Sailing fans rode the waves of emotion as the America's Cup racing finally got underway on the Waitemata Harbour.
Photo: Supplied
Honours are even between defenders Team New Zealand and the challengers Luna Rossa, with one win each on the opening day of sailing.
Te Rehutai helmsman Peter Burling rued what he called a "simple mistake" on the start line of race two for costing the defenders a chance to make it two wins from two races, but he was still satisfied with their showing.
"You go into a day to try and win two but it's good to walk away with one," Burling said.
"After having not raced for three months we're pretty happy."
For Burling the outcome of day one was not a surprise.
"We probably learnt what we already knew, we knew we'd have a really good challenge from Luna Rossa, we knew that we'd improved a lot since the World Series, but after today we also know what we have to do to keep winning yacht races.
"We definitely didn't feel like we put our best foot forward in that second yacht race but on that last lap we started to string together a few shifts and actually sail the boat a bit better and the margin came down pretty quick."
Sailing fan Kat and her husband travelled to Auckland from Burling's hometown of Tauranga to watch the live racing from Beachlands wharf.
She hoped the series would not be a whitewash.
"From a spectator's perspective it'll be quite interesting if it's a tight race, you know a bit neck and neck at times and on tenterhooks rather than just a clean street ahead for the next races," she said.
"Of course we want New Zealand to win but it would be nice to see some scary moments of closeness."
For Clint, who took up a vantage point with his daughters on the hill above Beachlands wharf, Team New Zealand's comfortable 31-second win in race one was a letdown.
"It's a shame it wasn't more of a competition, I mean 30 seconds - that's a whipping really isn't it."
Despite Luna Rossa coming back to win the second race, Clint reckoned he had some inside knowledge on how the series would play out.
"Look I work at sea, I watch the boats train every day and the Kiwis have been faster the last four months out here on the water... still anyone's race but the Kiwis have been faster hands down."
Luna Rossa co-helmsman Francesco Bruni did not quite agree with Clint's assessment.
Bruni was pleased racing had started so a few myths could be busted and all the speculation could stop.
"We knew that when we heard rumours about Team New Zealand being 10 knots faster it was a clear mistake and we knew that Luna Rossa had improved since the last time we had met Team New Zealand, we were not sure if it was a small gap or any gap.
"I think it was a very positive day because in conditions when Team New Zealand should have destroyed us they didn't."
Luna Rossa's other helmsman Jimmy Spithill also gave the opening day a pass mark.
"For us it was a real sign of strength I thought to bounce back after a tough first race.
"It's something we've been working on for a long time is not getting too wound up whether we win or lose. It's just focus on the next race and we had to put that into play."
However, Burling was not worried about the Italians' response.
"You know it's what we prepared for, we prepared for a good fight and it's going to be a great series," he said.
Both teams planned to spend Thursday's rest day off the water reviewing day one's action before racing resumes on Friday with the Covid-19 alert level 2 restrictions still in place.
-RNZ
