As the fleet were lining up for a 15:00 start of race 3 with the same course setup for the previous race, a wind shift came through which resulted in the fleet being pushed towards the pin end of the starting line. The start was postponed and a the course was reset from 130 to 125 degrees.

Forty minutes later after 2 further postponements and a general recall, the fleet finally got away but not without further problems for some. Alinghi, Opus One, Morning Glory, Fiamma, Barking Mad, and Infinity were all over the line ahead of the start. With the Z flag flying during the start, all 6 boats had picked up a Z Flag penalty as a result .

Marcus Blackmore’s Hooligan from Australia was first to round the windward mark followed by Takashi Okura’s Sled from Japan; Rod Jabin’s Ramrod from the US; Wolfgang Schaefer’s Struntje Light from Germany; Erik Maris’ Twins from France; Fred & Steve Howe’s Warpath from the US; Carlo Alberini’s Calvi Network from Italy; and HRH Crown Prince Frederik’s Nanoq from Denmark.

Around 10 to 15 minutes into the first spinnaker run the breeze had dropped and the next leg up to the windward mark was reduced to 1.6 nautical miles. Hooligan, Sled and Ramrod held onto the first 3 positions at the bottom gate while Struntje Light and Twins had both dropped back a place to trail Warpath. Calvi Network and Nanoq were still seventh and eighth.