Race 4 was abandoned for the second time due to lack of wind on Tuesday, prompting organizers, the two teams and TV rights holders to agree to try again on Wednesday, scheduled as a lay day.

All this bobbing around on the Hauraki Gulf, which these days more resembles a tranquil mill pond, is starting to wear on more than just the sailors aboard Team New Zealand's Black Magic and Italy's Luna Rossa.

"We're getting bored out there, too," race committee chairman Harold Bennett said. "I think that is a problem. We want a race as much as the sailors do."

The best action on the water Tuesday was when a man in a motorized rubber boat pulled his terrier on a boogie board through the spectator fleet.

The forecast for Wednesday calls for tropical rain storms with winds of 12-15 knots from the northeast. Race 5 in the best-of-9 series, which Black Magic leads 3-0, will remain scheduled for Thursday, when the wind could build to 20-25 knots.

"We've had some good sailing days when we're not sailing, and today another day of no breeze where we should be sailing," Bennett said. "But the prospects from here look a lot better."

Organizers said earlier that they didn't plan to race on lay days because they were part of the schedule dictated by TV rights holders.

But with the Hauraki Gulf held hostage by a high-pressure system, four racing days have been lost to windless days, one more day than there has been racing. With four lay days up to this point, the regatta's momentum has been stripped away.

And there hasn't been much drama on the water, with Black Magic routing Luna Rossa in all three races, with no margin closer than 1 minute, 17 seconds. That was in the opener, which also was delayed by lack of wind.

Bennett said discussions about racing on lay days began on Monday, and that negotiating took place today. With TV contracts involved, "I know there were telephone calls flying all over the world from about midday today, to see whether this was in fact possible.

The boats haven't raced since Saturday. Race 4 originally was scheduled for Sunday, but there wasn't enough wind.

The wind actually has been pretty decent on a few of the lay days, including an average of almost 10 knots Monday, according to New Zealand's weather service.

Bennett said that despite appearances, this isn't the wrong time of year to be racing in the Hauraki Gulf.

"We do generally get a lot of good sea breezes," Bennett said. "But the weather pattern we're experiencing this year is a little different than what we've seen for the last number of years. I wouldn't say it's the wrong time of year, we've just struck a bad patch."

The high pressure results in sunny days that are good for sea breezes, but the southwesterly breeze from the Tasman Sea meets the northeasterly from the Pacific in the gulf, and they cancel each other out.

On Tuesday, supermodel Rachel Hunter, a Kiwi and the former wife of Rod Stewart, came over on a chase boat for a chat with the crew of Black Magic, who earlier ate ice cream bars as they shielded themselves from the summer sun.

The crew on Team New Zealand's backup boat let teen-agers climb aboard and swing off ropes into the water.