It’s No Trick: Black Magic Leads, 3-0

The 30th America’s Cup is quickly fading to black--as in New Zealand’s Black Magic.

The experienced sailors aboard the devilishly fast Black Magic made all the right tactical moves today, survived a few tense minutes when a sail ripped and then sped off to victory and a 3-0 lead over Italy’s Luna Rossa.

New Zealand needs two more victories in the best-of-nine series to become the first country other than the United States to successfully defend the America’s Cup. Race 4 is slated for Sunday, Race 5 for Tuesday.

Race 3 had been postponed from Thursday, when the race director felt the wind too unstable. Luna Rossa, which thought a race should have been held Thursday, was eager to atone for Tuesday’s disaster, when debris fouled its keel and a crewman was injured in a bloody accident.

But instead of cutting Black Magic’s lead to 2-1, Luna Rossa watched the black boat sail away before the midpoint of the six-leg, 18.5-mile race. The final margin was 1 minute 39 seconds.

Black Magic’s crew, which routed Dennis Conner, 5-0, off San Diego in 1995 to win the America’s Cup, took advantage of two wind shifts on the third leg and increased the lead from two lengths to about 10.