Contractors put in a frantic final push

in Bermuda, while media and broadcast commitments tomorrow will foil attempts for any meaningful time on the water on the eve of the regatta.

Kevin Shoebridge, Team NZ's chief operating officer, said since getting back on the water over the past three days, the team have been able to tick off a number of key priorities.

“We've been heavily into the de- velopment phase right up until now. But now we have to focus purely on the racing,” Shoebridge said.

“[The last minute tinkering] is not by choice, this is happening later than we want it to happen.”

Shoebridge said the biggest gap in Team NZ's preparation is their lack of proper racing experience. With defender Oracle Team USA and Softbank Team Japan refusing to engage with the Kiwis, who have been cast as the lone wolves of the 35th America's Cup, Team NZ have had to make do on a limited diet of practice racing with most of their match-ups coming against two of the lesser-fancied teams in Ben Ainslie Racing and French syndicate Groupama.

Over the next few days the Team NZ brains trust will “lock down” the race settings on the Kiwi boat, in an effort to ensure it is reliable come race day.

But like frenzied efforts of the cup organisers, Team NZ's haste may prove unnecessary. The forecasts for Saturday's opening day of racing predict fresh conditions at the upper range of the wind limit, raising the possibility the event may get off to a false start.