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Match Racing

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 08:19:00 +1200

Mathieu Richard Wins the 'King of the Mountain' Title in Spectacular Style

St. Moritz, Switzerland - 5 September 2010 - Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team won the 'King of the Mountain' title today in spectacular style, taking a huge stride towards his quest to become the 2010 ISAF Match Racing World Champion.

Having toyed with the teams all week at the St. Moritz Match Race, it was on the final day that the Maloja wind truly kicked in, bringing with it a supreme display of match racing for which the ISAF World Match Racing Tour is renowned. Richard, despite not always being on top of his game throughout the week, knuckled down when it mattered most, grinding out a series of hard-fought victories against his nearest rivals today.

When the two British skippers, triple Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN and double ISAF Match Racing World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar won their first semi-final matches, the prospects looked good for an all-British final. However, Richard had no intention of playing second fiddle and led Ainslie all the way round the course in their next race to level the score.

It was standing room only in the packed grandstands and with everything hanging on the final race of both semi-final matches, the crowds of spectators were in for a treat. A dogfight before each of the starts characterized the races. With a penalty to his name in his deciding semi-final battle against Ainslie, it appeared Richard's only option as they approached the final mark was a brutal one - to pin a penalty on Ainslie. Fortunately for Richard, his Blu26 found a gust, giving him enough time to complete his penalty turn and dispense with the Brit.

Meanwhile, in the Williams vs Minoprio bout Williams took the first match, but Minoprio responded in the second with a move at the windward mark, where Williams collected two penalties in rapid succession, allowing Minoprio to take a decisive victory. Williams though regained his composure for the final race of his dual with the New Zealander, with just enough control over Minoprio to maintain a slim lead to the finish and a place in the final.

The scene was set for a fitting British-French finale, with the title going to the first team to win two races. This was sailing's version of 'Le Crunch'. At times, both played underdog, exchanging glances and penalties. It was one all after two races and in the deciding race, it seemed only right that the wind, so unpredictable and challenging all week, should have the final say. Richard, playing a string of gusts and shifts to perfection, pulling five lengths clear, a lead he maintained to take the 'King of the Mountain' crown and CHF36,000 in prize money.

Richard, reflected: "I wasn't happy after losing the first race against Ian in the finals. I was too excited, made mistakes and didn't have a positive feeling. So, we picked ourselves up, changed our mood and took the match to them. We go to Denmark with a healthy lead however we know there is still all to play for. For now though, we're overjoyed."

As the Tour heads to the island of Bornholm, Denmark, next week, it is possible that the next few weeks will determine not just the outcome of this year's World Match Racing Tour but also shape the future of match racing with the America's Cup announcements that have been a hot topic all week in St. Moritz. Whatever the outcome, Richard and his rivals will remain focused on their endeavours to take the World Match Racing Tour title.

To view the 'Play of the Day' - Williams collecting two penalties against Minoprio, click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQEuRU4HumU

Overall Standings the 2010 St. Moritz Match Race:

Skipper/Teams Points

1 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 25

2 Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 20

3 Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch Racing 15

4 Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN 12

5 Bertrand Pace (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team 10

6 Björn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team 8

7 Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team 6

8 Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 4

9 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team

10 Eric Monnin (SUI) Swiss Match Race Team

11 Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team

12 Jerome Clerc (SUI) Team CER Geneve

For fans around the world, the St. Moritz Match Race will be featured in a TV highlights programme called The St Moritz Match Race. Featuring all the action from Lake St. Moritz, it will premiere on Eurosport at 21.35 on 6 October and also show on Eurosport Asia Pacific at 13.45 on 13 October. The programme will be screened on Sky Sports 3 at 18.00 on 22 October.

The St. Moritz Match Race highlights show will be broadcast on channels across the globe including CNBC, Setanta, Showtime, Sky NZ, Sevenload, Yacht and Sail International, America One, ESPN Star Sports, PCTV Mexico, Melita Cable, Bands Sports Brazil as well as local Swiss broadcaster Teleclub. The latest TV schedule for all the races can be viewed at: http://www.wmrt.com/multimedia/tv-schedules.html

*Note: times are subject to change without notification

- Ends -

2010 ISAF World Match Racing Tour Standings

(After Stage 6 of 9)

1. Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 96 Points
2. Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 72 Points

3. Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 69 Points

4. Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 60 Points

5. Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN 57 Points
6. Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 45 Points

7. Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 43 Points

8. Jesper Radich (DEN) Radich Racing Team                              40 Points
9. Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Sigma Racing Team                         29 Points
10. Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team                             23 Points

www.stmoritz-matchrace.ch

And this from BlackMatch:

Hi all from BlackMatch,

The wind failed to come to the party early this morning and with a tight programme to get through on the final day, the quarterfinals were called at 1 nil and we qualified for the semi final. Top qualifying Ian Williams chose to race us, which left Ben Ainslie to take on Mathieu Richard in the other semi final match up.

By midday a great thermal breeze had built and the afternoon saw some amazing action with the tightest racing seen all week. Unfortunately we lost our semi final to Ian Williams 2-1 after three very exciting matches while Mathieu Richard dispatched Ben Ainslie also 2-1.

This left us to take on Ben Ainslie and his Team Origin in the petit final which was a one race winner takes all affair, in blustery conditions. Following a busy prestart which saw us handed a somewhat cheap penalty in the dial up, we managed to get the start we wanted and head towards the left side of the course which was what we thought would be favoured. Ben opted for the right side of the course and by the top mark we had gained a healthy lead, although we still had an outstanding penalty. Winds up to 20 knots and short courses combined to test the crews and the British team were always in contention, but as we built on our lead nearing the final top mark, we decided to do our penalty turn at the finish line, which provided a nail biting finish for spectators. We came surfing toward the finish line and executed a nice penalty turn while Ben came storming in, however we just managed to complete our turn and cross the line mere boat lengths in front, to secure 3^rd position.

Despite feeling disappointed with not being able to defend our King of the Mountain title here in St Moritz, we are still happy with the result, especially after a decisive win against the formidable Ben Ainslie. Mathieu and his team took out the final 2-1 over Ian Williams and have extended their lead on the overall World Tour standings, while Ian Williams has leap frogged into 2^nd position leaving us in 3^rd. For now Mathieu Richard looks to be the favourite to take out the overall championship, however we are still very much in contention and will be looking to chase him down over the next couple of events, starting in Denmark next week.

For any media or results please visit www.worldmatchracingtour.com.

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.

BlackMatch Racing this week is Adam Minoprio, Tom Powrie, David Swete and Nick Blackman

Murdoch steps up to take Bronze at Laser Worlds

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 08:18:00 +1200

Date: 6 September 2010
From: Jodie Bakewell-White

Andrew Murdoch steps onto the podium for the bronze medal at the 2010 Laser World Championship which has just finished at Hayling Island, Great Britain.

Image by Event Media

This is the third Olympic class Laser World Championship medal for the 27 year old from Kerikeri Cruising Club, after a bronze in 2005 in Brazil, and silver in 2007 in Portugal.

It's been a gruelling week for Murdoch and his team mates who have sailed a total of 14 races over six days after the Hayling Bay venue produced conditions which allowed organisers to complete the full schedule.

Australia's Tom Slingsby has won the 2010 World title after romping away to open up an enormous lead on his rivals through the course of the regatta. Come the dawn of the final day of racing the Australian still had to stay out of trouble, but managed it with ease to win by 36 points over Nick Thompson of Great Britain.

"It's good to have it over with - it's been a pretty long regatta! I've had a bronze and silver before - I took last year off from racing so it's kind of good to come back to racing and come away with a bronze medal," says Murdoch. "My feel is still coming back to me a little bit [after the break]. I was giving Tommy a hard time on the way in and said he won't have it as easy next time!"

"The next major event I guess is the Worlds down in Perth in over a year's time and the main goal is Weymouth 2012 in two year so it's a great start to this campaign."

" We've got a mix of old and new guys in the squad and certainly the younger guys are stepping up and turning out some results, so it's good having a good team behind me pushing me."

After plenty of ups and downs it was Murdoch, (who represented New Zealand and finished fifth at the 2008 Olympic Games) that came through as the best of the kiwi team, though all had moments of brilliance. Murdoch held his nerve on the final day placing 8^th in the opening race then winning the final race of the series to march up the board from fifth and claim the bronze.

20 year old Josh Junior from the NZL Sailing Team has produced his best ever Laser Worlds finish. The young up and comer who represents Wellington's Worser Bay Boating Club, has placed sixth overall improving on his 11^th place in 2009 in Nova Scotia, Canada.

On the final day Mike Bullot and Andy Maloney slipped out of the top ten to finish in 14^th and 16^th respectively, a career best for the young Maloney.

Four top fifteen finishers indicates New Zealand has terrific strength and depth in the Laser camp right now which bodes well for the 2012 Olympic Games. All seven sailors from New Zealand finished inside the top third of the 159-strong fleet providing valuable world class gold fleet experience.

The 2010 Finn Gold Cup has also reached its conclusion, being staged in San Francisco over the past week. Dan Slater from the NZL Sailing Team was the best finisher of the six kiwi entries coming home in 15^th place.

The NZL Sailing Team Laser sailors are supported by coaches Mark Howard and Jez Fanstone, while Dave Robertson and Grant Beck are coaching support to the RS:X sailors in Denmark. John Clinton is coach at the Finn Gold Cup in San Francisco.

You can now follow the NZL Sailing Team via their Facebook page.

2010 Laser World Championships, 30^th August - 5^th September
New Zealand's final results (Total feet: 159)

3^rd Andrew Murdoch
6^th Josh Junior
14^th Mike Bullot
16^th Andy Maloney
26^th Sam Meech
41^st Max Andrews
50^th James Sandall

2010 Finn Gold Cup, San Francisco, USA, 30th August - 4th September.
New Zealand's final results (Total fleet: 87)

15^th Dan Slater
32^nd Nik Burfoot
35^th Matt Coutts
69^th Bradley Douglas
74^th Rob Coutts
75^th Ray Hall

Links:
2010 Finn Gold Cup
2010 Laser World Championship
NZL Sailing Team on Facebook

World Champs Update - Ashley finishes 6th, Tobin 8th

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 11:06:00 +1200

Date: 5 September 2010
From: Jodie Bakewell-White

2010 RS:X World Championship

A World Championship medal in 2010 has eluded both Tom Ashley and Jon-Paul Tobin finishing sixth and eighth respectively at the RS:X Men's World Championships just concluded in Kerteminde, Denmark.

Image by: Kasper Bejerholm - kasper@123-webdesign.dk

While both of the kiwis sailed brilliantly at times over the course of the six day regatta, in the end it was Poland that came to the fore with a gold - silver finish for team mates Poitr Myzska and Przemslaw Miarczynski. Israel's Nimrod Mashiah took out the bronze medal.

Tom Ashley, who has returned to competition this year after a year-long break, was disappointed when things simply didn't go his way in last night's quick fire medal race.

"Actually had a pretty disastrous race," he reflects. "It was very shifty and gusty, and I spent most of the race between 1st and 4th although the lead changed many times."

"Unfortunately the water was full of seaweed, and I hooked a huge piece of weed on my fin near the beginning of the last downwind which I couldn't remove. I ended up falling from 4th to 9th by the time the race finished. I finished 6th overall."

Despite missing out on the podium, it is encouraging that the medal race featured two kiwi sailors and from here they and the coaching team, will take the lessons and apply them to the ultimate goal of Olympic medals in Weymouth.

"Pretty disappointing after being in with a shot at a medal during the final race," continues Ashley. "However, I learned a lot during the competition and I still feel that this result is ok after taking a year off. Overall it seems like I'm on track for 2012, which is the real target."

Jon-Paul Tobin was eighth overall after placing 8^th in last night's medal race. The 33 year old Takapuna Boating Club sailor appears to be in career topping form this year, and he adds this result to a list of top ten placings this year.

2010 Laser World Championship

The snakes and ladders on the leader-board has continued at the 2010 Laser World Championship as it draws to a conclusion on Hayling Bay, Great Britain.

Four members of the NZL Sailing Team are still among the top eleven of the 159-strong fleet as they go into the final day of racing.

Last night, seasoned campaigner Andrew Murdoch improved his position in the fleet coming through into fifth overall after a 14^th and an 8^th on the water. The 2008 Olympian is eleven points off third place as the regatta hits the final day where two races are possible.

Josh Junior is in seventh, Andy Maloney slips from second equal back to eighth after his poorest day yet, and Mike Bullot is in 11^th place.

Australia's Tom Slingsby continues to demonstrate to his rivals how to win races, coming away from last night with another two bullets and even further extending his leading margin. A whopping 32 points clear he appears to have this title in the bag.

At the Finn Gold Cup in San Francisco, where a remaining two days of racing will determine the World Champion for 2010, kiwi Dan Slater is in 15^th place.

You can now follow the NZL Sailing Team via their Facebook page.

2010 RS:X World Championships, 29^th August - 4^th September
New Zealand's final results

Men's Championship (111 sailors)

6^th Tom Ashley
8^th Jon-Paul Tobin
78^th (22^nd in silver fleet) Antonio Cozzolino

Women's Championship (66 sailors)

34^th(1^st in silver fleet) Kate Ellingham
36^th (3^rd in silver fleet) Stefanie Williams
41^st (8^th in silver fleet) Natalia Kosinska
49^th(16^th in silver fleet) Alice Monk

2010 Laser World Championships, 30^th August - 5^th September
New Zealand's provisional standings (Total feet: 159)
5^th Andrew Murdoch (6, 4, 11, 2, 8, 22, 9, 1, 24, 24, 14, 8)
7^th Josh Junior (3, 22, 1, 2, 7, 5, 8, 29, 12, 21, 25, 7)
8^th Andy Maloney (2, 22, 4, 10, 2, 11, 3, 4, 20, 5, 37, 36)
11^th Mike Bullot (1, 2, 5, 13, 9, 3, 3, 23, BFD54, 30, 26, 16)
28^th Sam Meech (10, 46, 5, 14, 7, 13, 24, 2, BFD54, 33, 19, 24)
35^th Max Andrews (12, 41, 19, 7, 26, 8, 4, 34, 13, 10, 49, 44)
51^st James Sandall (42, 7, 6, 14, 14, RAF55, 12, 5, 43, 49, 50, 47)

2010 Finn Gold Cup, San Francisco, USA
Dates: 30th August - 4th September
New Zealand's provisional standings after ten races (Total fleet: 87)
15^th Dan Slater (32, 17, 28, 11, 26, 4, 9, 11, 13, 12)
32^nd Nik Burfoot (24, 33, 42, 30, 34, 31, 36, 31, 39, 22)
37^th Matt Coutts (37, 48, 26, 20, 32, 52, 35, 28, 18, 52)
65^th Bradley Douglas (62, 88/DNF, 52, 61, 51, 60, 64, 59, 88DNS, 88DNS)
71^st Rob Coutts (63, 57, 72, 62, 82, 65, 78, 69, 88DNS, 88DNS)
77^th Ray Hall (61, 68, 65, 88DNF, 68, 58, 88DNF, 88ZFP, 88DNS, 88DNS)

Links:
2010 RS:X World Championships
2010 Finn Gold Cup
2010 Laser World Championship

BlackMatch

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 10:51:00 +1200

Hi all from BlackMatch,

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!

Contact St. Moritz Match Race

www.stmoritz-matchrace.ch

Dan Slater

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 21:34:00 +1200

Well this hasn't been the World Championships I would have liked but I have managed to turn it round a bit.
In the last 4 races I have had a 9th , 11th, 13th and 12th. All those races I have had good starts but not quite as quick as some of the big boys. I have been mixing in the top 10 when the the current has had not such an effect on the course and we have been able to play either side of the upwind legs. But the one way track racing has been a long slog.
Ed Wright GBR and Rafa ESP along with Giles Scott GBR really have had a click of pace on everyone this week and the limited options with what side of the course you can go has really made it hard to beat them. Our beats have been up to 1.8 miles long and in days like today were the breeze was in the 18-25knot range the races are really tough. Most of the fleet I think feel they have done enough hiking for the year and most are starting to hobble round the boat park.
We have just 1 race tomorrow and then its time to pack a container and come home.
I have been really disappointed with my performance here especially at the start of the regatta. Its been a long regatta and im now looking forward to getting home.

Thanks

Dan Slater

BlackMatch in St Moritz

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:36:00 +1200

Hi all from BlackMatch,

It would be fair to say that we are developing some what of a reputation for just scraping through into the final stages of World Tour Events and today was by no means an exception, as we grabbed the last remaining quarterfinal position in our final race of the day.

At the start of the day we new we would need at least one win to cement our spot in the quarterfinals and after losing out to Mathieu Richard and Ben Ainslie in our opening matches, it all came down to a nail biting race against the top qualifying Ian Williams.

Ian and his Pindar Racing Team had a great start to the race and we had to work extremely hard in the shifty conditions to close the gap by the top of the course. There was a very close incident at the top mark rounding when we were windward boat and the Brit was luffing to get around the mark. They protested us for not keeping clear while we countered believing they had gone past 'head to wind' to get to us. The decision was in the umpire's hands and although we rounded the mark first there was nerve racking wait for their decision which was ultimately a green flag for no incident. We had stretched out to a healthy lead by the bottom mark but the race was far from over and by the final top mark, they were hot on our heals. The British Team rounded in better breeze and went to roll over the top of us, so we had to luff hard to defend. We sailed them out to the side of the course and executed a nice gybe back to the finish line while we felt them breathing down our necks right until the finale.

It was a huge relief to make the final cut and the way the other results panned out there were 3 other teams that finished on 6 wins, with a tiebreak needed to decide the last qualifier. Unfortunately for Italy's Francesco Bruni he was the one to miss out due to us beating him earlier in the week, while we managed to scrape through by the narrowest of margins.

Tomorrow we look forward to finding out who our quarterfinal opponent will be, as the teams that qualified higher get the choice of who to race. We will also be looking to continue another trait of ours, qualifying last and then somehow going on to win the event, something that we did 3 times last year on the World Tour.

For any media or results please visit www.worldmatchracingtour.com.

BlackMatch Racing this week is Adam Minoprio, Tom Powrie, David Swete and Nick Blackman

NewBlogEntry

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 09:09:00 +1200

Mountains of Suspense at the St. Moritz Match Race

St. Moritz, Switzerland - 3 September 2010 - The tension was palpable deep in the Swiss Alps at the St. Moritz Match Race today as the final push to qualify for the quarter-finals reached fever pitch. While three teams were assured of their place, a further six started the day virtually tied on points, preparing to fight tooth-and-nail for the remaining four places and a chance to have a crack at taking the 'King of the Mountain' title.

At the head of the pack, Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar, Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN and Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team were majestic on the water, making light work of the tricky and shifty conditions that have characterised the racing on Lake St. Moritz. With their path to the next round soon assured, the scene was set for the other teams to front up and put their rivals on the next plane home.

What ensued was match racing at its most intense - the skippers pushed and often broke the rules of match racing and sportsmanship, keeping the on-water umpires fully occupied. Bill Edgerton, Chief Umpire, said: "The competition here is red hot, with sailors making quick-fire decisions and straying well into the interpretative part of the rules."

The heavyweights of Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team, lying second overall on the Tour before this event, America's Cup sailor Francesco Bruni (ITA) AZZURRA and reigning 'King of the Mountain' Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing, knew they each had a dogfight on their hands if they were to progress any further. Unfortunately for them, these three skippers faced a formidable challenge in the might of triple Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie, double ISAF Match Racing World Champion Ian Williams, and current overall tour leader Mathieu Richard. Before going afloat, Mirsky summed up the challenge: "It's a do or die day for us. We need to overtake at least one team but we're up against Ainslie, Williams and Richard."

In the first bout between Williams and Bruni, a constant mix of aggressive yet measured sailing created a fantastic spectacle in front of the grandstand, Williams eventually showing why he's is a 2-time ISAF Match Racing World Champion by taking a closely-fought victory. The clouds were drawing in on the trio of increasingly apprehensive skippers, as Ainslie and Richard similarly outgunned Mirsky and Minoprio respectively.

Down but not out and with pride and the added incentive of substantial prize money at stake, the underdogs came back for more with renewed determination and eventually Bruni, Minoprio and Mirsky all led their opponents home.

The fight back meant four teams were then tied on 6-5 each, with the final three quarter-final places ultimately decided on count back, with Minoprio, Hansen and Iehl going through, while Bruni and Mirsky left to rue their missed opportunities.

A delighted Ainslie commented: "Conditions out there were very tough for everyone and we're very happy to be going through to the quarter-finals. It was an interesting last race for us, we tried to offload a penalty by gybing on the layline to the windward mark instead of tacking but it didn't work and Bruni got ahead."

Ian Williams, added: "We're very pleased to have a guaranteed top four position and, by winning the round robins, we've secured a place in the semi-finals. We'll be watching the quarter-finals very carefully, trying to learn more about how the breeze is structured on the course, and look for ideas to improve our boat handling."

Elsewhere, Björn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team and Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team both notched up a impressive victories to leave them each with a 6-5 scoreline whilst Bertrand Pacé (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team took two bullets to secure his place in the next round.

Photo: Copyright Loris Von Siebenthal

1) Ian Williams won the Round Robin convincingly and gets a straight ticket to the semi-finals

2) Adam Minoprio had to win his last match against Ian Williams to make it to the quarter-finals. Job well done!

St. Moritz Match Race, final results at the end of the Round (after 22 flights) :

1) Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 9/2 - 9 points
2) Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN 8/3 - 8 points
3) Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 7/4 - 7 points

4) Bertrand Pacé (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team 7/4 - 7 points
5) Björn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team 6/5 - 6 points

6) Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match racing Team 6/5 - 6 points

7) Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 6/5 - 6 points
8) Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 6/5 - 6 points

9) Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 5/6 - 5 points

10) Eric Monnin (SUI) Swiss Match Racing team 4/7 - 4 points

11) Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing team 2/9 - 2 points

12) Jérôme Clerc (SUI) Team CER Genève 0/11 - 0 point

You can follow the live blog at www.wmrt.com from 1 to 5 September from 11.00am until racing finishes at approximately 18.00

www.stmoritz-matchrace.ch

World Champs Update - Tom Ashley chases a medal in Denmark

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 09:07:00 +1200

Date: 4 September 2010
From: Jodie Bakewell-White

2010 RS:X World Championship

Image by Event Media: Tom Ashley on day four

Tom Ashley is in the hunt for a World Championship medal with the RS:X Men's title up for grabs in one final medal race to be sailed in Kerteminde, Denmark tonight. Lying fourth after a hard fought five days of racing so far, Ashley is within reach of the podium.

Team-mate Jon-Paul Tobin is also in the starting line-up sitting in seventh place in the top ten sailors who will compete in the quick-fire double points remaining race.

Here's what Tom Ashley had to say at the conclusion of the penultimate day:
"I had a better day today. We only managed one race as the wind was very light and unstable, but I had a solid race to finish 6th."

"This means that I go into tomorrow's double points medal race in fourth position, eight points from the lead and four points from third. It's all on!"

"There was a bit of shuffling on the leaderboard today- lots of good guys had a very bad race," he notes. "I am looking forward to the medal race."

Poitr Myzska (POL) holds the lead going into the final race on 35, with just a one point margin over second placed Przemslaw Miarczynski also of Poland, on 36. In third place is Israel's' Nimrod Mashiah in 39, four ahead of Ashley on 43.

2010 Laser World Championship

Image by Event Media: NZL Sailing Team in action

Things are heating up at the 2010 Laser World Championships at Hayling Island, Great Britain where a team of seven kiwis are competing. The NZL Sailing Team continues to feature strongly at the top of the fleet with four New Zealanders placed in the top ten.

Five days of racing are completed, with two days yet to run before the title for this year is decided. Overnight two more races were staged, in what appears to have been a tough day on the water for some including Beijing gold medallist and defending World Champion Paul Goodison (GBR) who had his worst day yet.

More shuffling on the leader board see's Andy Maloney come through to be the best placed kiwi and sitting in second equal with only Tom Slingsby of Australia out in front. Maloney was 20^th and 5^th overnight but discards the 20^th and has a points total of 41, equal with GBR's Nick Thompson who had a good day.

Josh Junior, Andrew Murdoch and Mike Bullot are lying eighth, ninth and tenth respectively after day five of the regatta. Bullot was rocked by a black flag in the first race of the day which hits hard in the points score.

You can now follow the NZL Sailing Team via their Facebook page.

2010 RS:X World Championships, 29th August - 4th September
New Zealand's provisional standings

Men's Championship (111 sailors)
4th Tom Ashley (1, 5, 3, 5, 18, 2, 27, 4, 6)
7th Jon-Paul Tobin (6, 6, 1, 2, 2, 17, 20, 2, 42)
82nd (16th in silver fleet) Antonio Cozzolino (41, 39, 21, 24, 41, 58, 21, 16)

Women's Championship (66 sailors)
34th (1st in silver fleet) Kate Ellingham (11, 14, 16, 18, 20, 1, 3)
36th (3rd in silver fleet) Stefanie Williams (14, 13, 14, 29, 18, 11, 1)
41st (8th in silver fleet) Natalia Kosinska (28, 22, 27, 15, 9, 4, 11)
4th (16th in silver fleet) Alice Monk (18, 20, 22, 26, 25, 21, 16)

2010 Laser World Championships, 30^th August - 5^th September
New Zealand's provisional standings after day three (Total feet: 159)

2^nd= Andy Maloney (2, 22, 4, 10, 2, 11, 3, 4, 20, 5)
8^th Josh Junior (3, 22, 1, 2, 7, 5, 8, 29, 12, 21)
9^th Andrew Murdoch (6, 4, 11, 2, 8, 22, 9, 1, 24, 24)
10^th Mike Bullot (1, 2, 5, 13, 9, 3, 3, 23, BFD54, 30)
24^th Max Andrews (12, 41, 19, 7, 26, 8, 4, 34, 13, 10)
31^st Sam Meech (10, 46, 5, 14, 7, 13, 24, 2, BFD54, 33)
49^th James Sandall (42, 7, 6, 14, 14, RAF55, 12, 5, 43, 49)

2010 Finn Gold Cup, San Francisco, USA
Dates: 30th August - 4th September.
New Zealand's provisional standings after six races (Total fleet: 87)
17^th Dan Slater (32, 17, 28, 11, 26, 4, 9, 11)
34^th Nik Burfoot (24, 33, 42, 30, 34, 31, 36, 31)
36^th Matt Coutts (37, 48, 26, 20, 32, 52, 35, 28)
62^nd Bradley Douglas (62, 88/DNF, 52, 61, 51, 60, 64, 59)
71^st Rob Coutts (63, 57, 72, 62, 82, 65, 78, 69)
73^rd Ray Hall (61, 68, 65, 88DNF, 68, 58, 88DNF, 88ZFP)

Links:
2010 RS:X World Championships
2010 Finn Gold Cup
2010 Laser World Championship

Black Match Report

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:55:00 +1200

Hi all from BlackMatch,

Day two of the St Moritz Match Race saw us involved in only 3 matches and we could only manage a single victory over the local team, skippered by Jerome Clerc. We suffered at the hands of two French teams today losing out to veteran Betrand Pace and the ever consistent Damien Iehl.

The infamous shifty conditions of the St Moritz Match Race were in full force today, as shown in our match against Betrand Pace. Despite forcing a penalty on the wily Frenchman, he sailed very well around the course to etch out enough of a lead to complete his penalty turn. It was also very hard to defend your lead today and despite being almost 8 boat lengths in front of the local team at one stage during our match, they closed the gap right up at the top mark and we had to defend hard to protect our lead.

We have 3 races remaining in the round robin and with one more win needed to secure a spot in the next stage of the event, we still have a lot of work to do. Tomorrow we face arguably the three most formidable competitors in Britains Ben Ainslie and Ian Williams also the Frenchman Mathieu Richard. All three of these teams have been showing awesome form this week and their reputation precedes them, however we are confident we can get the wins needed.

For any media or results please visit www.worldmatchracingtour.com.

BlackMatch Racing this week is Adam Minoprio, Tom Powrie, David Swete and Nick Blackman

And the official report

The French Apprentice Turns Master at the St. Moritz Match Race

St. Moritz, Switzerland - 2 September 2010 - Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team was the aggressor on day two of The St. Moritz Match Race in Switzerland, storming through a run of five successive victories including a comprehensive defeat of the reigning 'King of the Mountain', Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing.

If the spectators expected the relative newcomer to the ISAF World Match Racing Tour to be apprehensive after a disappointing opening day, he did not show it. As the thermally-induced Maloja wind rushed in, the young Frenchman exhibited ernbersome deft moves on the water, leading Minoprio around mark one by three lengths and eventually extending his lead all the way to the finish.

The ISAF World Match Racing Tour has a rich history of nurturing the best match racing talent and Iehl looked every bit a champion in the making today. His next fight was against another super-tough opponent, Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team, currently ranked second in the Tour. The two skippers jostled and jabbed like boxers to gain the upper hand at the start with only inches separating them. This was toe-to-toe action. Mirsky gained the initial advantage, but Iehl read the subtleties of the wind to perfection, building what proved to be an insurmountable 10-length lead at the first mark.

With two victories under his belt Iehl was unstoppable, even by the might of triple Olympian and America's Cup sailor Francesco Bruni (ITA) AZZURRA. At the start the French team gained the favourable lee bow position and led the accomplished Italian round all three laps of the course.

Iehl, commented: "We had a clear game plan today which gave us the great starts we needed, as well as a strategy that delivered the best course through all the wind shifts. Our teamwork and manoeuvres were spot on too - it was a perfect progression for us from yesterday."

A classic French - British dogfight is developing between the front runners and if anyone is going to put a counter-attack together on Iehl, there's a strong chance it will come from Ian Wiiliams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar who leads the standings overnight, having won all three of his races today.

Triple Olympic gold medalist and America's Cup skipper, Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN also demonstrated total dominance of his opponents with a clean sweep of victories, as did Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team.

With seven teams advancing to the next stage, three are confirmed as having made the quarter finals, but another six - including some veteran stars - are still in the hunt for the remaining four places.

Photos: Copyright Loris Von Siebenthal / St. Moritz Match race:

1) Ian Williams, current leader at the end of day 2

2) Damien Iehl, from France, won three races today and five in a row.

Website
www.stmoritz-matchrace.ch
www.wmrt.com

www.stmoritz-matchrace.ch

World Champs Update - Into the business end

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:53:00 +1200

Date: 3 September 2010
From: Jodie Bakewell-White

Racing continued overnight for the RS:X and Laser World 2010 titles where the NZL Sailing Team are battling it out with the world's best.

Between the two regattas being staged in Denmark and Great Britain, New Zealand has six sailors placed within the top eight in their fleet all in with a shot at the podium as both regattas move into the business end of competition. Dogged international rivals are also sailing well and this means the kiwi team have the challenge to up their game from here to stand on the podium.
Laser

Currently occupying half of the top eight places at the 2010 Laser World Championships at Hayling Island, Great Britain, the kiwis are in third, fourth, sixth and eighth. Mike Bullot and Andy Maloney have ousted Josh Junior as are best placed of the team as the 159 strong fleet splits to Gold, Silver and Bronze fleets for the remaining three days.
Bullot was 3^rd then 23^rd last night, but wins out because his former discard race was better and he has a points total of 36. Andy Maloney has improved his standing further still, moving from seventh place up to fourth at the end of the qualifying rounds. He had his best day on the water yet returning a 3^rd and a 4^th. These two are now tied up for third place overall just two points behind the Beijing Gold medallist Goodison.

Tom Slingsby of Australia last night extended his leading margin on the chasing fleet and now holds a whopping 14 point lead over Paul Goodison (GBR) in second place with 34 points.

Andrew Murdoch placed 9^th in last night's first race then came rounded out the qualifiers with a win to hold sixth overall - up from eighth - and 41 points total. Josh Junior slipped from second place back to eighth suffering in the standings after a 29^th in race eight of the series, which means he has to count a 22^nd from day one.
The fleets now split and three more days of racing will determine the world champion. All seven of the NZL Sailing Team in attendance progress to the Gold fleet.
RS:X

At the RS:X Men's and Women's World Championships in Denmark sailors have returned to the water after a mid regatta rest day and sailed two races overnight. Jon-Paul Tobin and Tom Ashley have slipped to fifth and sixth respectively both returning one average race result as the finals rounds got underway.
Just one point separates the kiwis with Tobin on 36 and Ashley on 37. Both now have some ground to make up on the leaders including Dorian van Rijsseberge (NED) out in front with 23 points, Poitr Myszka (POL) on 25 points and Nimrod Mashiah (ISR) on 27 points.

With two more days of racing remaining, tonight will determine the top ten sailors to be on the starting line for the medal race on the final day of the series - September 4^th.
The NZL Sailing Team Laser sailors are supported by coaches Mark Howard and Jez Fanstone, while Dave Robertson and Grant Beck are coaching support to the RS:X sailors in Denmark. John Clinton is coach at the Finn Gold Cup in San Francisco.
You can now follow the NZL Sailing Team via their Facebook page.
2010 Laser World Championships, 30^th August - 5^th September
New Zealand's provisional standings (Total feet: 159)

3^rd=Mike Bullot (1, 2, 5, 13, 9, 3, 3, 23)
3^rd = Andy Maloney (2, 22, 4, 10, 2, 11, 3, 4)
6^th Andrew Murdoch (6, 4, 11, 2, 8, 22, 9, 1)
8^th Josh Junior (3, 22, 1, 2, 7, 5, 8, 29)
17^th Sam Meech (10, 46, 5, 14, 7, 13, 24, 2)
38^th James Sandall (42, 7, 6, 14, 14, RAF55, 12, 5)
43^rd Max Andrews (12, 41, 19, 7, 26, 8, 4, 34)

2010 RS:X World Championships, 29^th August - 4^th September
New Zealand's provisional standings

Men's Championship (111 sailors)

5^th Jon-Paul Tobin (6, 6, 1, 2, 2, 17, 20, 2)
6^th Tom Ashley (1, 5, 3, 5, 18, 2, 27, 4)
82^nd (16^th in silver fleet) Antonio Cozzolino (41, 39, 21, 24, 41, 58, 21, 16)

Women's Championship (66 sailors)

34^th(1^st in silver fleet) Kate Ellingham (11, 14, 16, 18, 20, 1, 3)
36^th (3^rd in silver fleet) Stefanie Williams (14, 13, 14, 29, 18, 11, 1)
41^st (8^th in silver fleet) Natalia Kosinska (28, 22, 27, 15, 9, 4, 11)
4^th(16^th in silver fleet) Alice Monk (18, 20, 22, 26, 25, 21, 16)

2010 Finn Gold Cup, San Francisco, USA
Dates: 30th August - 4th September.
New Zealand's provisional standings after sixraces (Total fleet: 87)
20^th Dan Slater (32, 17, 28, 11, 26, 4)
34^th Nik Burfoot (24, 33, 42, 30, 34, 31)
37^th Matt Coutts (37, 48, 26, 20, 32, 52)
63^rd Bradley Douglas (62, 88/DNF, 52, 61, 51, 60)
66^th Rob Coutts (63, 57, 72, 62, 82, 65)
67^th Ray Hall (61, 68, 65, 81DNF, 68, 58)

Links:
2010 RS:X World Championships
2010 Finn Gold Cup
2010 Laser World Championship

Dan Slater at the Gold Cup

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:23:00 +1200

Hi
Well not great news but I did have good starts. The breeze was late today so we were postponed for an hour then it came in quite quick to about 12knots and topped out at 16knots during the second race.
In race one I just couldn't hold my lanes and really struggled to point well upwind. I rounded the first mark 40th and gained boats on every leg to finish 25th but was really frustrated with the height problem.
Race 2 I had a change of Tactics and I started down the pin end and with 3 others we tacked and crossed most of the fleet. By the top mark I was 9th or 10th and and with good pointing it should have been a top 5 rounding. Not to much changed down the first run and the fleet split at the gate. On the second beat I went out to the left and I picked up some places to round the top mark 6th. Then on the final 2 reaches I was able to take another two boats and finish 4th.

The 4th was a good result but I was a bit lucky that things fell into place as I was still struggling for height upwind. I know have a bit of work to do in the next 4 races but will fight till the death on this one.

Dan

Dan Slater

BlackMatch in St Moritz

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:13:00 +1200

Hi all from BlackMatch,

Today was the opening day of the 2010 St Moritz World Match Racing Tour Event and with 4 wins from our 5 races, it was a great start for BlackMatch Racing. This event is the 6^th leg of the World Tour and really marks the business end of the season. Held on a lake 1800 meters above sea level and with the Swiss Alps providing the back drop for the action on the water, it is without a doubt the most stunning event on the World Tour and also one of the trickiest.

With temparatures plummeting to zero degrees Celsius overnight, we were greeted with an eerie mist over the lake this morning, however without a cloud in the sky and with the sun shining it was an amazing day of sailing, although extremely shifty. We had decisive victories over Torvar Mirsky, Francesco Bruni, Johnnie Berntsson and local talent Eric Monin, while our loss came against Swede Bjorn Hansen, who also finished the day with only a single loss.

We have 6 races remaining in the round robin with the format seeing the top 7 teams progressing through to the next stages of the event, while the top qualifier proceeds directly through to the semi final. This provides a great incentive to finish the round robin on top and avoid the 6 boat quarterfinal, while the magic number looks to be 6 wins to make the final seven.

For any media or results please visit www.worldmatchracingtour.com.

BlackMatch Racing this week is Adam Minoprio, Tom Powrie, David Swete and Nick Blackman

All To Play For At The St. Moritz Match Race

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:10:00 +1200

St. Moritz, Switzerland - 1 September 2010 - The opening day of racing at the St. Moritz Match Race dawned bright but cold, with the surface of the lake covered in a thin layer of picturesque mist. However, the tranquil setting belied the intensity of racing that was to come most notably between the British and French teams.

The first start saw double ISAF Match Racing World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar pitched against local sailor Jérôme Clerc (SUI) Team CER Genève, who gained a wildcard invitation to the event. The young Swiss sailor proved from the outset that he has the talent to mix with sailing's biggest stars, taking the lead just after the start and holding it until tantalisingly close to the finish.

Clerc was next up against Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN. Approaching the first windward mark, Clerc held a small advantage slightly to windward of the British boat, but Ainslie pulled just far enough forward to slip above the Swiss skipper in a deft manoeuvre that cleared his way to round the mark first.

Clerc, commented: "It was a lot of fun today - we're not really favourites, but we are really happy to be in contact with them and playing with them."

Ainslie's fight with Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team saw the event's first piece of red-hot anger, including a collision, much shouting between the two teams, and a rapid succession of penalties even before the start gun was fired. With a red flag penalty - to be taken immediately - Iehl's race was effectively over at the start.

The Brits went on to dominate the first part of the day's racing, with both teams winning all their races, including Ainslie's match against current World Match Racing Tour leader Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team. "It's the start we wanted, even though we're a bit rusty having missed the last two events. The conditions were very tricky with 20-25 and even 30, degree windshifts and it was important to connect the gusts, especially downwind."

So what would happen when Ainslie and Williams went head-to-head? After close sparring in the pre-start, Williams held Ainslie out to the wrong side of the committee boat, winning the start by a length and a half. At the windward mark Williams misjudged his tack and collided with Ainslie, but maintained a tenuous lead. At the beginning of the final leg he had extended this to three-lengths, but still had a penalty turn to take before finishing - it was impossible to predict the result, until a gust allowed Williams to extend his lead 150m from the finish line.

The French teams came to the fore in the final races of the day. Ainslie and Bertrand Pacé (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team were evenly positioned at the start, with Pacé at the left-hand end of the line. With the stronger gusts on the left-hand side of the course he quickly pulled out a small lead. Pacé, reflected: "Then we just tried to sail with the best wind, choosing the right side of the course and staying in phase with the wind shifts - it's easy to stay ahead of the other guy if you do that in these conditions."

The last race, between Mathieu Richard and Ian Williams, was also the closest. With 15 seconds to go the French skipper looked much too early, yet he found enough wriggle room to make a perfect start, much to the surprise of the spectator crowds. He led throughout the race by the tightest of margins - at the finish just one metre separated the two boats.

Richard, said: "The match with Williams was the most challenging for us today - it was so close all the way. We're very pleased with our results and the way we sailed, although we know we can still make small improvements."

It was also a good day for defending champion St. Moritz Match Race Champion, Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing, Björn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team, who top the rankings along with Williams at the end of day one, each of these skippers having won four races and lost one.

Photo copyright Loris Von Siebenthal / St. Moritz Match Race:

1) Björn Hansen, current joint leader of St. Moritz Match Race alongside Adam Minoprio and Ian Williams

Results after Day 1 of the St. Moritz Match Race:

Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing:4-1
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar: 4-1
Björn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team: 4-1
Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAM ORIGIN: 3-2
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team: 3-2
Bertrand Pace (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team: 3-2
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team: 2-3
Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team: 2-3
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra: 2-3
Eric Monnin (SUI) Swiss Match Racing Team: 2-3
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team: 1-4
Jérôme Clerc (SUI) CER: 0-5

You can follow the live blog at www.wmrt.com from 1 to 5 September from 11.00am until racing finishes at approximately 18.00

A preview of the St Moritz Match Race will be aired on 1 September on SF1 at 22:20.

A preview to the St Moritz Match Race can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCqmo-2i3gs

For fans around the world, the event will also be featured in a TV highlights programme called The St Moritz Match Race. Featuring all the action from Lake St. Moritz, it will premiere on Eurosport at 21.35 on 6 October and also show on Eurosport Asia Pacific at 13.45 on 13 October. The programme will be screened on Sky Sports 3 at 18.00 on 22 October.

*Note: times are subject to change without notification

- Ends -

2010 ISAF World Match Racing Tour Standings

(After Stage 5 of 9)

1. Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team                                 77 Points
2. Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team                                                  60 Points
3. Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing                                      54 Points

4. Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar                                                        52 Points
5. Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN                                                                  45 Points
6. Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing                                                        43 Points
7. Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra                                                                      41 Points

8. Jesper Radich (DEN) Radich Racing Team                                               40 Points
9. Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Sigma Racing Team                                        29 Points
10. Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Italia                                                                       16 Points

World Champs Update: NZL features strongly in top ten at Laser Worlds

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:08:00 +1200

Date: 2 September 2010
From: Jodie Bakewell-White

New Zealand continues to feature strongly among the leaders at the 2010 Laser World Championship on now at Hayling Island, Great Britain.

The NZL Sailing Team impressively hold four of the top eight places - Josh Junior is in second, Mike Bullot in fourth, Andy Maloney climbs to seventh and Andrew Murdoch is eighth after the third day of the series.

Six races have been staged over three days with another four days remaining at this important Olympic class regatta.

Australia's Tom Slingsby has taken the lead spot after a perfect day on the water with two bullets - on 14 points he is sitting four points clear of Josh Junior and Paul Goodison (GBR) who share second place with 18 points.

Junior, just 20 years old from the Worser Bay Boating Club in Wellington was 7th and 5th in last night's two races, just enough to see him retain second equal. Junior's previous best at a Laser World Championships was in 2009 when he placed 11th, and in 2007 he won a silver medal at the prestigious ISAF Youth World Champs.

Mike Bullot, from Auckland's North Shore is just two points behind Junior and Goodison on 20 after he placed 9th and 3rd overnight.

Andy Maloney continues his climb through the standings breaking into the top ten after the third day of competition to sit in seventh overall. In his first race last night he came home in 2nd, and followed it up with an 11th.

Olympian Andrew Murdoch rounds out the kiwi contingent featuring in the top ten. Despite scoring his poorest race overnight with a 22nd he doesn't take a tumble down the ladder due to consistency over the initial days. He improves from ninth up to eighth after day three.

Four days of competition remain to complete the Championship with another eight races possible if the weather continues to co-operate. The titles will be decided on September 5th.

The NZL Sailing Team Laser sailors are supported by coaches Mark Howard and Jez Fanstone.

In Kerteminde, Denmark the RS:X sailors contesting their World Championships have enjoyed a rest day and therefore overall standings for the NZL Sailing Team remain unchanged. Racing resumes tonight.

Day three of the 2010 Finn Gold Cup is underway in San Francisco at the time of writing. The day's results will be posted on the regatta website as they come to hand.

2010 Laser World Championships, 30th August - 5th September
New Zealand's provisional standings after day three (Total feet: 159)
2nd Josh Junior (3, 22, 1, 2, 7, 5)
4th Mike Bullot (1, 2, 5, 13, 9, 3)
7th Andy Maloney (2, 22, 4, 10, 2, 11)
8th Andrew Murdoch (6, 4, 11, 2, 8, 22)
19th Sam Meech (10, 46, 5, 14, 7, 13)
43rd Max Andrews (12, 41, 19, 7, 26, 8)
52nd James Sandall (42, 7, 6, 14, 14, RAF55)

2010 RS:X World Championships, 29th August - 4th September
New Zealand's provisional standings after day three
Men's Championship (111 sailors)
2nd =Tom Ashley (1, 5, 3, 5, 18, 2)
4th Jon-Paul Tobin (6, 6, 1, 2, 2, 17)
73rd Antonio Cozzolino (41, 39, 21, 24, 41, 58)
Women's Championship (66 sailors)
New Zealand's provisional standings after day two
36th Kate Ellingham (11, 14, 16, 18, 20)
37th Stefanie Williams (14, 13, 14, 29, 18)
43rd Natalia Kosinska (28, 22, 27, 15, 9)
48th Alice Monk (18, 20, 22, 26, 25)

2010 Finn Gold Cup, San Francisco, USA
Dates: 30th August - 4th September
New Zealand's provisional standings after four races (Total fleet: 87)
21st Dan Slater (32, 17, 28, 11)
30th Nik Burfoot (24, 33, 42, 30)
31st Matt Coutts (37, 48, 26, 20)
62nd Rob Coutts (63, 57, 72, 62)
68th Bradley Douglas (62, 88/DNF, 52, 61)
71st Ray Hall (61, 68, 65, 81DNF)

Links:
2010 RS:X World Championships
2010 Finn Gold Cup
2010 Laser World Championship

Podium finish for Georgia in Hamilton Island Grand Prix IRC Division

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:06:00 +1200

Moderate Hamilton Island conditions were close to ideal for the IRC52 Georgia, with the boat placing second in the Grand Prix IRC Division, and helping New Zealand take home the South Pacific Cup.

Consistency was the name of the game for Georgia, helmed by Jim Farmer and Chris Meads, with tactical support from America's Cup veteran Chris Dickson.

In the 16 boat fleet, Georgia never finished lower than sixth, also clocking up a win and two other podium finishes in the week-long racing event.

"We had very good team work with very few mistakes," says owner Jim Farmer. "This week the boat proved it is a very good all-round performer in all winds."

Georgia finished on 28 points, 15 points behind the Reichel Pugh 63 Loki which was almost untouchable throughout the regatta, and 3 points clear of third prize winner, Wild Oats X.

Throughout the event conditions were generally moderate, with 12-15 knots of breeze and small waves.

"It was exciting to see how the boat accelerated in that situation. It was quick to surf down the quite small waves we had most days, other boats around us didn't seem to do that," says Jim.

While a couple of 'average' starts, and a ripped spinnaker required the crew to fight hard at times in order to recover, they also provided opportunities for brilliance to shine through:

"In the last island race, after a poor start, Chris Dickson took us up the other side of an island - which was not a marker - and got us back into the race. On the long run back, he kept us gybing out to sea and we made a lot of ground to come in 4th," says Jim.

The skipper also tells of a time when the integrity of Georgia's gel coat was very nearly tested: "In one windward-leeward race, after a good start, we were dumped on by a 100 footer which forced us to tack away from where we wanted to be. This put us behind a number of boats going into the top mark. The position was compounded by a boat on port tacking in our water within 3 boat lengths of the mark - a collision was avoided by inches by my turning the bow up. Only a boat owner could have taken such swift evasive action."

They went on to have a very good downwind run and finish second on corrected time in that race.

It was Chris Dickson's third regatta aboard Georgia - he also raced in the 2009 HSBC Premier Coastal Classic just after the boat was launched and was on the winning crew in the New Zealand IRC Championships in Wellington in February.

"Chris is extremely competitive and is not happy unless the boat and crew are performing to their best. He is therefore a hard task master but one who all the crew respect and respond positively to. Personally, I have learned an awful lot about helming the boat, having him behind me talking to me," says Jim.

A number of the Georgia crew - in particular, George Hendy and daughter Emma Hendy, Saun Mason, Chris (Curly) Salthouse, Chris Dickson and Emirates Team New Zealand bowman Jeremy Lomas, also sail on the Corby 43, Full Metal Jacket, which has campaigned throughout Asia but is currently sitting in Melbourne. Full Metal Jacket's owner, Chris Meads, took them helm for half of the races in Hamilton Island.

"This worked very well as it meant that each of us was actually able to watch and enjoy the races when we were not steering," says Jim.

Young and up and coming sailors included bowman Saun 'Geeza' Mason, mastman Tom Blampied, and Kieran Henderson - credited with doing a magnificent job running the middle of the boat. Leo Farmer, also under 30, trimmed the main with great skill.

"I do think we are still learning how to sail our boat optimally - it is still a new boat," says Jim, who confesses to finding Loki, and her sistership Limit, which beat Georgia in the Bay of Islands in January, formidable competitors - not only are they blessed with a rating edge that IRC seems to give boats of that size - but they are also well sailed. Both in the Bay of Islands and at Hamilton Island each of them however also enjoyed the big advantage of being able to sail in clear air at all times away from the start line because of substantial size differential from them of both bigger and smaller boats. With Limit returning to Australia shortly and thereafter in future regattas going head to head with Loki, that advantage will disappear, Jim says.

"Possibly changing the mast rake in different conditions will make us a little quicker up wind. At the moment, I think our edge over the other 52s is downhill. It was satisfying to beat bigger, well performed, boats such as Wild Oats X (Reichel Pugh 66), Black Jack (66), Living Doll (Farr 55), which won last year, and the former Sydney-Hobart winner Yendys (Reichel Pugh 55), as well as three 3 very well performed 52s - Scarlet Runner (second at the 2009 Hamilton Island Race Week), Shogun and Secret Men's Business (which won Geelong Race Week this year).

Georgia will now travel south to Sydney where it will take part in the Rolex Big Boat Regatta in December, and may decide to compete at Geelong Race Week in January.

"The fleet in Australia is highly competitive and exciting," says Jim.

Dan Slater at the Finn Gold Cup

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:43:00 +1200

Hi
Well not the best start to a World Championships. I have had 3 out of 4 starts that have been really crap and on a one way track up the first beats for those 3 races its been all over as there are very little passing opportunities.. Today In the second race I had a good start and was heading to the favoured right hand side of the course for the first time since we have been racing the breeze didn't head as we went towards the right so I rounded in the top 20 but not that great during the remainder of the race I gained and finished 11th.
So far everyone has had a bad race and we have only sailed 4 of 11 so I think we will have some high scores. I have got my bad ones out of the way now and I know I can be up the front end of the fleet and with a few good starts and lanes Im sure I can turn this regatta round and start climbing the ladder.
Tomorrow will maybe be the windiest day so far not that its been light air so far as we have had up to 16-18 knots every race. Tomorrow they are saying over 20 knots maybe so that will keep everyone honest

I hope to have some better news tomorrow.

Dan

Dan Slater

HIGH PERFORMANCE SAILING

Hurricane Earl

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:13:00 +1200

I think this you tube video is froma cruiser sitting it out in St Martin

Here's Des

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:22:00 +1200

World Champs Update: Four sailors in the top four

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:21:00 +1200

Date: 1 September 2010
From: Jodie Bakewell-White

Olympic class World Championships racing continued overnight in both Kerteminde, Denmark for the RS:X Men and Women, and at Hayling Island for the Lasers.

New Zealand has four sailors currently place within the top four and despite Ashley and Bullot slipping from the top spot in their respective events they are both well in touch with the leaders as are Jon-Paul Tobin and Josh Junior.

RS:X

Reigning Olympic champ Tom Ashley described it as a tough day: "Very shifty on the water with big variations in wind strength. I had a mixed day - 18th in the first race and 2nd in the second."

With a total of six races completed all sailors can now discard their poorest score from their points total and this helps to keep Ashley among the leaders on equal points with Poitr Myszka of Poland, with only Dorian Van Rijsselberge ahead.

Jon-Paul Tobin had a similar day but started with a good race finishing 2nd going on to a 17th in the subsequent race. He is now in fourth position overall just two points adrift of Ashley and Myszka.

Ashley describes the day: "My poor performance in the first race was totally my own fault- I was too cautious at the start and didn't get off the line well (I was also at what turned out to be the wrong end of the start line), then dropped my rig in the water (!) when I was trying to get clear. Amateur hour."

"Struggled to get clear air on the first upwind and missed passing opportunities throughout the race. Only got back to 18th after being around 35 or 40 at the top mark."

"The second race went much better. I learned my lessons from the first race and got a great start. Three of us got a huge jump on the rest of the fleet and fought it out between ourselves. I led on the second upwind but the Spanish guy got around me just before the top mark and then disappeared downwind in a big gust, never to be seen again. I had to settle for second after a bit of a scrap with the Greek sailor on the final downwind."

"Consolation from today is that plenty of top guys had at least one bad race, so I possibly didn't end up paying for my bad sailing as much as I deserved to," says Ashley.

Now three days in, the RS:X fleets in Denmark will enjoy a rest day tomorrow before cracking into two days of finals racing to determine the top ten for the medal race on the final day, September 4th.

"Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED) is leading with 10 points, but will have to be on his best behaviour during the finals as he is currently discarding a DSQ, which means that he will automatically carry any bad races he has from now on," explains Ashley. "I'm also discarding a big one, though, so I will also have to sail very well during finals to avoid any big scores."

2010 RS:X World Championships, 29th August - 4th September
New Zealand's provisional standings after day three

Men's Championship (111 sailors)
2nd =Tom Ashley (1, 5, 3, 5, 18, 2)
4th Jon-Paul Tobin (6, 6, 1, 2, 2, 17)
73rd Antonio Cozzolino (41, 39, 21, 24, 41, 58)

Women's Championship (66 sailors)
New Zealand's provisional standings after day two
36th Kate Ellingham (11, 14, 16, 18, 20)
37th Stefanie Williams (14, 13, 14, 29, 18)
43rd Natalia Kosinska (28, 22, 27, 15, 9)
48th Alice Monk (18, 20, 22, 26, 25)

Laser

There's been a shake up in the standings after day two at Hayling Island where the 2010 Laser World Championships are currently being staged. A discard comes into play and the kiwi sailors mostly come out on the right side of this.

Young Wellingtonian, Josh Junior is the big winner, having had a superb day on the water with a win and a 2nd he drops his one poor score from day one and rockets up the board into second place overall.

Luka Redelic (CRO) has climbed into the lead but is now under pressure to return top results all the way as he discards a 42nd which he returned in the first race overnight. Josh Junior's discard is also a big one which means he will be looking for consistency for the rest of the series.

Aucklander, Mike Bullot, who had the early lead is still mixing it at the top, but slips to third overall sharing equal points with Paul Goodison (GBR). In last night's racing Bullot placed 5th and 13th.

Andrew Murdoch remains in the top ten holding onto ninth place overall after an 11th and a 2nd on day two, and Andy Maloney takes a giant leap up the board into 12th place sailing solidly last night with a 4th and a 10th.

As racing resumes tomorrow the Championship will hit the halfway mark. The last day of competition is September 5th.

2010 Laser World Championships, 30th August - 5th September
New Zealand's provisional standings after day two (Total feet: 159)
2nd Josh Junior (3, 22, 1, 2)
3rd Mike Bullot (1, 2, 5, 13)
9th Andrew Murdoch (6, 4, 11, 2)
12th Andy Maloney (2, 22, 4, 10)
21st James Sandall (42, 7, 6, 14)
27th Sam Meech (10, 46, 5, 14)
42nd Max Andrews (12, 41, 19, 7)

Links:
2010 RS:X World Championships
2010 Finn Gold Cup
2010 Laser World Championship

Bullot leads takes the early lead

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:55:00 +1200

Date: 31st August 2010
From: Jodie Bakewell-White

Mike Bullot mastered Hayling Island's tidal current and light breeze with ease on the opening day of the 2010 Laser World Championship. Kicking off the regatta with a bullet the kiwi followed it up with a 2nd place and tops the leader board after day one.

Compatriot Andrew Murdoch made a decent start too, with a 6th and a 4th in racing on day one he is in ninth place overall in the total fleet of 159 sailors.

26 year old Mike Bullot, who represents the Murrays Bay Sailing Club and the Richmond Yacht Club, recorded a personal best World Championship result in 2009 when he won the silver medal in Halifax, Nova Scotia. While his day one form bodes well for a top result in 2010 there is plenty of racing yet to come with another three days of qualifying before finals racing with the world title set to be decided on September 5th.

Defending World Champion and reigning Olympic champion Paul Goodison, Estonia's Karl-Martin Rammo and Luka Radelic of Croatia all started the series well and share second place just one point behindNew Zealand's Bullot.

With Bullot and Murdoch leading the kiwi charge, a couple of young guns are lying in the twenties having recorded one excellent race and one not so flash race on day one. Andy Maloney is in 22nd overall with a 2nd and a 22nd to his name, while Josh Junior is just behind in 24th on the board having placed 3rd then 22nd.

"It was pretty shifty. I got a good start at the pin and then got a nice left shift and so managed to cross the fleet and from there it was just about sailing on the lifted tack and staying in the pressure on the downwind legs. It sounds easy but it wasn't!," commented Andy Maloney after racing.

"The start and the first beat were vital and when you were out in front it got easier."

Racing is now underway in San Francisco for the 2010 Finn Gold Cup where 87 of the world's best in this Olympic class are competing including six kiwis. NZL Sailing Team's Dan Slater recorded a 32nd and a 17th on the first day to hold 23rd place.

2010 Laser World Championships, 30th August - 5th September
New Zealand's provisional standings after day one (Total feet: 159)

1st Mike Bullot (1, 2)
9th Andrew Murdoch (6, 4)
22nd Andy Maloney (2, 22)
24th Josh Junior (3, 22)
72nd James Sandall (42, 7)
78th Max Andrews (12, 41)
81st Sam Meech (10, 46)

2010 Finn Gold Cup, 30th August - 4th September
New Zealand's provisional standings after day one (Total fleet: 87)
23rd Dan Slater (32, 17)
29th Nik Burfoot (24, 33)
43rd Matt Coutts (37, 48)
61st Rob Coutts (63, 57)
66th Ray Hall (61, 68)
76th Bradley Douglas (62, 88/DNF)

Links:
2010 RS:X World Championships
2010 Finn Gold Cup
2010 Laser World Championship

blog

Match Racing

Mathieu Richard Wins the 'King of the Mountain' Title in Spectacular Style

St. Moritz, Switzerland - 5 September 2010 - Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team won the 'King of the Mountain' title today in spectacular style, taking a huge stride towards his quest to become the 2010 ISAF Match Racing World Champion.

Murdoch steps up to take Bronze at Laser Worlds

Date: 6 September 2010 From: Jodie Bakewell-White

World Champs Update - Ashley finishes 6th, Tobin 8th

Date: 5 September 2010 From: Jodie Bakewell-White

BlackMatch

A Touch of Luck Defines Day 4 of The St. Moritz Match Race

Dan Slater

BlackMatch in St Moritz

NewBlogEntry

Mountains of Suspense at the St. Moritz Match Race

World Champs Update - Tom Ashley chases a medal in Denmark

2010 RS:X World Championship

Black Match Report

The French Apprentice Turns Master at the St. Moritz Match Race

World Champs Update - Into the business end

Date: 3 September 2010 From: Jodie Bakewell-White

Dan Slater at the Gold Cup

BlackMatch in St Moritz

All To Play For At The St. Moritz Match Race

World Champs Update: NZL features strongly in top ten at Laser Worlds

Date: 2 September 2010 From: Jodie Bakewell-White

Podium finish for Georgia in Hamilton Island Grand Prix IRC Division

Dan Slater at the Finn Gold Cup

Hurricane Earl

Here's Des

World Champs Update: Four sailors in the top four

Date: 1 September 2010 From: Jodie Bakewell-White

Bullot leads takes the early lead

Date: 31st August 2010 From: Jodie Bakewell-White

Date: 6 September 2010
From: Jodie Bakewell-White

Date: 5 September 2010
From: Jodie Bakewell-White

Date: 3 September 2010
From: Jodie Bakewell-White

Date: 2 September 2010
From: Jodie Bakewell-White

Date: 1 September 2010
From: Jodie Bakewell-White

Date: 31st August 2010
From: Jodie Bakewell-White