The first round of the 34th America's Cup challenge is over, with Team New Zealand earning all the plaudits.

The sight of the hull of Emirates Team New Zealand's catamaran lifting out of the water in San Francisco Bay is not only a spectacle for sailing fans, it is worth millions of dollars to New Zealand's economy.

Luna Rossa have been stung over $110,000 for failing to turn up to the Louis Vuitton Cup opening party last month.

It says a lot about this year's America's Cup that the biggest story of the racing so far has been a guest appearance by Tom Cruise, writes Dana Johannsen.

Tom Cruise's sail with Team NZ in San Francisco this week was the result of a joint effort by the Lord of the Rings producer Barrie Osborne and Leon Grice.

Kai Lenny's $1,500 Kite Board vs ORACLE TEAM USA's $15 million catamaran..."It's like bringing a knife to a gun fight," said ORACLE TEAM USA grinder Matt Mitchell. Those were the comments of Jimmy Spithill, the skipper of ORACLE TEAM USA and the defenders of the America's Cup.

Artemis skipper Iain Percy kept a strong grip on the rudder of common sense and trimmed the sails of expectation yesterday.

No more solo sails; no more lashings of Luna Rossa - Emirates Team NZ are going directly to the Louis Vuitton Cup final and we will not see them race again until August 18 (NZT).

Emirates Team New Zealand today announce they will advance directly to the Louis Vuitton Cup finals and let Luna Rossa and Artemis fight it out in the semi finals.

It had a serious undertone, but stand-in skipper Glenn Ashby and his Emirates Team New Zealand team-mates clearly enjoyed the change of routine.

Rotation was the order of the day on the water in the America's Cup as some emails reveal some of the political pressures at play on shore.

It'll be a comparatively quiet day on San Francisco Bay today - Emirates Team NZ will have a race against themselves and Artemis will have their first day off after three days' of successful sailing.

Speculation is rising in America's Cup circles that Oracle Racing CEO Sir Russell Coutts may not be with the syndicate at the next Cup regatta.

There will be something of a sense of what-could-have-been when 10 45-foot catamarans begin racing in September for the Red Bull Youth America's Cup.

The prevailing sentiment at this America's Cup is one of sadness, really.

What caused Luna Rossa to come almost to a shuddering halt after their rudder hit something during a solo race today?

n episode 3, The Cutting Edge, the AC72 takes center stage as the ultimate hero of the 34th America's Cup. As a piece of engineering, it is the most highly advanced sailboat in racing, meeting the standards now of what would be possible 15-20 years forward. The AC72 should not be flying above the water at 50 mph, but that is what it's doing.

Jonathan 'Jono' MacBeth has seen a few America's Cup races. A two-time Cup winner and five-time competitor, the Oracle grinder won it with the "big boat" challenge against Alinghi in 2010 and with Team New Zealand in 2000.

There was a defeated edge to Giles Scott's voice: "It's almost unfortunate that we are the only team that has to race them [Emirates Team New Zealand] in this America's Cup.

Emirates Team New Zealand had another strong win today over the Italians Luna Rossa which gave the team enough points already to qualify top of the Louis Vuitton round robin and have the right to go direct to the finals.

Emirates Team New Zealand have advanced to the final series of the Louis Vuitton Cup after another crushing victory over Luna Rossa this morning (NZT).

A decision whether a court injunction will stop the America's Cup, and Emirates Team New Zealand's promising march towards a showdown with holders Oracle.