J80s at rest in Marseille. Image copyright Gilles Martin-Raget/World Match Racing Tour.
by Dobbs Davis
Its 1205 local time here on a windless but otherwise beautiful cloudless day in Marseilles, and PRO Gerard Bosse still has the AP postponement flag up. Two winds are fighting, the northwesterly gradient and the onshore seabreeze, and we are caught between the two waiting to see which one will win. This delay has prompted a shortening of the Semi-Final Round to first-to-two points.
In the first match of the first flight, the remainder of the Consolation Round will be decided, with Ian Williams entering from the left side and Paolo Cian from the right, with the winner finishing 7th in the final standings. The next match in this flight will determine 5th place, with local favorite Sebastian Col pitted against Ed Baird.
Then starts the Semi-Finals, with Torvar Mirsky entering from the left against Mathieu Richard entering from the right. Next up will be Adam Minoprio entering from the left against Damien Iehl entering from the right. After sailing this first match the teams will swap boats and sides, with the pressure being on the loser to keep alive in this first-to-two pint series.
Losers of the Semi-Finals will sail first in the Petite-Final matches to preceded the Finals, with the format now being a first-to-two point series to determine third place, while the Final will be a first-to-three point series to determine the overall winner and runner-up.
If the westerly fills as predicted, the pre-start venue should be quite close to the venue here at the Pointe Rouge Marina, and a sizeable crowd of both on-water and on-shore spectators are expected.
World Match Racing Tour
No comments:
Post a Comment