During an early morning briefing the quarterfinal pairings were decided, with the top ranked Ben Ainslie choosing to race Bjorn Hansen, followed by Mathieu Richard who chose to race fellow countryman Bertrand Pace, which left us to take on Damien Iehl.
With the south thermal breeze fighting to dominate the north gradient breeze it was an extremely tough day for both competitors and race organisers. Conditions really never settled and it was amazing that the race committee were able to get even one of our matches away. Despite the lack of breeze the only match of our quarterfinal was surrounded with huge drama, as we managed to take the victory in extraordinary circumstances.
After Damien and his team did a nice job in the start they managed to extend throughout a pretty 'one sided' race course, to go into the final run with what appeared to be an insurmountable lead. We rounded a long way behind and the French team looked to be cruising to victory, when they got caught in a massive light patch, only boat lengths from the finish line. We on the other hand had heated up to a great line of pressure and were making massive inroads in on the French team who appeared to be in extreme panic mode, while all we could do was hold our breath and sail as fast as we could to the finish. We came smoking into the hapless Iehl and charged past to take a much needed, but somewhat hollow victory.
No other racing was able to be completed due to the weather gods not coming to the party, so we ended the day 1 nil up in our first to 2 points quarterfinal. We are starting an hour earlier tomorrow with the intention of completing the quarterfinals, but if this is not possible the current results will stand. In the other matches Mathieu Richard is 1 up over Betrand Pace, while in the only quarterfinal to be completed Ben Ainslie secured his semi final berth with a 2 nil victory over Bjorn Hansen.
We would again like to say a special thank you to our sponsors FedEx Express and Events Clothing/Line 7. Owen Rutter from Events Clothing has supplied us with new sailing gear this season, keeping the boys looking very sharp and also warm up here in the cold mountains. The ongoing support of our sponsors is helping make this opportunity possible for the BlackMatch boys. We would also like to thank Emirates Team New Zealand and Steinlager Pure.
And the official story:
A Touch of Luck Defines Day 4 of The St. Moritz Match Race
St. Moritz, Switzerland - 4 September 2010 - On a frustrating day for the six teams battling to reach the semi-finals of the St. Moritz Match Race, perhaps the biggest fight was off the water between the gradient northerly wind and the thermally induced southerly, which left the racecourse peppered with monumental wind shifts, holes and gusts.
The weather has tested the skippers' mettle all week and today it created a spectacular sporting moment that had the crowd holding its breath. It looked as if it was all over for reigning 'King of the Mountain' Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing in his match against Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team. Iehl, looking to build on a remarkable previous day, had what seemed like an insurmountable lead however he hit a hole and unfavourable wind shift just before the finish line. At the same time, Minoprio caught a big gust that he rode all the way to the end, storming past Ihel just two boat lengths from the finish. The King of the Mountains clearly controls the wind however it was a hollow victory: "Damien did a really good job extending his lead around the course. Then, when it was almost all over, he sailed into a hole and we sailed round him. I really don't feel good about it, but we need the points."
No skipper was given Minoprio's luck forcing them to relentlessly pursue every possible advantage. A pre-start incident between triple Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN and Björn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team saw the umpires find in favour of the British team, as Ainslie explains: "It was a 50-50 situation in which we had to keep clear when Hansen luffed us hard. It was a difficult decision for the jury as to whether he had been too aggressive, or whether our response was too slow. Luckily they decided in our favour."
Next up was a French derby between Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team against Bertrand Pacé (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team. There was no love lost though as Richard tried to pin Pacé outside the line at the start. In a super-close rounding of the second mark, Richard had the favoured inside line, while Pacé collected a penalty for failing to give him space giving Richard the advantage which he held to the finish.
In what proved to be the final chapter of the day, Ainslie held a big lead over Hansen when a wind shift of such magnitude made it difficult for Hansen to hold the spinnaker. Despite vehement protest from Hansen's team, the race was not abandoned giving Ainslie a second and decisive win to join Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar in the semi-finals.
The battle between the two wind systems continued through the afternoon, and despite supreme efforts by the race committee, racing eventually had to be abandoned for the day. The remaining quarter-final races to decide the two teams that will face Ainslie and Williams in the semi-finals, will take place at 1000 local time tomorrow morning.
Quarter-final results at the St. Moritz Match Race:
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar: goes straight to semi-final Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAM ORIGIN: 2 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team: 1 Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing: 1 Bertrand Pace (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team: 0 Björn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team: 0 Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team: 0
Photos Copyright Loris Von Siebenthal:
1) Ben Ainslie made it to the semi-finals by beating Björn Hansen twice
2) Adam Minoprio can be happy: luck is on his side!
