WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND, March 8, 1997 - -The NYYC/Young America team finally got on the water after the southerly gales that have been lashing New Zealand's capital city abated enough to allow the first two races of the"Road to America's Cup 2000" regattas today with host Team New Zealand. Both races were won by Team New Zealand.

Team New Zealand won the first race by 42 seconds and finished the secondrace two minutes, 45 seconds ahead of the NYYC/Young America team.

NYYC/Young America skipper Ed Baird was pleased with the first efforts of his crew. "With absolutely zero time spent going around the race course, I thought our guys did a great job," Baird said. "This is the first day we've been out together and everybody's been really anticipating it. They've thought a lot about their jobs but it's a new boat for us and we've got to figure it out a little better. I can do a better job tomorrow. Today we had one good start and one bad start; one good boat handling race and one bad boat handling race. We'll just have to try and eliminate those bad things."

"Team New Zealand did what we expected," Baird said. "They were well prepared and ready to race. We were figuring out how to tie off the main halyard and they were running laylines on the starting line. When we catch up to that, we'll have a little closer action. We were pretty excited today; we had a great time."

Pushed along by a stiff southerly, the sleek America's Cup class yachts gave Wellingtonians the yachting thrill of a lifetime as the boats swept past the downtown city piers just yards from thousands of cheering spectators. They made a spectacular sight during their pre-start skirmishes and even came inside the wharves as they battled for the best position off the line. The race course itself was close to shore, giving spectators a rare close-up view of America's Cup match racing.

The short four-mile courses put a premium on the start and Team New Zealand twice gained the upper hand going to the line. Better boat handling then became a major factor with the crews under real pressure in the gusty and shifting conditions. The first race was an even contest until Team New Zealand got away on the second spinnaker run as NYYC/Young America dipped their spinnaker pole in the water and struggled to clear it. In the second race, Team New Zealand lifted off NYYC/Young America on the first short beat and then eased away.

Team New Zealand trimmer Simon Daubney said: "It was very tricky with the wind swings and puffs putting a lot of pressure on the crews. I guess we're a bit more familiar with the place and a bit quicker to respond to the changes."

The regatta is scheduled to resume at 10 a.m. Sunday with the forecast calling for a light breeze in the morning until a fresh northerly fills in mid-afternoon. Cyclone Gavin, which devastated parts of Fiji yesterday, is now heading for New Zealand but is not expected to disrupt tomorrow's racing. However, organizers are keen to complete a reasonable number of races in case heavy weather again becomes a factor.

The New Zealand meteorological service said the stormy conditions were not normal for Wellington at this time of the year and had been caused by tropical air and high pressure in the south and low pressure to the north.

Young America, the New York Yacht Club's Challenge for the America's Cup, is dedicated to winning the America's Cup through technological innovation, teamwork and a total commitment to success. Its efforts will represent the entire country through an alliance of distinguished Partner Yacht Clubs and by enhancing the scientific literacy of America's students with the innovative Young America National Education Program.