WMRT: BlackMatch with 2-1 scorecard after day 1 of Match Race Germany

(R-L) Adam Minoprio and Tom Powrie (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing at Day 1 of Stage 2 of the WMRT. Image copyright Gareth Cooke/Subzero Images.

by David Swete

This report is after the opening day of Match Race Germany which is held in the town of Langenargan, on the picturesque Lake Contance. The lake is bordered not only by Germany, but also Austria and Switzerland with the Swiss Alps providing a magnificent backdrop to the action on the water and like a lot of lake sailing, conditions were extremely light and shifty today.

We had a good start to the regatta, managing wins over Bjorn Hansen and local talent Kathrin Kadelbach, however we dropped a race to the European Champion Mads Ebler from Denmark. All three of our races were in tough variable conditions and although we held the lead off the startline against Mads, they managed to gain some pressure that eluded us on the first beat and held on to a narrow victory.

Despite our loss to the Danish team we are very happy with our start to the regatta and are looking forward to tomorrow’s action. After a full round robin only 7 of the 12 teams will proceed through to the next rounds, with the top qualifier progressing directly through to the semi final and the other 6 teams battling it out in a shortened quarterfinal. This is a great format that rewards the top qualifier however as history shows, it is often a team that battles their way through the quarterfinals that goes on to win.

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BlackMatch would like to again thank their sponsors FedEx Express and Events Clothing/Line 7 New Zealand, two world renowned companies that have stood by us and made this possible. We would also like to thank our new sponsor Steinlager Pure and Emirates Team New Zealand, as without their support we would not have this opportunity.

BlackMatch Racing
Match Race Germany
World Match Racing Tour