Swiss syndicate Alinghi recovered from a last-gasp boat handling disaster here on Tuesday to beat Emirates Team New Zealand by just one second and retain the America's Cup, sailing's most prestigious competition.

The thrilling victory handed Alinghi, the defending champions after having won in the last edition in Auckland in 2003, a 5-2 result in the best-of-nine series held off the coast of Valencia thanks to four consecutive wins.

It was a fitting end to the closest America's Cup since Australia II beat Liberty on the final lap for a shock 4-3 series win in 1983. It was also only the fourth time in the competition's 156-year history that a defending yacht has retained the "Auld Mug".

"We're just very happy", said Alinghi principal Ernesto Bertarelli. "I love this team, I love Valencia. I think we did everything. It was much harder than Auckland."

Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth added: "We've got a good, fast boat. We had a little edge on the other boat and that was the difference."

Grant Dalton, principal of Team New Zealand, was magnanimous in defeat.

"The guys have done an amazing job", he said. "Right now the guys aren't feeling that sharp - it's been a long four years. I'm of course enormously proud of them but Alinghi did a better job than us."

Alinghi just edged the Kiwis in a nail-biting finale that saw SUI 100's spinnaker pole fly off the mast and the sail into the water, leaving them at a standstill just 200 metres from the finishing line with the wind dropping.

NZL 92 steamed past the stricken Swiss but had to perform a penalty turn before the finish after earlier encroaching on Alinghi's run-up for the third mark The Kiwis performed the double-tack manoeuvre impeccably but by the time they had finished, Alinghi had regained enough speed to just edge their bow ahead for the heart-in-the-mouth win.

In ideal sailing conditions with wind speeds of 13-16 knots, the Kiwis controlled the lead-in to the start and soon took a 20-metre lead over the Swiss. But Alinghi fought back and a slow tack by NZL 92 allowed the Swiss through the first mark 7sec ahead.

A bad Alinghi gybe down the second beat, with the kite struggling to set, handed Team New Zealand the advantage once more and the Kiwis stormed through the second mark 14sec up.

Alinghi held the favoured right-hand channel down the third leg and crucially had priority coming into the third mark.

Team New Zealand tacked on the port layline and immediately bore away into a dial-down, Alinghi responded and race organisers had no other option than raise a yellow flag for a penalty against the Kiwis.

The Swiss held their power to go through the third mark 12sec ahead and quickly built up their lead to four boat lengths. NZL 92 tried to engage SUI 100 in a gybing duel and with the track quickly running out were handed a last chance when the Swiss encountered their problems with the pole.

Alinghi, however, made up the 30m it lost in that equipment disaster and nipped home ahead of the sharp-turning Kiwis, who at least avoided the ignomy of the 5-0 whitewash they suffered in the 2003 edition in Auckland.

Source AFP