to call it a day, if you agree," he said.

Team New Zealand agreed, but Alinghi's New Zealand-born brain trust strung Bennett along, telling him they had to check with their weather team first.

Tactician Brad Butterworth and skipper Russell Coutts were clearly enjoying themselves, laughing and smiling.

At 3:20 p.m., Bennett radioed the boats again to call it a day.

"Brad, I'm sorry, we'll have to go home," he told Butterworth.

"Thanks for that, Harold, we're bitterly disappointed," Butterworth replied.

A bemused Bennett uttered a mildly profane rebuke, and with that the boats headed back into port.

Desperate for its first win, Team New Zealand made a crew change before the race, replacing tactician Hamish Pepper with Frenchman Bertrand Pace, helmsman of the syndicate's backup boat.

The change in the afterguard came after the Kiwis made crucial mistakes in the second and third races.

Skipper Dean Barker admitted there was "confusion" between the key decision-makers on the boat and the weather team in the minutes before Race 3. While the Kiwis chose the left side of the course, Alinghi took the right side and gained immediately from a wind shift. The Swiss led the whole race and won by 23 seconds.

In Race 2, the Kiwis let Coutts come from behind on the downwind run to the finish, and the Swiss boat won by seven seconds. NZL-82 broke down minutes into the opening race and had to withdraw, handing the win to Alinghi.

Relying on intuition and information from the navigator, the tactician tells the skipper when to tack and jibe.