AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- All three American yachts swept to victory on the opening day of challenger racing in the America's Cup.

	Oracle was guided through its first victory by Larry Ellison, the man with the biggest bucks behind the challenger boat.

Oracle, the San Francisco syndicate, defeated Italy's Prada, winner of the last Louis Vuitton Cup. The four-month series determines which boat faces the defender in sailing's most prestigious event.

The two other U.S. winners Tuesday were Stars & Stripes, the New York yacht skippered by Dennis Conner, and OneWorld, the Seattle syndicate co-run by Microsoft founder Paul Allen.

Conner was not aboard his yacht, choosing instead to manage ashore. His boat won by 20 seconds in the day's closest race.

''It was just great to get racing, to test our beautiful boat and to put our guys under the fire again,'' Conner helmsman Ken Read said.

Two-time winner Russell Coutts steered Swiss team Alinghi, the favorite to win the challenger series, to a four-minute, 48-second victory over Le Defi of France.

Greenpeace staged a small protest against the French yacht before the race. The environmental group says the involvement of a French nuclear power company in the regatta defies New Zealand's nuclear free policy.

Oracle chief executive officer Larry Ellison shared the helm with world match racing champion Peter Holmberg. He helped steer the boat to a 42-second victory over Prada.

Prada lost 5-0 to defender Team New Zealand in the America's Cup off Auckland in 2000.

The OneWorld syndicate of Allen and Seattle telecommunications magnate Craig McCaw routed Mascalzone Latino of Italy by 5:43.

The victory offset a one-point penalty imposed before the race when team members were found to possess design information belonging to other syndicates. OneWorld was docked a point by the America's Cup arbitration panel.

Britain ended a 15-year absence from the America's Cup when its Wight Lightning crossed the start line. But Stars & Stripes, representing the New York Yacht Club, edged Britain's GBR Challenge.

Yachts from New York and Britain first met in the Cup in 1851 when the New York Yacht Club's schooner America beat a fleet of 14 British entrants to win the trophy, which has since borne its name.

Stars & Stripes gained a 10-second jump at the start and was about a boat length ahead when the yachts crossed for the first time.

The midnight blue American yacht -- Conner's ninth Cup boat -- was 11 seconds ahead when the yachts rounded the first windward mark, a lead it maintained at the end of the first spinnaker run.

The British team was never more than a few boat lengths behind, but Read and tactician Tom Whidden made no errors. Whidden has sailed with Conner in seven Cup campaigns.

''There are times when you just have to go into survival mode and fortunately all 16 members of the crew went into survival mode at the same time,'' Read said.

GBR skipper Ian Walker had doubts about his team's strategy.

''We sailed pretty defensively all race,'' he said. ''Our game plan was not to be too aggressive, just to keep asking the question and hope they made a mistake. In hindsight our game plan was not good enough.''

Sweden's Victory Challenge had the bye on opening day. In match races scheduled for Wednesday, it's Stars & Stripes vs. Prada, OneWorld vs. Alinghi, Oracle vs. Mascalzone Latino, and Victory Challenge vs. Le Defi.