According to Julie Ash’s report in the New Zealand Herald, Peter Harrison’s GBR Challenge is two-boat testing again after closely guarded modifications were made to GBR-52. There is speculation that the decision to make modifications was taken so that radical design elements from the GBR Challenge race boat – currently under construction in Cowes – can be tested in full scale.

GBR-44 is unchanged and should provide an excellent index of what effect the modifications have had on GBR-52’s performance in a range of conditions.

Above deck, GBR Challenge is playing the America’s Cup game like we were never away. To avoid spilling their sail development beans, the British syndicate has been buying blank moulds of 3DL foresails and mainsails from the North Sails loft in Nevada and using its own sailmaking expertise to finish them at its sail loft in Halsey Street.

Elsewhere, Alinghi’s Russell Coutts is in trouble with neighbours and former employers Team New Zealand again. His father-in-law and some American friends were taking some photos in the Alinghi shed. Unfortunately, one of Team New Zealand’s boats was under tow to Hauraki Gulf at the time and Cup rules prohibit any syndicate taking photos of any other syndicate’s boats. TNZ demanded the photographer hand over the film.

Meanwhile, Prada’s feathers have been ruffled by the installation of mirrored windows on the ground floor of neighbour Oracle Racing’s shed – just yards from Prada’s slipway.

It’s America’s Cup madness – as good as ever.