Note: Kiwis had 3 breakdowns in 5 races, counting the overcompressed spin pole in the last race.

My comments belaboring the obvious (and after actually having been there briefly in October):
1. Kiwis spent so much time whinging and complaining about Coutts that they failed to spend serious time preparing their own campaign.
2. Getting ready for a serious event like this means actual racing (even if it is against each other) nearly every day like the competitors did, to properly prepare. (NZL-82 Boom reinforcement- if the triangle was run further out- no worries)
3. Running tuneup races against the #2 challenger would have been a good idea for the Kiwis.
4. How the hey did they let Coutts go off elsewhere?
5. Big shame for Kiwi economy, resulting in loss of tourism revenue for the future: this was just well underway.
6. Did I mention Coutts, who is only the best match racing skipper in the world? I reckon one can see why Bertarelli earned his bux! He is "Plenty akamai"- that is "very smart" in Hawaiian.

Was there not a sign on the boom- alinghi.com?
I reckon the challenger chooses the # of hulls- but St. Francis Yacht Club? In the year when pigs fly scheduled routes between major urban areas.