AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Team New Zealand's 10-race winning streak in the America's Cup was doomed before the Kiwis even got close to the first buoy.

	Crew members for Team New Zealand were left pondering what went so horribly wrong.

The two-time defending champions were forced to withdraw after their boat broke down twice less than 20 minutes into the opening race of the series Saturday, handing the victory to the challenger, Alinghi of Switzerland.

Water poured into the cockpit of the 80-foot sloop from the rough seas, apparently contributing to the back end of the carbon fiber boom shattering and the jib blowing out and flapping wildly against the mast. Just like that, the Kiwis' winning streak, dating to 1995, came to a shocking end.

''We had a lot of gremlins on the boat today,'' skipper Dean Barker said.

Alinghi sailed alone on the last five legs of the six-leg, 18.5-nautical mile course to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-nine America's Cup.

It was a strange sight as Alinghi crossed the finish line on the mostly empty Hauraki Gulf, with most of the huge spectator fleet having headed for port after the favored ''boys in black'' were knocked out.

With the strong breeze still kicking up whitecaps, Alinghi sailed the downwind final leg with a jib instead of a spinnaker, hoping to avoid any breakage. The team dropped the jib well before the finish line.

Overshadowed by the chaos was Alinghi skipper Russell Coutts setting a record with his 10th consecutive America's Cup match victory. His first nine came as Team New Zealand's skipper before he jumped ship to Alinghi, angering many New Zealanders.

The first sign of trouble on NZL-82 came when it started taking on water on the leeward side as it heeled against the wind. Mid-bowman Matt Mitchell bailed furiously with a blue bucket -- which the crew usually uses as a toilet -- mostly fighting a losing battle.

Team New Zealand boss Tom Schnackenberg estimated that six tons of water flowed onto the 25-ton boat.

That extra load might have stressed the boat, leading to the other breakdowns.

''Typically, when something goes wrong it loads up other parts of the boat,'' Barker said.

''We've got engineers working on it right now,'' Schnackenberg said.

With a breeze of 19-20 knots and gusts to 26 knots, the end of the boom broke with a loud bang 10 minutes after the start, keeping the Kiwis from controlling their mainsail, which is the size of a 747 wing.

The jib blew out a few minutes later when a titanium ring holding it to the bow shattered. Barker immediately turned downwind, but it still took several sailors to control the flapping sail and wrestle it below decks. They hoisted a new headsail and it blew out as well, because the groove that holds the sail to the forestay was broken.

The wounded black boat officially pulled out 25 minutes after the start, and a chase boat came in to begin the hour-long tow back into Auckland.

After leading around all 50 marks in the previous two America's Cup matches -- both were five-race sweeps -- the Kiwis didn't even complete the 3.25-nautical mile windward first leg.

There is no upper wind limit in the America's Cup match. In the challenger series, racing was called off if the wind was higher than 19 knots.

During pre-regatta training, the Kiwis hadn't experienced conditions like those of Saturday, Schnackenberg said.

''It doesn't cause concern, but it is certainly a wake-up call,'' he said.

Barker said there were a few problems before the race, including a failure with the halyard that hoists the jib, but the crew thought the boat was good to go.

Alinghi took the lead when the boats crossed for the first time, just after the Kiwis' boom broke.

''It's a shame when a boat breaks down,'' Alinghi tactician Brad Butterworth said.

It was the first time a yacht had retired from an America's Cup race since 1920, when defender Resolute damaged its rigging and pulled out, handing the opening race to Thomas Lipton's Shamrock IV. Resolute overcame a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2.

Coutts led Team New Zealand to a five-race sweep of Dennis Conner off San Diego in 1995 and to a five-race sweep of Italy's Prada in the 2000 defense.

Team New Zealand hadn't lost since April 15, 1995, during the challenger finals. New Zealand didn't hold defender trials in 2000 or this year.

The chaos aboard NZL-82 dampened what had been a festive mood in Auckland. Thousands of people turned out along the waterfront to cheer the team on, and the spectator fleet -- estimated at 2,500 boats, including three cruise ships -- made its way into the gulf.

The first race was to have been a showcase for Team New Zealand's radical ''hula'' hull appendage, which gives the boat extra length and, theoretically, more speed.