With the Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 2 completed, the third and final series of 2004 sees the eight teams launch into a very different style of racing for America's Cup boats - Fleet Racing.
Going head to head with a single competitor is one thing, doing battle with seven others is something else. Here, eight teams, all twisting and turning as they fight for the favoured end of the line illustrate just how powerful and demanding these boats are to sail. The result is compulsive viewing.
Even in the unlikely event that the first leg is a quiet affair by comparison to the action at the start, the battle starts again at the weather mark and indeed each mark rounding of the course from there on. Gaining an advantage over your competitor in match racing is often about setting them up and forcing them into a tight corner. In fleet racing the need to keep your attention on seven other potential obstacles requires a very different focus for the strategists and tacticians.
So while the top four teams may have looked strong in the match racing, there's plenty of raw talent aboard some of the other teams where fleet racing is far more familiar territory.
Over 130,000 people have visited the America's Cup park so far; few would argue that the final Louis Vuitton Act of 2004 promises to be an impressive climax to a new era for America's Cup racing.
