Sailing: GBR play it cool after momentous victory

Even 45 knots of wind hammering down the Hauraki Gulf could not blow away the warm glow enveloping the GBR Challenge compound in Halsey Street here after Saturday's momentous win over one of the main challengers for the America's Cup, the San Francisco-based Oracle BMW. It did, however, cause racing to be cancelled for the fifth day of the first round of the Louis Vuitton Cup.

The style of the team bringing Britain back into the America's Cup after an absence of more than 15 years is to play things cool. There was certainly less emotion as the boat crossed the finish line against Oracle than when the Mascalzone team, from Naples, broke their duck. They also came back from behind twice to win over the only team still with an unbroken series of noughts across the score board, Le Defi of France.

The GBR tactician Adrian Stead, said he was "happy" to have taken "a big scalp". Ian Walker pointed out that the syndicate had also sailed well when they lost. "Some shots go outside the post by a couple of feet, some inside," he said. "What I can tell you is that I am more motivated to win the cup for Britain now than I was even at the start."

It was a win born of character and cool determination. What looked like the first pressured start from Andy Beadsworth after replacing Andy Green turned into a strong first-leg margin after he handed over to the skipper, Walker. When the second upwind leg saw Oracle grab back the lead, the GBR boat made the most of their chances, chasing Oracle under spinnaker to reclaim the advantage and hold it until the end.

The only solution to clearing the backlog of races, two from flight five, three from flight six, is to try and stage both the outstanding sets of races today over courses shortened from six legs and 18.5 miles to four legs and 12.5 miles. Round-robin one will end today, allowing teams to modify their boats.

Which is fine for GBR, who will be seeking to bank a point that should be theirs for the taking against Mascalzone Latino. Life is rather more difficult for Oracle again, lining up first against the so-far unbeaten OneWorld from Seattle and then the difficult Victory Challenge from Sweden. After racing GBR, Mascalzone then face the team they would most like to beat, their Italian rivals, Prada.

From worrying about dropping off the back after four defeats from the first five races, GBR has rejoined the main pack and should end up with a 4-4 scoreline. Back at the base, eyes have been fixed for some time on the second round-robin, which starts on 22 October.

All the teams will be preparing to improve the performance of their boats. The Louis Vuitton Cup is as much a development race ashore as it is combat on the water. The British boat has shown that it can compete, though it may lack some pace against the very best. The question is how many aces do they have up their sleeves.

The forecast of heavy winds also caused the postponement of the start of the second leg of the Around Alone Race. Six competitors in each of classes 1 and 2 – after Patrick de Radigues pulled out of class 1, preferring the Route du Rhum race next month from St Malo to Guadeloupe – are scheduled to leave Brixham today for Cape Town.