The start Match racing actually begins ten minutes before the starting gun with a warning shot fired by the Race Committee Boat (flying a blue RC flag) ten minutes prior to the official start of the race.

Another shot is fired at five minutes prior and the two boats (each flying either a blue or yellow flag) enter the start area from opposite ends of the starting line five minutes prior to the actual start.

Within the two-minute period following her preparatory signal, a boat shall cross and clear the starting line, the first time from the course side to the pre-start side.

During the five minutes, the boats will engage in a furious pre-start battle, in which each will try to gain an advantage over the other.

The goal is to make the other boat cross the starting line early, which is a penalty, or to start legally ahead of the other boat. As a competitor, the goal in the pre-start is, first and foremost, to have an advantage on your opponent at the starting gun.

Therefore, the first "coming together" of the boats is usually followed by one boat chasing the tail of the other, in a circular movement until one boat is dominant and is able to chase or force the other away from the start line, trying to block his return and make him start late.

The time and distance judgement of the helmsman comes into play as the start gun is fired. Arrive too early and one risks being over the start line before the gun goes and having to lose valuable distance by having to come back and start correctly. Arrive too late or badly influenced by the other boat and a similar disadvantage prevails.

Because teams have practiced enough to know how to avoid the big match racing mistakes, most starts are not won or lost so clearly - with both boats crossing the line at virtually the same time.

In these starts, the winner and loser are not so patently obvious. The "winner of the start" is then not determined until several minutes up the race course when one side of the course receives the benefit of better wind conditions.

On the course the boats commence an upwind battle. Skippers and tacticians will have a race strategy for after the start. Work of collecting data about meteorology and local conditions will help them decide which side of the upwind leg is favoured relative to the phasing of the wind shifts and which side will give maximum speed and tactical advantage.

If the right side of the course is the preferred side before the pre start, the helmsman will try to "win the right" by positioning himself on the other boats right hand side. This will allow him to tack off freely to the right while the boat to the left will not be able to tack onto port in front of the starboard boat without infringing.

Later on during the race itself, decisions about which side of the course to protect change but the yacht which crosses the starting line in favoured position has a decided advantage because it can hinder the other boat by "covering" it.

The leading boat tries to interrupt the airflow over his competitor's sails by staying between the competitor and the wind. The trailing yacht will counter by tacking (altering course from one tack to the other) to break free of the turbulent airflow and to gain clear wind. This usually results in a "tacking duel" between the contestants.

Once a boat gains control and the lead, it can be extremely difficult to get past them. Lead changes were very rare in the 2000 Louis Vuitton Cup - occurring in less than 10% of the races.

The approach to the mark is a key time for all on board if it is a close race and at the bottom mark the same overlap rules apply and the action intensifies as crews drop the spinnaker and prepare the boat for the next leg while the skipper jostles for position.

On the downwind run, the trailing boat has the advantage because it is in a position to "cover" the leader and slow it down by blocking the wind from the leader's sails.

To escape, the lead boat may gibe away, creating high drama onboard and spectacular sailing as each crew swings spinnakers from side to side.