Adam Minoprio from New Zealand wins the Toyota Sopot Match Race 2008 ISAF Grade 1

BlackMatch Racing - Emirates Team New Zealand: winners of the 2008 Toyota Sopot Match Race. Image copyright Juerg Kaufmann (www.go4image.com)

Report by Juerg Kaufmann

Sopot, 22nd of July – In the final of the Toyota Sopot Match Race 2008 ISAF Grade 1 Adam Minoprio (NZL) defeated Eric Monnin (SUI). In the fight for third place, Keith Swinton (AUS) won over Ian Ainslie from the Republic of South Africa. It was a great day here in Sopot today, with sun, lots of wind, a broken mast and great show for the large quantity of spectators on the Sopot pier.

Saturday was the day of surprises. All expected Torvar Mirsky and Staffan Lindberg in the semis, but it was not to be. The top 4 after the quarterfinal were: Swinton, Minoprio, Ainslie and the surprise of the day Monnin, who also won the sponsor race and got the Tag Heuer watch.


The BlackMatch crew concentrate hard during racing. Image copyright Juerg Kaufmann (www.go4image.com)

Adam Minoprio managed to qualify for the final with a clear 3 – 0 against Ainslie. The other semifinal between Swinton and Monin was a real battle and Monnin won it with a 3 – 1.

The attraction on the final day was even better. Already during the skippers' meeting we had 15 knots of wind, and at the start of the first flight there were 25 knots of wind.


Close racing on finals day at the Toyota Sopot Match Race 2008. Image copyright Juerg Kaufmann (www.go4image.com)

There were many lead changes in the first flight on both matches. in the petit final the young talent from Australia, Keith Swinton, managed to beat Ian Ainslie 2-1.


Keith Swinton leads Ian Ainslie in the petit-final. Image copyright Juerg Kaufmann (www.go4image.com)

The final matches were even harder, with lead change after lead change in all races with a solid breeze, with gusts up to 30 knots.


Adam Minoprio and Eric Monnin cross tacks during the finals. Image copyright Juerg Kaufmann (www.go4image.com)

At the 4 min signal, just when Adam Minoprio’s crew was entering the start box for the third race, suddenly the mast came down.


The mast comes down on Adam Minoprio's boat on entry to the third race in the finals. Image copyright Juerg Kaufmann (www.go4image.com)

With a new boat the last race was sailed in great conditions, and the winner was again Minoprio, giving him the well deserved 3 points to win the event. Crewing with Adam Minoprio were Dave Swete, Tom Powrie, Nick Blackman and on Eric Monnin's boat, Marc Monnin, Simon Brugger, Yann Maillet completed the team. End result 3:1 to Minoprio.

Final standings of the Toyota Sopot Match Race 2008 ISAF Grade 1
1.Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch Racing - Emirates Team New Zealand
2.Eric Monnin (SUI) Swiss Match Race Team
3.Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing
4.Ian Ainslie (RSA)
5.Peter Wibroe (DEN) Wibroe Sailing Team
6.Staffan Lindberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team
7.Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Yachting Australia
8.Andrew Arbuzov (RUS) Arbuzov Team
9.Przemek Tarnacki (POL) Tarnacki Racing
10.Eugeniy Neugodnikov (RUS) Ecowave – Lord of the Sail
11.Rafał Sawicki (POL)
12.Marek Stańczyk (POL) Polish Match Tour/Nautiner

2008 Toyota Sopot Match Race

BlackMatch - Emirates Team New Zealand wins Toyota Sopot Match Race in dramatic style

Close incident between Minoprio and Monnin during the finals, described in text below. Image copyright Juerg Kaufmann (www.go4image.com)

from Adam Minoprio

Today was the final day of racing here in Poland and it saw us taking on the World #16 Eric Monnin, in a best of 5 final series to see who would be the 2008 Sopot Match Champion. It was a very eventful day and our only loss in the final came in dramatic style when we snapped our mast on our entry to the third race. We eventually took out the final 3-1 providing the large crowd that had gathered on the end of Europe's longest wharf with some extremely exciting racing.

Our first match was definitely the closest and it saw the lead change various times. Monnin had the narrowest of advantages off the start line but we fought back hard up the first beat to lead around the first top mark by half a boat length. The Swiss team had an excellent spinnaker hoist and managed to roll around us to windward but we defended well by luffing them hard, we sailed them out to the left hand side of the course and were in complete control until our gybe back to the bottom mark went bad when our spinnaker sheet got caught around the end of our boom. We broached when Eric realised we were in trouble and he gybed back at us to luff us hard, we couldn't keep clear and were handed a penalty by the umpires.

We recovered well though and were still in touch by the bottom mark, in fact we were so close that when Eric tried to tack and cross us he couldn't quite manage it received a penalty which exonerated us. We sailed an excellent final upwind and had a 3 boat length lead at the top mark but again the Swiss team had a good spinnaker hoist and brought wind pressure up from behind to again roll us to windward. This time though we were equal to the task and sailed them out to the left hand side of the course to gybe back to the finish line and take a very hard earned victory in a tough race.


Mast breaking on the BlackMatch - Emirates Team New Zealand boat on entry into the third race. Image copyright Juerg Kaufmann (www.go4image.com)

Unfortunately for us perhaps the spectacle of the day was our mast breaking on entry into the third race while we were 2 nil up and on match point. As black clouds rolled in the breeze picked up to 25 knots and as we bore away to enter in the gusty conditions we looked up in time to see our rig snap and go over the bow of the boat. As we were already into a start sequence there was nothing we could do and the win went to Monnin.


Disbelief from the crew as they set about clearing the broken mast. Image copyright Juerg Kaufmann (www.go4image.com)

A new boat was needed for the final race and we managed to totally dominate the Swiss team to win by half a leg, in doing so we were crowned the 2008 Toyota Sopot Match Champions.

From Adam, Dave, Tom and Nick we would like to send a big thank you to all of our friends and family back home, it was great to come away with our first grade 1 victory here in Poland and we appreciate all of the support that we have received from everyone.

BlackMatch would like to again thank our sponsors: FedEx Express and Ross Munro from Line 7. Their ongoing support is helping make this opportunity possible for the BlackMatch boys. To the RNZYS and everyone else, thank you for your support.

BlackMatch Racing

2008 Toyota Soport Match Race

BlackMatch - Emirates Team New Zealand Win Grade One Toyota Sopot Match Race 2008

by SailRaceWin and Event Media

Adam Minoprio and the BlackMatch - Emirates Team New Zealand team won the final of the Grade One Toyota Sopot Match Race in Poland, Sunday, against Eric Monnin from Switzerland. The scoreline was 3-1 to Minoprio, who was sailing with Dave Swete, Tom Powrie and Nick Blackman.

Conditions were variable on the final day of racing. Winds were mostly force 2, but with gusts of force 5. The mast of Minoprio's boat broke, so his team had to change boats for the final flight.

In the petit-final, Keith Swinton (Australia) overcame South African Ian Ainslie and crew from Team Shosholoza, 2-1.

Final Overall Results

1.Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch Racing - Emirates Team New Zealand
2.Eric Monnin (SUI) Swiss Match Race Team
3.Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing
4.Ian Ainslie (RSA)
5.Peter Wibroe (DEN) Wibroe Sailing Team
6.Staffan Lindberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team
7.Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Yachting Australia
8.Andrew Arbuzov (RUS) Arbuzov Team
9.Przemek Tarnacki (POL) Tarnacki Racing
10.Eugeniy Neugodnikov (RUS) Ecowave – Lord of the Sail
11.Rafał Sawicki (POL)
12.Marek Stańczyk (POL) Polish Match Tour/Nautiner

2008 Toyota Sopot Match Race

BlackMatch - Emirates Team New Zealand report on the Toyota Sopot Match Race in Poland

from Adam Minoprio

Saturday saw the remainder of the top 8 round robin completed and also the semi-final stage of the Sopot Match. We had an excellent day, winning the top 8 with 5 wins and two losses and then taking out our semi final 3-0 to qualify for our first ever Grade 1 final.

On completion of the top 8 round robin, the three other teams to proceed through to the semi finals were Keith Swinton, Ian Ainslie and Eric Monnin. Surprise omissions from the semi finals were defending champion Peter Wibroe who is the world #8 and also world #7 Torvar Mirsky. One of our losses in the top 8, however, was against Torvar. In extremely light conditions the Perth team did an excellent job to get a small advantage off the start line. They sailed extremely well throughout the race to take the victory but unfortunately this was not enough to see them through to the final four as they could only manage 3 wins from their 7 races.

As we qualified top of the table we had the choice of who to race in the semi-final. We chose South African Ian Ainslie, which left Keith Swinton to race Eric Monnin from Switzerland. The two teams to proceed through to the finals would be the first to reach 3 wins. We managed to totally dominate the world #20 and took out the semi-final in style 3-0, while Eric Monnin sailed extremely well to come out victor over Keith Swinton 3-1.

Our first race against Ian did see him gain a small advantage off the start line when he got the first wind shift and lead us around the top mark. We had an excellent first mark rounding though and found ourselves gybing and rolling over the top of the South African team. They luffed us very violently and we responded straight away but there was contact between the boats. The umpires deemed that they had not given us enough room and opportunity to keep clear so they were penalised. The battle continued downwind and Ian assumed he still had luffing rights so he sailed us past the bottom mark. We were however confident that we had broken the overlap and this meant Ian had no right to take us past our 'proper course' so we protested him and he received a second penalty to be taken immediately; essentially game over. The other races were pretty standard with Adam managing out-manoeuvre our opponent to gain the upper hand in the pre starts and the boys keeping the boat fast around the track to gain comfortable victories.

It is great to be in our first Grade 1 Match Racing final and such an awesome event to do well at. No doubt it will be a tough final tomorrow against the gritty Swiss team and we are looking forward to the challenge ahead of us.

BlackMatch would like to again thank our sponsors: FedEx Express and Ross Munro from Line 7, their ongoing support is helping make this opportunity possible for the BlackMatch boys. To the RNZYS and everyone else, thank you for your support.

BlackMatch Racing

2008 Toyota Sopot Match Race

BlackMatch - Emirates Team New Zealand versus the Swiss in the Final, Toyota Sopot Match Race, Poland

by SailRaceWin

Adam Minoprio and the BlackMatch - Emirates Team New Zealand crew will sail against Eric Monnin and team from Switzerland in tomorrow's final at the Toyota Sopot Match Race in Poland.

In the light winds today, Minoprio defeated Ian Ainslie from South Africa in three straight races in their semi-final. In the other semi, Monnin beat Keith Swinton (Australia) 3-1.

Toyota Sopot Match Race 2008

Wrap-up on 2008 Volvo Youth Worlds

Cushla Hume-Merry, from Wellington, winner of the Bronze Medal in the Laser Radial class. Image copyright onEdition.

Report from Jodie Bakewell-White

New Zealand has won two bronze medals and finished second in the Volvo Trophy battle for overall team performance at the 2008 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships just concluded in Denmark.

Medals came for Sam Meech in the Laser and Cushla Hume-Merry in the Laser Radial, with two 4th placings in the double-handed 29er classes.

“Although we are disappointed that we didn't win the Volvo Trophy we are pleased to have finished second. It has been a tight battle with the Aussies throughout the regatta”, said Marty Watson, Yachting New Zealand High Performance and Youth Director.

“The team’s first priority today was to secure medals. Sam and Cushla have done themselves proud, and of course we are all very proud of them as well. For some sailors in the team the regatta has had its disappointments, but on whole I think the team has represented themselves and their country well”, said Watson.

The decider for the Laser bronze came down to the final race. In an exciting on water battle Sam Meech from Tauranga managed to work his way into a controlling position over his Danish counterpart. The Danish sailor was unfortunate to then receive his second yellow flag for the regatta, forcing him out of the race, and leaving Meech to take the bronze medal.

“I didn’t have the best first beat, but I managed to pick up the Danish sailor fairly early on in the race”, Meech said. “I was within a couple of places of him which was all I needed to do”, he added.

“I didn’t actually see the jury give him the flag... just one minute he was there and all of a sudden he was gone.”

In the Laser Radial fleet Cushla Hume-Merry from Wellington was sitting in 3rd overall going into the final race. On the water her hopes of advancing into second place for the silver were lost when Spain’s Olympic and ISAF Youth Worlds representative, Susana Romero, jumped ahead at the start. Hume-Merry managed to keep back a challenge from the Canadian Girl, keeping a close lock on her through heavy traffic, to finish ahead by one place and a comfortable points lead for 3rd place overall in the regatta.

Hume-Merry said when she returned to the beach, “I am just so happy to be a Youth World’s medallist at last.”

This is her third year at this event in the single handed women’s division, and her most successful to date.

Both Kiwi 29er crews in the girls and boys divisions finished in 4th place overall. Despite just missing out on the medals their performances were significant in assisting the team’s overall effort to finish second behind Great Britain in the top team battle.

On the girls 29er course, Alexandra Maloney and Bianca Barbarich-Bacher did all they could to lift their standing, and fought hard to finish 4th on the line in today’s race. This result lifted them to 4th overall in their first 29er regatta together.


Paul Snow-Hansen and Ben Goodwin sailing in the boys 29er fleet in Denmark. Image copyright onEdition.

Also sailing their first 29er regatta together, Paul Snow-Hansen and Ben Goodwin managed a 4th place overall after another strong race result. “Ben and I felt more and more comfortable together as the regatta went on,” Snow-Hansen said, “We are pretty happy with the way we sailed towards the end.”

Josh Nixon in the Boys RS:X windsurfing showed obvious disappointment with his result, finishing in 8th overall, but remained philosophical about the regatta.


Josh Nixon sailing in the boys RS:X fleet in Denmark. Image copyright onEdition.

“Of course I am disappointed,” Nixon said. “It is never a great way to start a regatta, using up all your drops before you get a chance to start a race. I have trained hard for this event and I know I can do better than my results show.”


Jazmine Lynch sailing in the girls RS:X class in Denmark. Image copyright onEdition.

The competitors were awarded their medals and trophies at the Closing Ceremony at the Musikhuset in Århus, Denmark on Friday, bringing the 2008 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships to a close. Next year’s event will be held in Buzios, Brazil on 9-18 July 2009.

2008 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships
New Zealand’s Final Results

3rd - Sam Meech (Laser)
3rd - Cushla Hume-Merry (Laser Radial)
4th - Paul Snow-Hansen & Ben Goodwin (Boys 29er)
4th - Alexandra Maloney & Bianca Barbarich-Bacher
7th - Francisco Lardies & David Hazard (Multihull)
8th - Josh Nixon (Boys RS:X)
8th - Jazmine Lynch (Girls RS:X)

Volvo Team Trophy Results

1st Great Britain
2nd New Zealand
3rd Australia

2008 Volvo Youth Worlds