A stubborn layer of clouds have kept the sun hidden and the temperature down, stalling the America’s Cup for the fourth straight day. Though a moderate seabreeze was predicted, without the sun, the Hauraki Gulf remained a large mill pond all morning. Since there appeared little chance of things changing during the afternoon, Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron principal race officer Harold Bennett decided to cancel racing for the day at 12:20 p.m. local time. “After consultation with both teams,” said Bennett, “we’ve decided that the wind won’t provide good enough conditions for racing today. There’s 1.9 knots right now and all around me it’s absolutely flat. The boys on the weather teams don’t expect to see anything for the rest of the day.”It was certainly a disappointment for the thousands of loyal Team New Zealand supporters who took their Saturday morning to come down and watch Dean Barker and company try to dig themselves out of a 3-0 hole in the 2003 America’s Cup. To help appease those who spent the first part of their weekend crowding every square inch of Viaduct Harbour and nearby piers, Team New Zealand did a little goodwill tour in their large tender. But that was the extent of the excitement for the day.
