After waiting two and a half hours for a light southwesterly breeze to settle down, America’s Cup PRO Harold Bennett postponed Race 4 of the America’s Cup until Saturday. Initial forecasts were for a 15- to 20-knot southwesterly on the Hauraki Gulf, but the breeze came in late, build slowly to a maximum of approximately 14 knots, and never became consistent enough for Bennett to feel comfortable running a race.The cancellation will delay Bertrand Pacé’s America’s Cup debut by at least two days. Pacé, a veteran of four French America’s Cup challenges who has served as Dean Barker’s sparring partner during this campaign, replaced Hamish Pepper as tactician on the Team New Zealand race boat this morning. There was some speculation that the French sailor, who is known for his aggressiveness, would steer the pre-start before handing the wheel over to Barker for the race. However, Pacé didn’t steer at all while the team was warming up today and it appears that he will serve solely as tactician.
